What works to mitigate and reduce relative (and absolute) inequality? A systematic review

Abstract

Over the past two decades, research on the impacts of a diverse range of public policies and income inequality has seen rapid growth. Despite the large number of publications to date, there remain important lacunae in our understanding of how policy interventions might help to reduce income inequality. This paper aims to fill this void by providing a systematic literature review of 270 publications that examine four key policy areas: (1) tax policy, (2) social benefits, (3) labour market interventions, and (4) education policy. We describe patterns of empirical findings and implications drawn from the reviewed publications. The strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature are also discussed, along with potential future research avenues.