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Living on Different Incomes in London: Can public consensus identify a 'riches line'?

Author

Listed:
  • Tania Burchardt
  • Abigail Davis
  • Ian Gough
  • Katharina Hecht
  • Donald Hirsch
  • Karen Rowlingson
  • Kate Summers

Abstract

London is home to vast and visible economic inequality, where the richest 10 per cent own 61 per cent of overall wealth, while at the same time four in ten Londoners do not earn enough for what is considered by the public to be a decent standard of living. This study sought to explore opinions about what constituted a standard of living that could be considered 'fully flourishing', and, by extension, if there was a point beyond that at which individual or household resources could be identified as being excessive. The findings provide thought-provoking insights into how people think about the protection wealth and higher incomes offer, and the judgements they make about the 'deservingness' of different sources of wealth and the uses to which it is put.

Suggested Citation

  • Tania Burchardt & Abigail Davis & Ian Gough & Katharina Hecht & Donald Hirsch & Karen Rowlingson & Kate Summers, 2020. "Living on Different Incomes in London: Can public consensus identify a 'riches line'?," CASE Reports casereport127, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:sticar:casereport127
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    File URL: https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cr/casereport127.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mcknight, Abigail, 2019. "Understanding the relationship between poverty, inequality and growth: a review of existing evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103458, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Marcelo Medeiros, 2006. "The Rich and the Poor: The Construction of an Affluence Line from the Poverty Line," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 78(1), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Ingrid Robeyns, 2019. "What, if Anything, is Wrong with Extreme Wealth?," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 251-266, July.
    4. Atkinson, Anthony B., 2015. "Inequality what can be done?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101810, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Hills, John & Mcknight, Abigail & Bucelli, Irene & Karagiannaki, Eleni & Vizard, Polly & Yang, Lin & Duque, Magali & Rucci, Mark, 2019. "Understanding the relationship between poverty and inequality: overview report," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100396, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Abigail McKnight, 2019. "Understanding the relationship between poverty, inequality and growth: a review of existing evidence," CASE Papers /216, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
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    Cited by:

    1. Karen Rowlingson & Amrita Sood & Trinh Tu, 2021. "Public attitudes to a wealth tax: the importance of ‘capacity to pay’," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 431-455, September.
    2. Andy Summers, 2021. "Ways of taxing wealth: alternatives and interactions," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 485-507, September.
    3. Horn, Stefan & Gough, Ian & Rogers, Charlotte & Tunstall, Rebecca, 2025. "Meeting housing needs within planetary boundaries: A UK case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    4. Gough, Ian, 2021. "Two scenarios for sustainable welfare: new ideas for an eco-social contract," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112594, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Summers, Kate & Accominotti, Fabien & Burchardt, Tania & Hecht, Katharina & Mann, Elizabeth & Mijs, Jonathan J.B, 2022. "Deliberating inequality: a blueprint for studying the social formation of beliefs about economic inequality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114591, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Ellie Benton & Anne Power, 2021. "CASE Annual Report 2020," CASE Reports casereport136, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    7. Ingrid Robeyns & Vincent Buskens & Arnout Rijt & Nina Vergeldt & Tanja Lippe, 2021. "How Rich is Too Rich? Measuring the Riches Line," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 115-143, February.

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