Research Professor
CUNY Graduate Center
Branko Milanovic obtained his Ph.D. in economics (1987) from the University of Belgrade with a dissertation on income inequality in Yugoslavia. He served as lead economist in the World Bank’s Research Department for almost 20 years, leaving to write his book on global income inequality, Worlds Apart (2005). He was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington (2003-2005) and has held teaching appointments at the University of Maryland (2007-2013) and at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (1997- 2007). He was a visiting scholar at All Souls College in Oxford, and Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (2010-11).
Professor Milanovic’s main area of work is income inequality, in individual countries and globally, including in preindustrial societies. He has published articles in Economic Journal, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Development Economics, and Journal of Political Philosophy, among others. His book The Haves and the Have-nots (2011) was selected by The Globalist as the 2011 Book of the Year. Global Inequality (2016) was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the best political book of 2016 and the Hans Matthöfer Prize in 2018, and was translated into 16 languages. It addresses economic and political effects of globalization and introduces the concept of successive “Kuznets waves” of inequality. In March 2018, Milanovic was awarded (jointly with Mariana Mazzucato) the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Knowledge. His most recent books are Capitalism, Alone, published in 2019, and Visions of Inequality, published in 2023..
Areas of Expertise
Global Inequality
Globalization
History of Inequality
Macroeconomy
Featured Work
Established in 2014, Professor Milanovic’s blog globalinequality covers topics from Marxism to capitalism, as well as many other issues affecting global inequality. He posts several times a month and attract visitors globally.
- Inequality, Crisis, and the Possibility of ChangeIn this interview, Branko Milanovic discusses recent political instability, trends in policy on inequality, and a way to break the 1 percent’s “quasi-automatic” increasing share of capital.
- Panel: The Future of Global Capitalism — Branko Milanovic in ConversationIn this video, experts discuss the prospects for a fairer world now that capitalism is the predominant economic system.
- Analysis: The Clash of Capitalisms — The Real Fight for the Global Economy’s FutureIn Foreign Affairs, Branko Milanovic discusses the U.S. and China’s competing brands of capitalism and what it means for future inequality.
- The New Yorker: The Rich Can’t Get Richer Forever, Can They?Branko Milanovic’s global inequality research is featured in this article on the predictability of inequality cycles.
- Branko Milanovic named Centennial Professor at the London School of EconomicsHis three-year honorary appointment will help to strengthen ties between the Stone Center and LSE’s International Inequalities Institute.
- Analysis: Where Are the Limits of Europe?In this post for Social Europe, Branko Milanovic discussed the inequality successive EU enlargements have enhanced.
- Recent Trends in Global Income Distribution and the Political ImplicationsIn this IIPP video, Branko Milanovic discusses the current evolution in global income inequality.
- Panel: After PikettyIn this video, Stone Center scholars give context to the current political debate over economic growth and inequality.
- Panel: Globalization and InequalityIs globalization responsible for increased income inequality? Watch three experts and Graduate Center professors explore the complex relationship between these large-scale economic trends.
- Analysis: Worlds of InequalityIn The American Prospect, Miles Corak reviews Branko Milanovic’s book, Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization.