Old versions of the Chartbook

The current Chartbook builds on two earlier versions:

2012

2014

What’s new in the 2017 version?

It is worth stressing that the 2017 version of the Chartbook of Economic Inequality contains important differences with respect to its preceding versions.
First of all, all series have been updated, extending the coverage in time, both forward and backward whenever possible.

Second, the reliability of all data has been re-assessed leading to the omission of a few series previously included and the replacement of specific data where a more compelling substitute has become available or otherwise brought to our attention. In some cases, amendments have been made in the way different series are linked together, or links to additional series have been introduced in order to provide a more consistent long-run view.

Third, all original sources have been individually verified and provided in a separate sources sheet for each country, from which the Chartbook series are calculated, so as to allow for full replicability. This has led to some modest revisions of some Chartbook series where rounded figures had been used previously.

This important additional information can now be found online which, we hope, will increase both the reliability of the Chartbook series and transparency in terms of how they have been constructed. This provision will also allow users to make use of the original sources in alternative ways, should they find anything to question amongst the judgements that have been made when combing series. Note that hyperlinks to original data sources and references are also directly provided, wherever possible, both within the ‘sources’ sheets of the spreadsheet and the sources description for each country.