The gap between rich and poor keeps widening. Growth, if any, has disproportionally benefited higher income groups … while lower income households have been left behind. This long-run increase in income inequality not only raises social and … the rest of society. Lower income people have been prevented from realising their human capital potential, which is bad …

income. We also assess the outcomes in terms of poverty rates. Instead of moving traditionally step by step from families …' market income to final disposable income, we choose a stepwise way to analyse the impact on poverty rates of income from … different sources, from men's earnings income to combined spouses' income, and income from the welfare state in relation to …