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Income Inequality Has Risen Since the 1980s, Driven by Increased Inequality in Labor Market Earnings

• Much of this increase has been driven by increased concentrations in the top 1 percent of the income distribution.

Inequality and inequality of opportunity are correlated across countries.

• However, measures for inequality of opportunity do not show the same consistently upward trend that was experienced by income inequality.
• Antipoverty policies implemented in the United States over the last five decades may have helped stave off poverty and inequality of opportunity despite labor market trends.

Not All Policies That Affect Inequality Will Have the Same Impact on Inequality of Opportunity

• There are no direct measurements that allow us to gauge the current impact of policies on inequality of opportunity.