Advani, Arun, Summers, Andrew 
ORCID: 0000-0002-4978-7743 and Tarrant, Hannah
(2021)
Measuring UK top incomes.
CAGE Working Paper (490).
University of Warwick, Warwick, UK.
Abstract
We compare two approaches to measuring UK top income shares—the share of income going to particular subgroups, such as the top 1%. We set out four criteria that an ideal top share series should satisfy: (i) comparability between numerator and denominator; (ii) comparability over time; (iii) international comparability; and (iv) practical sustainability. Our preferred approach meets three of these; by contrast the approach currently used to produce UK fiscal income series meets none of them. Changing to our preferred approach matters quantitatively: the share of income going to the top 1% is 2 percentage points higher, but rising more slowly, than under the alternative.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Working Paper) |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/c... |
| Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors |
| Divisions: | Law |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory |
| JEL classification: | D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution > D31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E0 - General > E01 - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H20 - General |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Feb 2022 11:57 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Apr 2024 07:59 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/113615 |
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