Income and wealth inequalities in the UK

Differences in income and wealth are among the most salient and consequential inequalities in our society.

At this online event we discussed a number of questions. How does the UK compare internationally? Are gaps in economic inequalities widening or narrowing, and why is there not a single answer to that question? Are we seeing changes in where people’s financial resources come from, considering the roles of employment income, state benefits and taxes, the value of housing and other assets, and inherited wealth? What implications do these changes have for economic inequality and social mobility? What has the role of policy been? What, if anything, is historically distinctive about the present moment when it comes to reasons for concern over economic inequality?

This event, part of the IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities funded by the Nuffield Foundation, was chaired by Paul Johnson, IFS Director, and will feature talks from:

• Mike Brewer, Resolution Foundation and IFS
• Janet Gornick, CUNY
• Stephen Jenkins, LSE