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The Distribution of Top Earnings in the UK since the Second World War
Author(s) -
ATKINSON A. B.,
VOITCHOVSKY S.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
economica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.532
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1468-0335
pISSN - 0013-0427
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2010.00846.x
Subject(s) - earnings , distribution (mathematics) , perspective (graphical) , contrast (vision) , economics , period (music) , demographic economics , accounting , mathematics , computer science , art , mathematical analysis , geometry , artificial intelligence , aesthetics
Much of the change in individual earnings has occurred at the top. This paper provides new evidence about the earnings distribution in the UK. The evidence is new in that it provides detail about what has happened within the top 10%, covering groups such as the top 1% and the top 0.5%. The aim is to set the recent rise in top earnings in historical perspective, and to make international comparisons. The evidence is new in that it covers the whole of the postwar period, allowing a contrast to be drawn with the ‘golden age’ of the 1950s.