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Simon Kuznets: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Simon Kuznets, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• One economist sketched a rule for inequality — on data he admitted was thin

  In 1955, Simon Kuznets proposed that as a country develops, inequality first rises, then falls, forming an inverted U — though he flagged the evidence himself as scarce, with the '…

  — Simon Kuznets, Economic Growth and Income Inequality

• The economist who invented GDP warned Congress not to trust it

  In 1934, Simon Kuznets delivered the first comprehensive measure of US national income to Congress, laying the groundwork for what became GDP. He explicitly warned that 'the welfar…

  — Simon Kuznets, National Income, 1929–1932

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