Imagine if you lined up the world’s population from shortest to tallest but each person’s height was proportionate to their income. With the likes of Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg at one end and the world’s poorest at the other. If an average income was reflected as an average height there would be some individuals so tall that they would be almost imperceptible to the rest, with their heads high above the clouds. The Dutch economist Jan Pen made a similar analogy in 1971 to help us better understand the sometimes mind boggling extremes of wealth and poverty that exists in the world.

Today, we are pleased to welcome a thinker and scholar who is a master at communicating the complex in a simple and relatable way. Branko Milanovic served as lead economist in the World Bank’s research department for twenty years and has had teaching appointments at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins and currently is a Visiting Presidential Professor at City University of New York. Branko and I will discuss the state of income inequality today, the impact of COVID-19, universal basic income and more.