Changing distribution of wealth

Funded by: The Nuffield Foundation

Contact: Francesca Bastagli, Frank Cowell, John Hills, Eleni Karagiannaki and Abigail McKnight

Both the inequality of the UK personal wealth distribution and the relative value of wealth have increased in the last two decades. At the same time, distinct policy changes have been made in education finance, pensions policy, personal care, social security entitlement, and housing that make people’s asset position more important, alongside new “asset-based welfare” policies.  Heated debates centre on taxation of wealth and wealth transfers.

Our aim is an integrated study of the drivers of the changing wealth distribution as they affect the main body of the population, mapping out the changes that have occurred, evidence on their wider implications, and identifying key factors that may drive future trends. The aim is to better inform the debate, and to enrich the evidence-base. An important part of the output will be an integrated analysis of the range of policy options across different policy areas that are normally considered in isolation.