The study of equality/inequality, socioeconomic positions is complex and involves taking into account issues from a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences. The Handbook of Inequality and SocioEconomic Position: Concepts and Measures is such a book that is cross disciplinary in scope, bringing together a range of key concepts and measures as tools for describing and assessing outcomes according to socioeconomic positions. It is useful reading for anybody concerned about the impact of inequality and socioeconomic positions on people's life chances, such as in health, living standards, educational achievements, work experiences and the integration of all aspects of social life and it develops understanding of how these variables interrelate and impact on each other and how to measure these impacts and relations.

The book encompasses four chapters. The first highlights some 20 major concepts regarding the subject area; entries include general inter-disciplinary concepts such as inequality/equality, inequity/equity, deprivation/poverty, segregation, social stratification, social class, social exclusion and mobility as well as more discipline specific terminologies within health studies, such as health equity audits, lay epidemiology etc. The meanings and use of these key terms and concepts are explained and, wherever appropriate, examples are drawn from relevant research studies with discussion points raised to reflect the key debates centred on certain terms and concepts. For example, under the entry for ‘Inequality/equality’, following the introduction of what the term means generally, three remarks are presented on equality from a former Conservative Party leader, a US journalist and a campaigner for inequality (p. 11) to suggest that there exists conflicting theories/understandings on what inequality means and what should be used to measure the extent of inequality. Thus, it provokes readers to consider these conflicting issues and propositions and allows space for readers to develop their beliefs.

Chapters 2 and 3 list measures of socioeconomic positions and inequality with 32 entries and 13 entries respectively, in which a good breadth of coverage of statistical measures is presented. For indicators such as income, education, house wealth, overcrowding, housing tenure, each entry not only touches upon the meaning and significance of these measures but also how these measures correlate with each other and includes reliable reference sources for statistics about these indicators. As for more statistically complex measures, such as National Statistics Socioeconomic Classification (NS-SEC), Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure (NIMDM), Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD), and Slope Index of Inequality (SII), detailed descriptions are provided accompanied with graphs demonstrating the classification and weighting of each measure. The application of the measure is then discussed using examples from inequality research and the strengths and weaknesses of each measure are assessed. These two chapters would be particularly useful for scholars looking for statistical evidence for assessing equality outcomes. For instance, if one is to look at the relationship between occupational inequality and socioeconomic position, entries listed on Income, Job insecurity, Registrar General's Social Classes (RGSC) and Cambridge Social Interaction and Stratification Scale (CAMSIS) would be valuable information sources. The final chapter is on ‘theoretical and methodological issues’, which covers ‘generic epidemiological concepts that are helpful in the interpretation of inequalities’ (p. 1), including the ‘Atomistic fallacy’, ‘Ecological fallacy’ etc.

The book has a comprehensive collection of key measurements on socioeconomic inequality and one of the strengths of the book lies in the clear structure of each entry, i.e. each term is well explained, illustrated by examples with its strengths and weaknesses evaluated to guide understanding and appropriate use. The ‘discussion points’ presented in the entries in Chapter 1, which reflect key debates centred on some key terms and concepts, are thought provoking and engaging. References are provided for all entries in the book with further reading suggested, which would be useful should readers want to pursue in more depth any area of socioeconomic inequality. All entries in each chapter are listed alphabetically, and cross-referencing across sections effectively avoids fragmentation between related concepts/measures and thus maintains the coherence and thoroughness of the book.

All in all, the book provides a useful reference for looking up a range of key concepts and measures describing and assessing the outcome of inequality and socioeconomic positions. Its comprehensive coverage is useful for those who are interested in understanding the impact of social and economic inequalities. The expertise in health inequality research that the authors have drawn on is valuable. A range of readers − from students and researchers to policy makers, journalists and practitioners − will benefit from the book.