Do higher debt levels benefit the wealthy? A research proposal

Event details

This event by the Centre for Business in Society will discuss a recently submitted research bid focusing on the impact of both public and private debt on wealth inequality.

Abstract

High debt levels and growing inequality are arguably the two most concerning political, economic and social issues in Western Europe. Despite the concomitant rise in recent decades in both debt levels (public as well as private) and wealth inequality, empirical evidence on the relationship between the two is absent in existing literature. This is striking especially since recent theoretical contributions point to a link between debt and wealth inequality.

This study will be the first to investigate empirically whether rising levels of UK public and household debt benefit the wealthy and thus widen the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. This talk will unveil all the preliminary research and ground work associated with the development of the underlying research grant application.

Biography

Glauco De Vita (BA Hons, MPhil, PhD) is a Professor of International Business Economics in CBiS and Strategic Director of CBiS' PhD Programme. A Cambridge university alumnus and former senior analyst for an American multinational, Glauco joined Coventry University in 2015, from Oxford Brookes where over the years he held several key roles including Associate Dean Research.

Glauco has over 80 publications in various areas of economics, international finance and business and management. He is a member of various editorial boards and was recently appointed as a member of the ESRC’s DTPs Peer Review College. He also served as a Member of the Advisory Panel to the UK Government.

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