But is the fear of redistribution justified? Maybe it is in some cases, but what my work shows is that on average – over many countries and across many time periods – the redistributive fiscal (tax and transfer) policies that (advanced and developing) countries have pursued have not been harmful. A key objection to redistributive policies is that they damage economic efficiency – but the damage on average appears to be small unless redistribution is extreme. And the resulting increase in equality has a remarkably robust protective effect on both the level and the sustainability of economic growth.