Income inequality in the UK: comparisons with five large Western European countries and the USA

Journal article

This paper concentrates on the 1% richest households in the UK in a comparison with the other four large Western European countries: Germany, France, Italy and Spain. In the European context the UK is an outlier of extreme inequality. Individual level tax data has shown this previously, but earlier research did not make comparisons at the household level, or in as much detail as it is possible to show now given new survey findings.

In the UK the geographical separation of the 1% from mainstream society increased in recent decades as their incomes levels diverged widely from that of the mainstream. There is now acute socioeconomic polarization in the UK as compared to the other large European states because of the current extent of income and wealth inequalities in the UK. Not so long ago members of the best-off 1% within the UK were far more evenly spread across both the space and society of the UK than they are today.

The UK is now the European country most similar to the USA in terms of income inequalities. Along with Sweden it was least like the USA in the 1960s. This paper concludes by considering what might happen (if current trends continue) to standards of living in general, social spatial polarization, fear and mistrust. Growing income inequalities increase wealth inequalities. Some info-graphics aimed at showing the contemporary extent of wealth inequalities in the UK and USA are presented in conclusion and for use in teaching.

Authors: Dorling, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Applied Geography
• Volume: 61
• Pages: 24–34
• Publication date: 2015-02-25
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.02.004
• ISSN: 0143-6228
• Language: English
• Keywords: inequality; Italy; France; United Kingdom; United States; Germany