wages

Paper that steps back from the current annual debate about the appropriate but small rise in the value of the minimum wage to ask a bolder question: are there more radical reforms of the minimum wage that could raise living standards in the years ahead? It discusses what happens in labour markets where the minimum wage is much higher than it is in Britain today. It also asks whether a smarter design could do more to benefit the groups that are most in need of higher wages?

Study investigating how women's life stages and work and family experiences affect their long-term financial needs and how the changing role of women in society impacts on these.

Report investigating the extent of the social and economic costs associated with the issue of socially excluded young people in the UK and concluding that interventions helping young people get into employment, education or training can considerably reduce the costs of social exclusion.

Paper exploring the links between school, family and environmental background influences during adolescence and later adult economic outcomes.

Paper offering a critique of the New Deal scheme for the unemployed in the UK. It argues that the policy can be made more effective if the structure of the welfare-to-work system is changed to more closely reflect economic realities. It recommends aligning the institutions of the welfare-to-work system with the needs of employers and the disadvantaged which should have the effect of providing better jobs for the low-skilled and better workers for the private sector.

Report summarising the main findings of a research project which analysed the long-term consequences of mental health problems which arise in childhood and adolescence using longitudinal data.

Report considering the nature of low pay and job segregation between men and women. It looks at who disadvantaged women are and the impact their different backgrounds and experiences might have on their employment prospects.