Study into excessive wealth
NEW research shows that people can easily identify what makes you rich, but struggle to agree at what point wealth and income become excessive.
The study, by academics at Loughborough and Birmingham universities and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), asked the public in London what kinds of goods and services represent a wealthy lifestyle.
The report, Living on Different Incomes in London: Can public consensus identify a ‘riches line’?, was commissioned by the poverty and inequality charity, Trust for London.
It is the first time a study like this has been carried out in the UK.
Spending £100 on a bottle of wine, going sailing, collecting antiques, private healthcare, personal trainers, housekeepers, private education and offshore investments were all indicators of having living standards above normal levels of security and comfort – a standard described as ‘wealthy’.
These characteristics of wealth were based on the perceptions of members of the public, who identified five levels of lifestyle, starting with a minimum socially acceptable standard of living (MIS) all the way up to super-rich.
Participants also pointed to nonmaterial advantages of wealth, such as security, power and influence, and freedom of choice.
Lead researcher Abigail Davis, of the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP), at Loughborough, said: “Understanding these multiple dimensions of attitudes towards wealth and riches is crucial for developing policies that tackle poverty and inequality but work with the grain of the aspirations and perceptions of members of the general public.
“There is much public and political discourse around economic inequality.
“But while there is a substantial body of research about attitudes towards, and definitions of, poverty, there is relatively little research about the other end of the spectrum.
“Just as there is a ‘poverty line’, we wanted to find out if there is an identifiable ‘riches line’, and what it means for society as a whole for individuals to have very high income or wealth.”
London was chosen as the location for the study because economic inequality is clearly visible – some 40% of the population in the capital live below the MIS standard.