The Browser recently carried Branko Milanovic's selection of the five books on global inequality that had most influenced his thinking on the subject. It's an eclectic mixture. I've read only the Angus Maddison book, Contours of the World Economy, which is an essential text on long-run growth trends, and long ago sections of J.A. Hobson's Imperialism. (I recently re-read and reviewed here J.A. Hobson: A Reader – he's now a regrettably little-read thinker.)

The selection set me to thinking about what else I'd recommend on this issue. On the historical evidence, David Landes' The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and The Great Divergence by Kenneth Pomeranz. On modern evidence, Milanovic's own work on inequality is essential as well, careful and
balanced empirical studies of the data shedding light on an emotive
subject. Worlds Apart: Measuring International and Global Inequality is
at the moment the definitive word on the empirical evidence.

Finally, today I also came across rather an interesting Atlantic article on the global elite by Chrystia Freedland. She describes the growing detachment of the rich from the rest and concludes:

“The lesson of history is that, in the long run, super-elites have two
ways to survive: by suppressing dissent or by sharing their wealth. It
is obvious which of these would be the better outcome for America, and
the world. Let us hope the plutocrats aren’t already too isolated to
recognize this.”

Indeed.

Of course there is a vast amount written on this subject and I'd like to hear about other people's favourites.