| Has the dispersion of earnings been increasing in recent decades? | Yes, the top decile has risen from 143 per cent of median in 1986 to 186 per cent in 2012. |
| Has overall inequality increased in recent years? | No, the Gini coefficient has been relatively stable around 32 percent since 1996. However, it rose by 7 percentage points between 1988 and 1996. |
| Have there been periods when overall inequality fell for a sustained period? | Yes, from mid-1950s to mid-1970s. |
| Has poverty been falling or rising in recent decades? | Poverty has substantially increased from 1996 to 2004 before decreasing mildly till 2009. |
| Has there been a U-pattern for top income shares over time? | Yes, top gross income shares fell from mid-1950s to mid-1980s, then rose from mid-1980s to mid-1990s. |
| Has the distribution of wealth followed the same pattern as income? | Insufficient evidence. |
| Additional noteworthy features | U-shape over post-war period. Top income shares estimates for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000 are affected by changes in the income tax laws. Top shares series have a break in 1951 (change in tax units). |
You are welcome to share but please refer to A. B. Atkinson and S. Morelli (2014) – ‘The Chartbook of Economic Inequality’ at http://www.ChartbookOfEconomicInequality.com
This visualisation is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license Data visualisation by: Max Roser
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments