Money, Money, Money – Is this a Rich Man’s World?

the AMP NATSEM report on Trends in Spatial Inequality, 1996-2001

By National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM)

Many of us empathise with the line in Midnight Oil's song, Read About It, where 'the rich get richer, the poor get the picture'.

Surveys show that people feel that the gap between rich and poor is growing. Is this perception a reality?

This report, following on from the first AMP-NATSEM report on trends in taxable income, examines taxation statistics by postcode to determine the most affluent and poorest areas. It divides postcodes into ten equal groups according to gross income to reveal:

· where the most affluent and poorest areas are

· who has benefited the most from the past few years economic growth and falling unemployment

· how household incomes in 2001 compare with those of 1996

· which regions have fared well and which haven't between 1996 and 2001

· income , education, employment and home ownership differences between the top 10% and bottom 10%