Keeping it in the family: inheritances and inequality

Recent decades have seen rising wealth-to-income ratios. In England, increases in wealth have been concentrated among older generations.

Those born in the 1980s have accumulated no more wealth than those born in the 1970s had done by the same age, but the parents of those born in the 1980s hold 40% more wealth than the parents of those born in the 1970s held at the same age.

One consequence is that inherited wealth is on course to be a much more important determinant of lifetime resources for today’s young than it was for previous generations.

In this episode we speak to James Banks, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester and Senior Research Fellow at IFS, and David Sturrock, Senior Research Economist.