New evidence on the growth in pay at the very top of the wage distribution has been presented in a paper by researchers at the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance. The authors point out that the remarkable rise in the share of income and wages taken by those toward the very top of the distribution is a missing element in much recent research.
Income inequality leads to popular support for redistribution, according to a study that looked at evidence from 33 European countries over the period 2002–2010. It was also found that the actual level of redistribution implemented in a country decreases support for more redistribution.
Major shifts in economic structure in recent decades are to blame for rising income inequality and the declining share of national income going to wages, say two new studies. The growing importance of the financial services sector is a key factor.
The first study, from the TUC, finds the share of national income going to wages has fallen over the last thirty years from 59 to 53 per cent, whereas the proportion going to profits has increased from 25 to 29 per cent. The main reason has been the decline of industries that spend a high proportion of turnover on wages (such as manufacturing) and the expansion of new industries that have a far higher profit margin (such as financial services). In fact the whole of the rise in profits' share of national income since 1980 went to just to one industry – financial services. That trend is also closely linked with rising inequality in incomes.
Social mobility is relatively poor in the USA, contrary to the popular perception, according to a report prepared by the Congressional research service. The USA also appears to be have one of the most unequal distributions of income of all major industrialised countries, and to be among the nations experiencing the greatest increases in measures of income dispersion. The share of income in the USA going to the bottom quintile (the poorest 20 per cent) has remained little changed in recent few decades at less than 4 per cent, whereas the share taken by the top 5 per cent rose from 16.3 per cent in 1968 to 22.3 per cent in 2011.
Increased levels of income inequality are associated with increased material deprivation, according to a new study of European countries. Researchers used data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) to investigate the key drivers of material deprivation across countries and over time. They focused on the role of growth (or decline) in average income, and the relationship between material deprivation and income inequality.
More action is needed to address income inequality, according to a collection of articles scrutinising the coalition government's record mid-way through its term of office. Despite early suggestions that inequality would be a high priority for the government, it has so far failed to deliver.
The 2012 US Presidential elections were unusual for the relatively important role played by issues of inequality and the distribution of income and wealth, says a paper by researchers at the London School of Economics. On this occasion Americans seemed to abandon their normally 'relaxed' attitude to inequality.
Increases in owner-occupation and house prices in the UK over the period 2000–2005 led to falls in relative measures of wealth inequality, according to a new study. Researchers compared the level, composition and distribution of household wealth in five industrial countries: the UK, USA, Italy, Finland and Sweden.
The top 1 per cent of earners enjoyed a real-terms increase of 117 per cent over the 25 years between 1986 and 2011, according to a new official analysis – compared with the average of 62 per cent, and with just 47 per cent for those in the lowest decile group.
Many forms of social disadvantage have a 'perpetual' character, according to the findings of a large-scale European research project. Past inequalities can themselves lead to future inequalities – not only for the individuals concerned but also for their children.
The report examines the key channels of influence and causality through which the social impacts of inequality can arise. It summarises the emerging conclusions from a wide range of individual studies, organised around five areas: