Charles L. Ballard is an author and award-winning Professor of Economics at Michigan State University. He has been a consultant to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and numerous other government agencies and research institutions, both in the United States and abroad. He has received a number of National Science Foundation grants and outstanding teaching awards.

Income inequality in the United States decreased dramatically between 1928 and 1944. This “Great Convergence” was driven primarily by changes in public policies. Many of these relatively egalitarian policies were reduced or reversed in the 1970s and 1980s. Largely as a result of these policy reversals, income inequality has increased dramatically during the “Great Divergence” of the last 40 years. Professor Ballard will discuss the economics and politics behind these changes.

This is the ninth in OLLI’S distinguished lecture series for 2018-19. A total of ten lectures will be presented covering a variety of topics. The next lecture will be June 11, 2019. The topic will be: The Constitution at the Border: When Immigration Policy and Constitutional Norms Clash.