Inequality and the super-rich

Abstract

Over the recent decades there has been a dramatic rise in top income shares in most Western countries. Several explanations have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, some pointing at the role of market-driven forces such as technology and globalization, while others emphasize the importance of political and economic institutions of taxation or changing social norms about income differences in society. This lecture presents the latest academic research about the evolution of top income and wealth positions around the Western world, what we know about the central determinants and how economic policy contributes to shaping these outcomes.