Previous work looking at living standards and the redistribution achieved by the tax and benefit system has generally been based on snapshot information. A new report, launched at this event, analyses redistribution from a lifetime perspective, showing how this changes our view of what impact the tax and benefit system has and what the implications are for policy design. It addresses questions such as:
- How effective is the tax and benefit system at reducing income inequality over the lifetime, compared with the standard snapshot approach?
- How have tax and benefit reforms over the last 40 years affected lifetime inequality?
- How successfully do measures such as increasing income tax and increasing the generosity of means-tested benefits target the lifetime rich or lifetime poor?
This work is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and co-funded by the European Research Council.
Report
Redistribution from a lifetime perspective
Peter Levell, Barra Roantree and Jonathan Shaw
Press release
Presentations from the event
Redistribution from a lifetime perspective: background and methodology (pdf)
Jonathan Shaw
Redistribution from a lifetime perspective: current tax and benefit system (pdf)
Peter Levell
Redistribution from a lifetime perspective: historical and hypothetical reforms (pdf)
Barra Roantree