IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cge/wacage/610.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Measuring top income shares in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Advani, Arun

    (University of Warwick, CAGE, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), and the LSE International Inequalities Institute (III))

  • Summers, Andy

    (London School of Economics, LSE III, CAGE and IFS)

  • Tarrant, Hannah

    (London School of EconomicsLSE III.)

Abstract

Information about the share of total income held by the richest 1%, or other top income groups, is increasingly used to discuss inequality levels and trends within and between nations. A top income share is the ratio of the total income held by the top income group divided by total personal income (the ‘income control total’). We compare two approaches to estimating income control totals: the ‘external’ approach used by the World Inequality Database, and an augmented ‘internal’ approach. We argue in favour of the latter, with reference to five desirable properties that a top share series would ideally possess. The choice matters: our augmented ‘internal’ approach yields estimates of the UK top 1% share that are around 2 percentage points higher than the ‘external’ approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Advani, Arun & Summers, Andy & Tarrant, Hannah, 2022. "Measuring top income shares in the UK," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 610, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:610
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/wp610.2022.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xavier Gabaix & Jean‐Michel Lasry & Pierre‐Louis Lions & Benjamin Moll, 2016. "The Dynamics of Inequality," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84, pages 2071-2111, November.
    2. Garbinti, Bertrand & Goupille-Lebret, Jonathan & Piketty, Thomas, 2018. "Income inequality in France, 1900–2014: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts (DINA)," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 63-77.
    3. James Browne & David Phillips, 2017. "Estimating the size and nature of responses to changes in income tax rates on top incomes in the UK: a panel analysis," IFS Working Papers W17/13, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    4. Simon Kuznets & Elizabeth Jenks, 1953. "Shares of Upper Income Groups in Income and Savings (1953)," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kuzn53-1.
    5. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "Distributional National Accounts: Methods and Estimates for the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(2), pages 553-609.
    6. Daniel R. Feenberg & James M. Poterba, 1993. "Income Inequality and the Incomes of Very High-Income Taxpayers: Evidence from Tax Returns," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 7, pages 145-177, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Simon Kuznets & Elizabeth Jenks, 1953. "Shares of Upper Income Groups in Savings," NBER Chapters, in: Shares of Upper Income Groups in Income and Savings (1953), pages 171-218, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Charles I. Jones & Jihee Kim, 2018. "A Schumpeterian Model of Top Income Inequality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(5), pages 1785-1826.
    9. A. B. Atkinson & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2020. "A Different Perspective on the Evolution of UK Income Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 66(2), pages 253-266, June.
    10. Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty, 2007. "Top incomes over the twentieth century: A contrast between continental european and english-speaking countries," Post-Print halshs-00754859, HAL.
    11. Advani, Arun & Summers, Andy, 2020. "Capital Gains and UK Inequality," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1260, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    12. Richard V. Burkhauser & Shuaizhang Feng & Stephen P. Jenkins & Jeff Larrimore, 2012. "Recent Trends in Top Income Shares in the United States: Reconciling Estimates from March CPS and IRS Tax Return Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(2), pages 371-388, May.
    13. Johns, Andrew & Slemrod, Joel, 2010. "The Distribution of Income Tax Noncompliance," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 63(3), pages 397-418, September.
    14. Anthony Atkinson & Tahnee Ooms, 2015. "UK Estimates of Top Income Shares 2012-2013: Note on Methods," Technical Notes 201504, World Inequality Lab.
    15. Maryse Fesseau & Maria Liviana Mattonetti, 2013. "Distributional Measures Across Household Groups in a National Accounts Framework: Results from an Experimental Cross-country Exercise on Household Income, Consumption and Saving," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2013/4, OECD Publishing.
    16. Atkinson, A. B. & Piketty, Thomas (ed.), 2007. "Top Incomes Over the Twentieth Century: A Contrast Between Continental European and English-Speaking Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199286881.
    17. Richard Burkhauser & Markus Hahn & Roger Wilkins, 2015. "Measuring top incomes using tax record data: a cautionary tale from Australia," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(2), pages 181-205, June.
