Seminar: The Case for Taking a Life-Cycle Perspective: Inequality, Redistribution, and Tax and Benefit Reforms in the UK

Time: 13.00-14.00 hours
Location: CPB-office, Van Stolkweg 14, The Hague

Presentation: Jonathan Shaw (IFS)

Discussant: Mathijn Wilkens (CPB)

Language: English

Registration: Please register by sending an email to seminars@cpb.nl.

Abstract subject
Most analysis of the impact of taxes and benefits on households is cross-sectional, with individuals classified as rich or poor, and gains and losses calculated, using a single snapshot of data. In this report, we argue the case for taking a longer-run perspective. In particular, we show that income and circumstances over longer horizons (such as several years) are likely to form a better basis for measuring living standards. We then demonstrate how common measures of inequality and redistribution, and distributional analyses of tax and benefit reforms, are affected by taking a longer-run perspective. Results from the two perspectives may look quite different from each other and, as a result, we could end up with contrasting impressions of the extent to which the tax and benefit system redistributes from rich to poor.

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