The Formation of Distributions of Income and Wealth
The Formation of Distributions of Income and Wealth
The distributions of personal income and holdings of wealth that have been examined earlier in the book have salient features in common: wealth is much more unequally distributed than income, but the form of distribution is similar. There are three ways of asking how the distributions came to take that form; these overlap, but there may be an advantage in following separate approaches to these in an initial examination. The three approaches are examined in the next four sections of the chapter: the first looks at the components of distributions, since there are various distinct sources of inequality; and the second examines the mathematical properties of that form, hoping to find in those properties a guide to the actual processes of formulation in everyday life; and the third and fourth consider the formation of distributions as an ongoing process, addressing incomes and wealth separately. These four sections give examples from various countries. The last section of the chapter examines ‘great fortunes’, since it is clear that the biggest incomes and wealth holdings form a distinct system; most of the examples given are from British history, and look at both transmitted wealth and fortunes built up by their holders.
Keywords: Britain, components of distributions, form of distribution, formation of distribution, fortunes, great fortunes, income distribution, mathematical properties, statistics, UK, wealth distribution
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