    18. Richard Tonkin & Sean White & Sofiya Stoyanova & Aly Youssef & Sunny Valentineo Sidhu & Chris Payne, 2020. "Developing Indicators of Inequality and Poverty Consistent with National Accounts," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Distribution and Mobility of Income and Wealth, pages 605-624, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Gerald Auten & David Splinter, 2019. "Top 1 Percent Income Shares: Comparing Estimates Using Tax Data," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 307-311, May.
    20. Facundo Alvaredo, 2017. "UK Estimates of Top Income Shares 2013-2014 and 2014-2015," Technical Notes 201702, World Inequality Lab.
    21. Wiemer Salverda, 2013. "Extending the Top-Income Shares for the Netherlands from 1999 to 2012: An explanatory note," Technical Notes 201304, World Inequality Lab.
    22. Thomas Piketty, 2003. "Income Inequality in France, 1901-1998," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1004-1042, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Advani, Arun & Summers, Andy & Tarrant, Hannah, 2020. "Measuring UK top incomes," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 490, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    2. Bartels, Charlotte & Waldenström, Daniel, 2021. "Inequality and top incomes," GLO Discussion Paper Series 959, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Thomas Blanchet & Juliette Fournier & Thomas Piketty, 2022. "Generalized Pareto Curves: Theory and Applications," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 263-288, March.
    4. Piketty, Thomas & Bozio, Antoine & Garbinti, Bertrand & Goupille-Lebret, Jonathan & Guillot, Malka, 2020. "Predistribution vs. Redistribution: Evidence from France and the U.S," CEPR Discussion Papers 15415, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    6. Bukowski, Pawel & Novokmet, Filip, 2019. "Between communism and capitalism: long-term inequality in Poland, 1892-2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102834, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Pawel Bukowski & Filip Novokmet, 2019. "Between Communism and Capitalism: Long-Term Inequality in Poland, 1892- 2015," Working Papers hal-02876995, HAL.
    8. Anthony B. Atkinson & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "Top Incomes in the Long Run of History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-71, March.
    9. Rafael Carranza & Marc Morgan & Brian Nolan, 2023. "Top Income Adjustments and Inequality: An Investigation of the EU‐SILC," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(3), pages 725-754, September.
    10. Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Emmanuel Chavez & Gerardo Esquivel, 2017. "Growth is (really) good for the (really) rich," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(12), pages 2639-2675, December.
    11. Atanu Ghoshray & Issam Malki & Javier Ordóñez, 2022. "On the long-run dynamics of income and wealth inequality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 375-408, February.
    12. Lucas Chancel, 2019. "Ten facts about income inequality in advanced economies," Working Papers hal-02876982, HAL.
    13. Diego Winkelried & Bruno Escobar, 2022. "Declining inequality in Latin America? Robustness checks for Peru," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 223-243, March.
    14. Antoine Bozio & Bertrand Garbinti & Jonathan Goupille-Lebret & Malka Guillot & Thomas Piketty, 2018. "Inequality and Redistribution in France, 1990-2018: Evidence from Post-Tax Distributional National Accounts (DINA)," Working Papers hal-02878151, HAL.
    15. Facundo Alvaredo, 2007. "The Rich in Argentina over the twentieth century: From the Conservative Republic to the Peronist experience and beyond 1932-2004," Working Papers halshs-00588318, HAL.
    16. Mulholland, Sean, 2018. "Income Inequality in the United States," Working Papers 04022, George Mason University, Mercatus Center.
    17. Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2022. "Twenty Years and Counting: Thoughts about Measuring the Upper Tail," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(1), pages 255-264, March.
    18. Muhammed Abdul Khalid & Li Yang, 2019. "Income Inequality and Ethnic Cleavages in Malaysia: Evidence from Distributional National Accounts (1984-2014)," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02876992, HAL.
    19. Saez, Emmanuel & Alvaredo, Facundo, 2006. "Income and Wealth Concentration in Spain in a Historical and Fiscal Perspective," CEPR Discussion Papers 5836, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Facundo Alvaredo & Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2017. "Global Inequality Dynamics: New Findings from WID.world," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 404-409, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    income inequality; measurement; national accounts; top shares JEL Classification:;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:610. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Jane Snape (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dewaruk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.