Does income inequality cause health and social problems?

Should income inequality worry us?

The UK witnessed a dramatic growth in income inequality in the 1980s, and since then the level of inequality has increased further, though at a slower rate. But should we be concerned about this? This report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation provides an independent review of the evidence about the impact of inequality, paying particular attention to the evidence and arguments put forward in 'The Spirit Level' by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (2009). The research examines:

• whether or not there is a link between income inequality and health and social problems;
• who might be most affected by income inequality; and
• other possible impacts of income inequality, for example, on the economy.

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