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

More than nine in ten individuals pay more in taxes than they receive in social security over their lifetime

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

This event is funded by