A day of discussions and public events celebrating Tony Atkinson's life and work, and in particular his 2015 book, Inequality - What can be done?, took place on Friday 16 February 2018.
Tony Atkinson and Inequality Policy: What Can Be Done?
In his book, Tony Atkinson set out 15 policy proposals for inequality reduction plus several 'ideas to pursue', arguing that the measures were both desirable and feasible.
The proposals can be grouped into three main areas - labour market, capital market, taxation and social security - and these formed the themes of the first three sessions of the day. The fourth session considered 'international perspectives' - for though Tony's proposals were largely formulated with the UK in mind, he was an internationalist.
The day ended with the fifth and final session, entitled What Can be Done to Reduce Inequality? This special public event, with Rachel Lomax, Ed Miliband, and David Willetts, and chaired by John Hills, was a panel discussion, looking at the practical politics of introducing inequality reduction policies. The event was followed by a reception, and was attended by members of Tony's family.
Presentations from the sessions are available to download from the links below, along with videos of the What Can be Done to Reduce Inequality? panel discussion, and tributes from Amartya Sen and Peter Diamond.
- Programme
- Presentations
- Tribute from Amartya Sen (YouTube)
- Tribute from Peter Diamond (YouTube)
- Tony Atkinson Memorial Event - Afternoon Session
Audio of session C. Taxation and social security and D. International perspectives - What Can be Done to Reduce Inequality? (YouTube)
A video of the public event, hosted by the Department of Social Policy, the International Inequalities Institute and STICERD. - What Can be Done to Reduce Inequality?
An audio recording of the panel discussion.
A memoire by Tony’s wife, Judith Mandeville Atkinson, can be found here.
A memory wall of comments and reminiscences from colleagues and friends is available here.