Inequality remains stubbornly high, economists find

High levels of poverty among low-income families with few options to change their circumstances is emerging as a major social policy problem for New Zealand, according to an economic think tank report.

It says that while income inequality has not changed significantly over the past 20 years, poverty rates among NZ households with children are “relatively high compared to other OECD countries in Europe”.

The report, Peak Inequality?, was compiled by the NZ Institute for Economic Research and economists from Victoria University of Wellington. It analyses around 50 years of data on NZ wages and household incomes.