Anthony B. Atkinson (1944-)

This article highlights Tony Atkinson’s fundamental and original contributions to economics in general, and to public economics and the analysis of economic inequality in particular, as well as his original and innovative empirical analysis of economic inequalities, and of their relationship to economic institutions such as the welfare state. Tony’s work has brought the analysis of distributional issues back to a central position in economics. It is no overstatement to say that the modern analysis of economic inequality started with his 1970 Journal of Economic Theory paper. Tony’s approach to economics distinctively integrates theory and data, and a keen appreciation of history and policy.