Income inequality in the UK

Jonathan Cribb

Published on 1 February 2013

This article considers the phenomenon of income inequality.

Poverty, inequality and social mobility
Poverty
Measurement
Living standards
Inequality

Economists are interested in inequalities in health, consumption, housing and educational performance, to name just a few, but it is inequalities in income that perhaps get the most attention. In the UK, the median full time salary in 2010-11 was £26,200 per year, but someone working full time for the minimum wage would only earn around £11,000, while the top 10% earned over £52,600. Given the intense interest in income inequality, what can economists say about this phenomenon?