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Ongoing analysis of trends in inequality
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Date started: 01 May 2004
Researchers at IFS monitor the changes in inequality across the population. We hold annual briefings to analyse the yearly households below average income, but also release reports looking at sepcific areas of poverty and inequality, in particular child poverty and pensioner poverty, two areas that the Labour government has tried to tackle since its election in 1997.
We find that income inequality continued to rise under the first two years of Labour, but the growth has slowed considerably since 1999. This work will continue to track the trends in the distribution of income in Great Britain, and seeks to explain the reasons behind some of the main trends.
Part of this work looks at low-income statistics (Households Below Average Incomes or HBAI) that the government produces each year, which underpin many government targets and indicators. We use these to produce analysis and data to meet two objectives:
- To inform the immediate policy debate when the HBAI statistics are released, by providing a thorough assessment of the government's record in reducing poverty and inequality, and a rigorous, independent and timely analysis of household incomes.
- To provide a consistent time-series of data on inequality and poverty from 1961 as a resource to the research community.
 | | To get an idea of where you fit into the income distribution, try our interactive model, which will plot your position on the distributional graph. You can also download a spreadsheet containing some key figures about inequality. |
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In this Commentary, we assess the changes to average incomes, inequality and poverty that have occurred since 1979, with a particular focus on the changes that have occurred in the latest year of data (2008-09) and since 1996-97.
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These slides were presented at the IFS briefing "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2010" on Friday 21 May.
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These slides were presented at the IFS briefing "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2010" on Friday 21 May.
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Changes in poverty under the previous Labour government were uneven, with relative poverty falling most in the North East and Scotland, but rising in the East and West Midlands.
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Average take-home incomes grew even after taking account of inflation and in spite of rising unemployment during 2008-09, the first full financial year of the recent recession. This is the surprising finding of official statistics released today.
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This report aims to assess the relative importance of the (many) factors influencing changes in income inequality between 1968 and 2006-07.
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This presentation was given at the Child Poverty Unit on 29 September 2009.
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In 1999 the Government pledged to eradicate child poverty in the UK by 2020 and, in the meantime, to halve it by 2010.
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This presentation was delivered at the IFS "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2009" briefing, 8 May 2009.
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This presentation was delivered at the IFS "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2009" briefing, 8 May 2009.
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This presentation was delivered at the IFS "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2009" briefing, 8 May 2009.
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We look at the impact on different groups of previous recessions and the current recession.
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This Briefing Note aims to document the course of average living standards, and those of particular subgroups in society, during the previous three UK recessions.
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This Commentary assesses the latest changes to average incomes, inequality and poverty.
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Poverty and inequality both increased for a third successive year in 2007-08, with the incomes of poorer households falling in real terms since the last election while those of richer households increased, according to official statistics released today.
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This document sets out the response of IFS researchers to the government's consultation entitled "Ending Child Poverty: Making it Happen", launched in January 2009.
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This presentation was delivered at the IFS briefing "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2008" on 11 June 2008.
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In this Commentary, we assess the changes to average incomes, inequality and poverty that have occurred under the first 10 years of the Labour government.
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This presentation was delivered at the IFS briefing "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2008" on 11 June 2008.
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This presentation was delivered at the IFS briefing "Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2008" on 11 June 2008.
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London and the West Midlands displace North-East England and Northern Ireland as the regions of the UK with the highest rates of poverty when we take account of differences in the cost of living around the country, according to Poverty and Inequality in the UK 2008.
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Poverty and inequality both increased for a second successive year during 2006-07, as benefit and tax credit increases failed to keep pace with rising inflation, and as the richest households enjoyed the biggest increases in income, according to official statistics released today.
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The outlook for inequality in Britain may depend more on the outlook for the stock market than on Government tax and benefit policies, a study by IFS researchers suggests today.
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This Briefing Note provides an analysis of the characteristics of high-income individuals and how their incomes have evolved over time.
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This presentation provides an analysis of the characteristics of high-income individuals and how their incomes have evolved over time.
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This evidence was submitted to the Treasury Select Committee as part of their Report on the 2007 Budget.
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On 23 April 2007, the Department for Work and Pensions announced that an error had occurred when producing the latest Households Below Average Income publication.
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This Briefing Note provides an update on trends in living standards, income inequality and poverty.
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Relative poverty has risen across the whole population for the first time since Labour came to power, with child poverty also rising for the first time in six years, according to official statistics released today on the distribution of income in 2005/06.
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Slow growth in average living standards, but a rapid fall in pensioner poverty, are amongst the findings revealed in a new report today.
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This Commentary provides an update on trends in poverty and inequality in Great Britain, based on the latest official government statistics.
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The Government thinks it is paying out tax credits or out-of-work benefits to around 200,000 more lone parents than the Office for National Statistics estimate live in the UK, according to an analysis of official statistics by researchers at the IFS.
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The government has failed to achieve its target of reducing child poverty by 25% between 1998/99 and 2004/05, according to the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data published today by the Department for Work and Pensions.
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This Commentary presents a detailed analysis of the latest figures and recent trends.
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There is a strong consensus that the British general election successes of the Labour Party in 1997 and 2001 owed much to attracting and retaining support from amongst the 'middle-class' voters of 'middle Britain'. But are the supposed residents of middle Britain in the middle of the income distribution? In this briefing note, we look at where we might find the 'middle classes' in the income distribution, and at the pattern of income distribution more generally.
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This Briefing Note provides a brief analysis of changes to income inequality since the Labour government came to power in 1997. The most recent data from 2001-02 show that there has been little change in income inequality since 2000-01. An implication of this is that there has been little impact upon the slight upward trend in inequality that has been experienced over Labour's term in office.
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Income inequality continued to rise under the first two years of Labour, and on the latest figures remains higher than before the present Government came to power. This briefing note sets out some basic facts about the distribution of income in Great Britain, and explains the reasons behind some of the main trends. Areas covered include the important changes which have occurred in the labour market, demographics and taxes and benefits.
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This report provides, for the first time ever, a consistently defined picture of living standards in the UK over the last three decades. Looking in detail at patterns in income inequality, and at the changing fortunes of the richest and the poorest, this report puts the trends of the 1980s into the context of 30 years.
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