Inequality in the UK

Inequality in the UK describes the current distribution of income in the United Kingdom and analyses trends since the start of the 1960s. Drawing on detailed information on the incomes and socio-economic characteristics of more than 250,000 families surveyed over the last three decades, it provides the first comprehensive description of major changes in the UK income distribution over the period. It describes and explains in detail:

• The key changes in the distribution of income during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s;
• Why inequality has risen;
• Which groups are poor and why;
• How peoples incomes fluctuate over their lifetime and from year to year.

This book also examines the prospects for the income distribution in the future and the effectiveness of alternative policy measures which could stem the growth in inequality. This book is intended for second and third year undergraduates, and postgraduates, in public or welfare economics and social policy courses. It will also be of interest to pressure groups and political parties, who are likely to want to use the findings in this book.

Click here to access data on living standards, poverty and inequality since 1961 and to view our other annual reports on the topic.