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, and there is little sign that this has been reversed by the current economic crisis. 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.
