One of a series of papers prepared in the context of our second 'conversation', funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), on issues related to possible constitutional change in Scotland.
Report that sets out Save the Children’s view of why income must remain a key part of measuring and tackling child poverty. This is based on their longstanding belief that low income is central to the experience of poverty.
The report also looks at the progress that has been made in reducing child poverty to date and argues that efforts to suggest the 2020 targets cannot be met are premature. It concludes that income based measures of poverty, including the internationally recognised relative income measure, must remain central to anti-poverty approaches.
Paper that argues that the current measure of child poverty is inadequate, and that it fails to acknowledge that poverty is about much more than a lack of income.
Report that presents the emerging trends in the employment patterns of single parents since the introduction of targeted welfare-to-work interventions in 2008. It examines how prevailing labour market conditions, the provision of childcare services and back-to-work support from Jobcentre Plus (JCP) will impact on the ability of this group of single parents with younger children to move off unemployment benefits and into work.
Report concerned with the impact of future changes in employment structures and pay patterns on income inequality and poverty.
The report findings suggest that:
• relative poverty and inequality are set to rise by 2020 as a result of changes to the structure of employment and future changes in the tax and benefit system
• absolute poverty is likely to be aff ected very little by those changes
• to mitigate increases in poverty and inequality, a very precise and targeted approach to policy, focusing on households in poverty, will be required.
Report that looks at what has changed in the two-and-a-half years since the last report in 2009. It examines low income, work, benefits and education. What emerges is a complex picture. There has been continued long-term improvement in some areas and persistent problems in others.
There are variations both between and within geographical areas and population groups. In all of this, there is the sense that while the position is no worse than three years ago,it is also no better, and Northern Ireland is now faced by the uncertainties of public sector cuts and welfare reform.
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?
In a simple 2-period model of relative income under uncertainty, higher comparison income for the younger cohort can signal higher or lower expected lifetime relative income, and hence either increase or decrease well-being. With data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Survey, this paper confirms the standard negative effects of comparison income on life satisfaction with all age groups, and many controls.
Paper which provides evidence on the key challenges faced by families today as members attempt to manage work and care, and critically examines policy solutions and initiatives, offered by governments, employers and civil society actors to ensure work-family balance.
Paper that considers the prospects for the living standards of households with children over the period from 2010 to 2015. It analyses the impact of tax and benefit changes on these households’ incomes and on parents’ incentives to undertake paid work and to increase their earnings.