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.
Anti-Corruption Campaign in China: An Empirical Investigation
L. Yang, B. Milanovic, and Y. Lin. European Journal of Political Economy. vol. 85. 2024.
How Rich Were the Rich? An Empirically-Based Taxonomy of Pre-Industrial Bases of Wealth
B. Milanovic. Explorations in Economic History. vol. 93. 2024.
The Three Eras of Global Inequality, 1820–2020 with the Focus on the Past Thirty Years
B. Milanovic. World Development. vol. 177. 2024.
Homoploutia: Top Labor and Capital Incomes in the United States, 1950–2020
Y. Berman and B. Milanovic. The Review of Income and Wealth. 2023.
Drawing a Line: Comparing the Estimation of Top Incomes Between Tax Data and Household Survey Data
N. Yonzan, B. Milanovic, S. Morelli, and J. Gornick. The Journal of Economic Inequality. vol. 20, pp. 67–95. 2022.
After the Financial Crisis: The Evolution of the Global Income Distribution Between 2008 and 2013
B. Milanovic. The Review of Income and Wealth. vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 43–73. 2022.
Capitalist Systems and Income Inequality
M. Ranaldi and B. Milanovic. Journal of Comparative Economics. vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 20–32. 2022.
From Workers to Capitalists in Less than Two Generations: A Study of Chinese Urban Top Group Transformation Between 1988 and 2013
L. Yang, F. Novokmet, and B. Milanovic. The British Journal of Sociology. vol. 72, no. 3. pp. 478–513. 2021.
The Real Urban Wage in an Agricultural Economy Without Landless Farmers: Serbia 1862–1910
B. Mijatović and B. Milanovic. The Economic History Review. vol. 74, no. 2. pp. 424–448. 2021.
Inequality, Foreign Investment, and Imperialism
T. Hauner, B. Milanovic, and S. Naidu. MPRA. 2017.
How Rich Were the Rich? An Empirically-Based Taxonomy of Pre-Industrial Bases of Wealth
B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 69. 2023.
Anti-Corruption Campaign in China: An Empirical Investigation
L. Yang, B. Milanovic, and Y. Lin. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 64. 2023.
The Three Eras of Global Inequality, 1820–2020, with the Focus on the Past Thirty Years
B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 59. 2022.
Homoploutia: Top Labor and Capital Incomes in the United States, 1950–2020
Y. Berman and B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 28. 2020.
Drawing a Line: Comparing the Estimation of Top Incomes Between Tax Data and Household Survey Data
N. Yonzan, B. Milanovic, S. Morelli, and J. Gornick. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 27. 2020.
Capitalist Systems and Income Inequality
M. Ranaldi and B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 25. 2020.
In Search of the Roots of American Inequality Exceptionalism: An Analysis Based on Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Data
J. C. Gornick, B. Milanovic, and N. Johnson. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 20. 2020.
After the Financial Crisis: The Evolution of the Global Income Distribution Between 2008 and 2013
B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 18. 2020.
From Workers to Capitalists in Less Than Two Generations: A Study of Chinese Urban Elite Transformation Between 1988 and 2013
L. Yang, F. Novokmet, and B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper Series. no. 06. 2020.
Real Urban Wage in an Agricultural Economy Without Landless Farmers: Serbia 1862–1910
B. Mijatović and B. Milanovic. Stone Center Working Paper. no. 01. 2020.
Stone Center Scholars Present Work at III/LIS Economic Inequality Conference
Fifteen researchers associated with the GC CUNY Stone Center, including three senior scholars, attended the 2nd III/LIS Comparative Economic Inequality Conference, held in Luxembourg on February 27 and 28.
Changes in the Income Distributions in China, India, and the U.S., 2018–2023: Branko Milanovic
In this post, Stone Center Senior Scholar Branko Milanovic examines the effects of Covid-19 on China, the U.S., and India, and the return to “normalcy.”
