For decades the incomes of the Top 1 per cent pulled away from the rest of society, before crashing back down in the 2008 financial crisis. But what has happened since then? Unfortunately, data on the incomes of the very rich often does a bad job of assessing how much they really receive, with capital gains ignored entirely. However, innovative new research – and a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation, the London School of Economics and CAGE at the University of Warwick – uses confidential tax return data to give a fuller picture of the incomes of the top 1 per cent, how it’s changed over time, and how it changes what we thought we knew about UK inequality in the 2010s. How can we get a better picture of the incomes of the very rich? What has driven the fortunes of the top 1 per cent? Will the current crisis have reduced their income share? And do we need to rethink our attitude towards income inequality in post-pandemic Britain? The Resolution Foundation is hosting an interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the highlights of ground-breaking new research on how to more accurately assess the incomes of the top 1 per cent, leading experts will debate the lessons policy makers should draw. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event. You may also be interested in the related policy brief and academic working paper from Warwick University.
