- 100 researchers attend Conference at Nuffield College to discuss pressing issues in Economic Inequality and Social Mobility;
- Key policy debates centred on intergenerational mobility vs equality of opportunity; the feasibility of wealth tax; and whether the UK and Europe need a new poverty measure;
- Conference was named in honour of Sir Anthony B. (Tony) Atkinson, a leader in the field of Inequality research.
The Atkinson Conference on Inequality and Social Mobility saw 100 of the world's leading thinkers in the field grapple with major policy issues concerning the measurement, causes, and consequences of inequality.
Held over two days between 10th and 11th September 2026 at the University of Oxford's Nuffield College, the inaugural conference was a timely gathering given the rise to prominence of inequality issues in the news agenda.
Delegates took part in debates on key policy issues, including on whether the UK and Europe need a new poverty measure, intergenerational mobility vs equality of opportunity; the feasibility of wealth tax; and much more.
Atkinson legacy continues to inspire
The Conference, co-hosted with Nuffield College, the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI) and INET Oxford, was named in honour of the late Sir Anthony B. (Tony) Atkinson, a former Nuffield College Warden who pioneered many techniques in the study of inequality.
Many attendees spoke about the work of Atkinson and his legacy, including keynote speaker Janet Gornick, who gave an historical overview of establishment of the Cross-National Data Center (LIS) in Luxembourg. LIS was the first institution to collate data to compare inequality across countries and remains widely used by inequality researchers today.
The Conference was also honoured to host members of Atkinson’s family.
Room for Debate highlights key policy issues
In addition to standard parallel sessions, the conference included four ‘Room for Debate’ topics to encourage deliberation among delegates on the pressing policy challenges of the day.
Francisco Ferreira & Franziska Disslbacher debated the question of 'international mobility versus equality of opportunity', deliberating on which framework offered a more informative lens for understanding inherited disadvantage.
David Brady and Zachary Parolin held a discussion on whether the at-risk-of-poverty indicator based on 60 percent of median income is still fit for purpose, asking whether Europe and the UK need a new poverty measure.
Salvatore Morelli & Mike Brewer asked 'are inequality researchers too concerned with the ultra-rich?', in a discussion on the economic, social, and political relevance of studying the top of the income and wealth distributions.
And Arun Advani & Kristoffer Berg took on the issue of wealth taxes, an issue that has recently come to forefront of the political debate in the UK, asking debating the feasibility of a wealth tax and how an ideal wealth tax could be designed and administered.
The Conference was closed by Philippe Aghion, whose big-picture talk brought together inequality themes from across economics, society and health.
Focusing on a future programme of research
Conference Organiser, Professor Zachary Parolin, who directs the Economics, Inequality and Opportunity (EIO) Programme at INET Oxford, said that the meeting helped set a direction for future research on the issues of inequality and social mobility.
"Rising inequality remains a pressing issue for governments around the world. The Atkinson Conference was filled with discussion on the consequences of those trends and what policy efforts can be successful in reducing inequality moving forward.”
"At INET Oxford, our research programme -- including our work on Labour Markets, Large Language Models for Inequality Research, Poverty and Income Inequality, and Social Mobility and Economic Opportunity -- will help convert many of the conference insights into an enduring research agenda,” Parolin said.
Professor Parolin encouraged those interested in work on Inequality and Social Mobility to stay in touch by joining INET Oxford Inequality Working Group mailing list.
Key Links
Photos from the Inaugural Atkinson Conference on Economic and Social Mobility, held at Nuffield College 10-11 September 2026.
