Description: Since the 1990s, mainstream political parties have failed to address the problem of growing inequality, resulting in political backlash and the transformation of European party systems. Most attempts to explain the rise of inequality in political science take a far too narrow approach, considering only economic inequality and failing to recognize how multiple manifestations of inequality combine to reinforce each other and the underlying political features of advanced welfare states. Combining training in public health with a background in political science, Julia Lynch brings a unique perspective to debates about inequality in political science and to public health thinking about the causes of and remedies for health inequalities. Based on case studies of efforts to reduce health inequalities in England, France and Finland, Lynch argues that inequality persists because political leaders chose to frame the issue of inequality in ways that made it harder to solve.
Brief description: Julia Lynch is a professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, an editor of Socio-Economic Review, and serves as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization. She is the author of Age in the Welfare State: The Origins of Social Spending on Pensioners, Workers, and Children (2006).
Review Quotes: 'This book provides a much-needed critical assessment of widespread, but largely unsuccessful, efforts to tackle health inequalities. It should cause those involved in developing policy responses to health inequalities, as well as those trying to influence these responses, to reflect on what they are proposing and why. As Lynch concludes, the policy levers for tackling inequality are clear; the question is whether policymakers are bold enough to use them.' Katherine Smith, University of Strathclyde