Branko Milanovic’s New Book Explores the Evolution of Economic Thought on Inequality
In this interview, Stone Center Research Professor Branko Milanovic discusses his recently published book, Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War.
Searching for the Roots of U.S. Inequality Exceptionalism: Janet Gornick and Branko Milanovic
In this post, Janet Gornick and Branko Milanovic discuss the results of their study, "In Search of the Roots of American Inequality Exceptionalism: An Analysis Based on Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Data,” an examination of what underlies the high level of income inequality in the U.S.
From Measuring the Top 1 Percent to Studying the Effects of Covid-19 on Poverty and Inequality: Nishant Yonzan
In this interview, Nishant Yonzan, who earned his Ph.D. from the Graduate Center in 2022, talks about his study, coauthored with Stone Center Scholars Branko Milanovic, Salvatore Morelli, and Janet Gornick, that was recently published in The Journal of Economic Inequality.
Mind the Gap: Disparities in Measured Income Between Survey and Tax Data
In this commentary, originally posted on VoxEU, Nishant Yonzan, Branko Milanovic, Salvatore Morelli, and Janet Gornick analyze when and why household survey data and tax data diverge at the top of the income distribution.
Quesnay, Smith, Ricardo, and Marx: Branko Milanovic on How the Founders of Political Economics Saw Inequality
In this interview, Branko Milanovic discusses what the writings of four classical economists reveal about their perceptions of income inequality.
Analysis: Literature and Inequality
In his personal blog post, Branko Milanovic examines data from “Pride and Prejudice” and "Anna Karenina" as vignettes to explore income inequality in 19th century literature.
Thoughts from the Stone Center on the Pandemic and Its Impact
In this commentary, Stone Center faculty — Miles Corak, Janet Gornick, Paul Krugman, Leslie McCall, Branko Milanovic, and Salvatore Morelli — each with unique expertise in the study of inequality, offer insights on the COVID-19 crisis.
Inequality, Crisis, and the Possibility of Change
In 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.
Marx and the Problem of Inequality: Branko Milanovic on Emancipations Podcast
In this video, Stone Center Senior Scholar Branko Milanovic joins "Emancipations" podcast host Daniel Tutt to discuss Marx and the problem of inequality.
Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War
Branko Milanovic discusses his latest book, a sweeping and original history that focuses on how six of the most influential economists saw inequality in their time, with Paul Krugman, Clara Mattei, and Donald Robotham.
Branko Milanovic: Expert Knowledge and Policy-Making, EUI Interview
Branko Milanovic discusses expert knowledge and policy-making in this interview by Miloš Vojinović of the European University Institute (EUI) as part of their series on the crisis of expert knowledge and authority.
Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization
In this video, Branko Milanovic discusses global inequality as part of the Winter 2022 Lecture Series, "Engaging Global Inequality," at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University.
‘Six Faces of Globalization’: a Conversation with Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp
Paul Krugman and Branko Milanovic speak with Stone Center Affiliated Scholar Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp about their new book, "Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters. Introduction by Janet Gornick.
Branko Milanovic: Age of Economics Interview
Branko Milanovic answers a series of eight questions about economics and capitalism in this interview for the Age of Economics project.
Economic Inequality After the Pandemic
Branko Milanovic joins Angella MacEwen and Wolfgang Schmidt in a panel discussion moderated by John Torpey, director of the European Union Studies Center.
Milanovic on Income Inequality, Part 2: Ricardo and Marx
In this lecture, Branko Milanovic discusses income inequality in the work of David Ricardo and Karl Marx.
Branko Milanovic: Capitalism and Global Inequality
Branko Milanovic discusses his book Capitalism, Alone in this interview for the Dissenter YouTube channel.
Milanovic on Income Inequality, Part 1: Quesnay and Smith
In this lecture, Branko Milanovic presents how the classical writers François Quesnay and Adam Smith discussed inequality and how their discussion may be interpreted in the terms of interpersonal inequality.
Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality