Calculations not reported here confirm that, in all of the countries analysed, the extent of re-ranking is greatest at the bottom of the income distribution. They find remarkably stable inequality aversion for Ireland over the 1987-2005 period, and large changes for the United Kingdom (becoming less egalitarian during the Thatcher government and more inequality-averse during New Labour). In the context of policy evaluation, the usefulness of such an approach is, however, limited, as it assumes that actual tax and transfer systems in each year are “optimal” and therefore cannot be improved upon by definition.