Trends in income and wealth inequalities
Pascale Bourquin, Mike Brewer, Tom Wernham
Abstract
Abstract This article brings together trends in inequalities in income, wealth and, to a limited extent, consumption in the United Kingdom, with a focus on trends until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It considers how trends in wealth compare with the much better known trends in income inequality and the extent to which changes to the shape of the income distribution—especially at the top—are hidden by an unchanging Gini coefficient. And it explores the key differences between groups in society and especially between those in different birth cohorts.
Topics & Concepts
Gini coefficientInequalityConsumption (sociology)Economic inequalityEconomicsDemographic economicsDistribution (mathematics)Income distributionIncome inequality metricsWealth distributionCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Development economicsSociologyMathematicsSocial scienceMathematical analysisInfectious disease (medical specialty)MedicineDiseasePathologyGlobal Health Care IssuesEmployment and Welfare StudiesIncome, Poverty, and Inequality