The authors document trends in pre-tax individual income inequality and disposable income inequality amongst the working-age population in France since the late 1960s, based on household surveys. Inequalities in disposable income fell during the 1960s and 1970s, before stabilising thereafter. This trend can be partly explained by changes to the Socio-fiscal system / tax-and-transfer system, notably alterations to employers’ social security contributions, as well as by changes to the national minimum wage. However, other factors paint a less favourable picture: people on low incomes are now more likely to be immigrants, to have a low level of education and to live in households where no adult is in employment.
What lies behind France’s low level of income inequality?
This article was published in *Fiscal Studies*, *The Journal of Applied Public Economics*.
Reference Fiscal Studies. Vol. 45. No. 3.
