Overview

The decades since 1980 have seen sharply rising income and wealth inequality in a number of developed countries, notably the US and UK. The rise is particularly marked at the top of the income distribution. Many countries have also experienced a stagnation in middle class income growth and declines in social mobility. INET Oxford researchers are playing a leading role collecting and analysing data on income and wealth inequality from around the world and analysing the causes of this shift. Our scholars are also investigating the links between trends in inequality and different modes of economic growth, technology, globalisation, labour market arrangements, the financial system, and public policies. INET Oxford scholars are also examining the role that wealth and inheritance play in the economy, issues of gender in patterns of inequality, and the broad economic and social impacts of unemployment.

INET Oxford scholars are also actively working on policies to address issues of economic justice and fairness, including active labor market policies, private sector practices, and institutional reforms.

Related Projects


Recent Publications

Oct 2025
INET Working Paper
No. 2025-23 - The Effects of Minimum Wage Increases on Poverty and Food Hardship
Lukas Lehner ,  Hannah Massenbauer ,  Zachary Parolin ,  Rafael Pintro Schmitt
Oct 2025
INET Working Paper
No. 2025-22 - The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty
Zachary Parolin ,  Benjamin Glasner ,  Ronald Mincy ,  Christopher Wimer
Sept 2025
Working Paper
Decoding the city: multiscale spatial information of urban income
Luís M. A. Bettencourt ,  Ivanna Rodriguez ,  Jordan Kemp ,  José Lobo
Sept 2025
Journal
Cultivating trust? The role of European Union investments in bridging rural-urban divides
in Electoral Studies
Paul Maneuvrier-Hervieu ,  Leo Azzollini ,  Anne-Marie Jeannet
Sept 2025
INET Working Paper
Aug 2025
Article
Aug 2025
Policy Briefing
Jul 2025
Working Paper
Cash Transfers, Mental Health and Agency: Evidence from an RCT in Germany
Sandra Bohmann ,  Susann Fiedler ,  Maximilian Kasy ,  Jürgen Schupp ,  Frederik Schwerter
Jul 2025
Journal
The Electoral Appeal of Symbolic Class Signalling Through Cultural Consumption
in British Journal of Political Science
David Weisstanner ,  Sarah Engler
View All Related Publications

Who's Involved