ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the basic premises of institutional distribution theory, including the institutional context, instrumental value theory, and the institutionalist conception of economic progress. It explores the relationship between distribution and economic progress. The chapter addresses the current extent of inequality in the United States. It presents an examination of various technical problems associated with the measurement of inequality. The distinguishing characteristic of the institutionalist approach to distributional issues is an emphasis on the relationship between distribution and economic progress. Institutionalists maintain that the current distribution of income and wealth in a society may be among the institutional arrangements in need of change in order to promote further economic progress. The basic theorem of instrumental value theory is that values are formed as a part of the overall life process by continuous appraisal and reappraisal of existing values.
