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| Branko Milanovic | |
|---|---|
| Name | Branko Milanovic |
| Birth date | 1947 |
| Birth place | Belgrade |
| Nationality | Serbian-American |
| Occupation | Economist, Scholar |
| Known for | Research on income inequality, global inequality, Kuznets curve |
| Alma mater | University of Belgrade, University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade PhD |
Branko Milanovic is a Serbian-American economist and scholar known for his empirical work on income inequality, globalization, and poverty. He has held senior positions at international institutions and universities, producing influential analyses that bridge development economics and political economy. Milanovic's research has shaped debates among policymakers at institutions such as the World Bank, scholars at universities like Harvard University and Columbia University, and commentators in media outlets worldwide.
Milanovic was born in Belgrade in 1947 and raised during the period of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He studied at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics, where he received his undergraduate and doctoral training, and later pursued postdoctoral research that connected Yugoslav experience with comparative work on Eastern Bloc economies and markets. His formative years overlapped with major events including the Non-Aligned Movement summit dynamics and the economic policies of Josip Broz Tito, shaping his interest in income distribution across different systems.
Milanovic's career includes research and policy roles at the World Bank, where he served as a lead economist and contributed to flagship reports on poverty and inequality. He has been a visiting professor and research fellow at institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, New School for Social Research, Higher School of Economics (Moscow), and University of Belgrade. Milanovic joined the faculty of City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center as a Presidential Professor and later became a visiting scholar at Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). His work placed him in collaborative networks with economists affiliated with International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and various national statistical offices.
Milanovic is best known for quantitative analysis of income distribution across countries and over time, contributing methods to measure between-country and within-country inequality. He advanced the use of household survey harmonization drawing on datasets from Luxembourg Income Study, World Bank household surveys, and national censuses to construct consistent series. He popularized the "elephant curve" depiction of global income growth, highlighting distributional gains and losses across income percentiles during the era of globalization and rapid growth in China and India. His work revisited the Kuznets curve hypothesis with new cross-country panel techniques, engaging debates with scholars at Princeton University, Stanford University, and London School of Economics.
Methodologically, Milanovic applied decomposition techniques connecting the Gini coefficient, Theil indices, and concentration measures to parse sources of inequality, comparing trends in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and Eastern Europe. He examined interactions between trade liberalization, technological change, and fiscal redistribution, dialoguing with literatures represented by Paul Krugman, Thomas Piketty, and Gary Becker. His empirical findings informed critiques of neoliberal policy prescriptions associated with entities like the International Monetary Fund and influenced research agendas in development studies and comparative political economy.
Milanovic authored several influential books and monographs. His major works include "The Haves and the Have-Nots," which analyzes global inequality dynamics and the political economy of redistribution, and "Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization," which formalizes measurement frameworks for cross-border income comparisons. He contributed chapters to edited volumes alongside scholars from Harvard University Press and Oxford University Press and published articles in journals such as the Journal of Economic Literature, World Development, and Review of Income and Wealth. His writings often synthesize empirical evidence with historical narratives involving figures and episodes like Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Industrial Revolution, and the late-20th-century rise of China.
Milanovic received recognition from academic and policy communities for his contributions to the study of inequality. He was awarded fellowships and visiting appointments at institutions including Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and received accolades from associations such as the American Economic Association sections on economic history and development. His research has been cited by policymakers at the European Commission, leaders at the World Bank, and commentators at media organizations like The Economist, Financial Times, and The New York Times.
Milanovic maintains a prominent public intellectual profile, writing columns and essays that appear in outlets such as Project Syndicate and contributing op-eds to newspapers including The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He has testified before parliamentary committees and advised policymakers in capitals ranging from Washington, D.C. to Belgrade and Brussels. His "elephant curve" and global income tables have been used in policy debates on trade policy, taxation, and social protection programs, influencing discussions at forums like World Economic Forum and consultations involving United Nations agencies.
Milanovic's interdisciplinary approach—bridging empirical measurement, historical context, and policy analysis—has left a lasting imprint on studies of global inequality and distributional politics. Colleagues and students at institutions such as CUNY Graduate Center and University of Belgrade cite his mentorship alongside his scholarly output. His legacy includes new datasets, methodological toolkits, and public debates that connect scholars from economics, sociology, and political science to policymakers in multilateral institutions and national governments. Category:Economists