The Inheritance Of Inequality

Originally published in 1980 at a time when the discipline of sociology was still relatively young in Australia, The Inheritance of Inequality is an important contribution to the study of social mobility in Australia. The book is based on findings from a survey of nearly 5,000 Australians who were interviewed about their family backgrounds and occupational careers. In its scope and sample size, the survey was unique among non-governmental Australian studies. It went beyond the findings of earlier surveys, giving broader understanding of social mobility and stratification. The book sets out the processes by which Australians have found their place in the world of work in the 20th Century. Factors tending to enhance or frustrate attainment are identified and the degree to which Australia is an egalitarian society is assessed.

Modern Britain is characterised by marked inequalities in the distribution of wealth, which continue to fuel controversy and arouse strong, if adverse, feelings. Originally published in 1979, Inheritance and Wealth Inequality in Britain provides detailed evidence on the relative importance of inherited and self-made wealth. It is the first major work in the field since Wedgwood’s pioneering study in 1929, and represents a major contribution to current debates on justice and inequality. The study is based on more than fifteen years of detective work on successive generations of the wealthy. Professors Harbury and Hitchens have searched through the public records of registered wills, contacted relatives, executors and solicitors and have even tramped through graveyards in order to build up their picture of how wealth is actually transmitted from generation to generation. Results of this research challenge the commonly held view that inheritance is no longer a main force in the perpetuation of wealth and demonstrate unquestionably that it remains a factor of paramount importance. The book helps to answer such questions as: what proportion of wealthy men and wealthy women are self-made? Do the rich tend to marry the rich? Which industries tend to favour self-made as against inherited wealth? What are the chances today of inheriting or dissipating a fortune? Inheritance and Wealth Inequality in Britain is essential reading for those academically and professionally concerned with policymaking on income and wealth distribution and with the tax system; and to students taking courses in welfare economics, public finance and the sociology of class. It is also an important contribution to the history of modern Britain.

'Unequal Chances' explores the influence of family background on the achievement of economic success in the US. Contributors discuss education, genetic inheritance of IQ, racial influences, inheritance of wealth, and parent-offspring similarities in personality and behaviour.

Originally published in 1980 at a time when the discipline of sociology was still relatively young in Australia, The Inheritance of Inequality is an important contribution to the study of social mobility in Australia. The book is based on findings from a survey of nearly 5,000 Australians who were interviewed about their family backgrounds and occupational careers. In its scope and sample size, the survey was unique among non-governmental Australian studies. It went beyond the findings of earlier surveys, giving broader understanding of social mobility and stratification. The book sets out the processes by which Australians have found their place in the world of work in the 20th Century. Factors tending to enhance or frustrate attainment are identified and the degree to which Australia is an egalitarian society is assessed.

Inheritance as a determinant of personal wealth: Inferences from data on married men and women; implications of the life cycle hypothese and the wealth age association. Intergenerational wealth relationships.

Daniel Halliday examines the moral grounding of the right to bequeath or transfer wealth. He engages with contemporary concerns about wealth inequality, class hierarchy, and taxation, while also drawing on the history of the egalitarian, utilitarian, and liberal traditions in political philosophy. He presents an egalitarian case for restricting inherited wealth, arguing that unrestricted inheritance is unjust to the extent that it enables and enhances the intergenerational replication of inequality. Here, inequality is understood in a group-based sense: the unjust effects of inheritance are principally in its tendency to concentrate certain opportunities into certain groups. This results in what Halliday describes as 'economic segregation'. He defends a specific proposal about how to tax inherited wealth: roughly, inheritance should be taxed more heavily when it comes from old money. He rebuts some sceptical arguments against inheritance taxes, and makes suggestions about how tax schemes should be designed.