This paper examines the distribution of top incomes in 15 former British colonies in Africa, drawing on evidence available from income tax records. It seeks to throw light on the position of colonial elites during the period of British rule. Just how uneq

This article describes research on the analysis of the consequences of changes in personal taxation and social security carried out as part of the SSRC Programme on Taxation, Incentives and the Distribution of Income. It shows how data from the Family Expenditure Survey can be used to see who...

Economists are often accused of being narrow specialists, unable to see how their particular area of expertise relates to wider issues. But there is a handful of economists of whom such statements could never be made. Among these is Professor James Meade, who sadly died in December 1995. James...

There has been a large rise in the UK ratio of personal wealth to national income. Personal wealth has grown since the 1970s about twice as fast in real terms as national income. Has this rise in the wealth-income ratio led to a corresponding increase in the wealth being passed on from one...