Using economic analysis to take on society’s biggest issues

July 13, 2016In the 25 years since its founding, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has published in-depth research on more than 20 countries, 30 industries, and core economic topics such as productivity and trade. More recently, our in-house think tank has started to address major societal issues too, including the economic costs associated with obesity, lack of affordable housing, and gender inequality.

MGI’s latest research tackles one of the more pressing socio-economic issues of the day: income inequality. Its analysis shows a dramatic increase in most developed economies in the number of people with flat or falling market incomes over the last decade. The result is a generation at risk of ending up ‘poorer than their parents’, with potentially serious social (and political) consequences.

In this short film Anu Madgavkar, one of the report’s authors, explores the findings and explains why she is passionate about addressing societal challenges through economic analysis. “Our role at MGI is to help frame and open up debates, bring new thinking, and identify potential interventions on major economic issues,” says Anu. “What we’re doing now is bringing economic analysis to intensely human issues.”