Leveraging Policy Data and Harmonized Survey Data to Protect Health and Economic Security:...
Inequality
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11/10/2012
What drives growing inequalities?
Growing income and wealth inequalities in European and other developed countries are being driven by a complex range of factors, according to researchers working on a European Commission-funded project. Their report summarises the findings of a number of separate studies looking at inequalities in income, wealth and education.
Category: Reports -
05/10/2012
Policy commission launched on wealth distribution
Birmingham University has announced the launch of a Policy Commission on the Distribution of Wealth. The Commission, chaired by David Urquhart (Bishop of Birmingham), will review existing knowledge about the distribution of personal wealth across different groups in society.
The Commission will focus on three particular kinds of personal wealth: pensions; housing/property; and financial savings/investments. It will consider whether the outcomes of wealth inequality cause socio-economic problems and social divisions, or whether there are advantages to an unequal distribution of wealth – for example, in creating incentives for entrepreneurs or others to create economic growth.
Finally, the Commission will move on to consider policy options, such as how to spread opportunities to accumulate wealth; how to redistribute wealth; and how to mitigate any negative impacts of wealth inequality.
Category: News stories -
03/10/2012
Paradox in attitudes to inequality and redistribution
People living in unequal societies are more likely to support redistribution, but this may not always translate into political action, according to a European research project. A new paper summarises different strands in the project's findings on how inequalities in income and wealth affect 'political and cultural' outcomes – including people's perceptions of inequality, and their attitudes to redistribution.
Category: Reports -
24/09/2012
Welfare states ‘reduce inequality growth’
Welfare states have reduced the recent growth in income inequality by around two-thirds through benefit systems and social transfers, according to new study. In contrast, tax systems over the period examined actually contributed to greater inequality.
The paper investigates income distribution and redistribution attributed to social transfers and taxes across 20 developed countries from around 1985 to the mid-2000s, based on household income data from the Luxembourg Income Study. It differs from earlier studies in that the total population is taken into consideration, instead of just those of working age.
Category: Reports -
17/09/2012
Rising profits linked to inequality and poverty
A rise in the share of national income taken by profits is linked to a rise in income inequality and poverty, says a new research study for the United Nations. The main contributory factors are policies that promote economic 'liberalisation' and deregulation, and in general the 'slow erosion' of the welfare state.
The study draws on high-quality and homogeneous datasets for 26 developed countries (compiled by the United Nations and the OECD), together with secondary sources.
Category: Reports -
13/09/2012
Income inequality ‘causing economic stagnation’
Income inequality is one of the main culprits behind continuing economic stagnation in the USA, Europe and throughout the world, according to a United Nations report. It says reducing inequality through fiscal and incomes policies is key to promoting economic growth and development.
Category: Reports -
12/09/2012
One in five children in USA living in poverty
More than one in five children in the USA are living in poverty, according to new figures released by the official Census Bureau. The report also reveals growing inequality between 2010 and 2011, and a decline in median household income.
Category: Reports -
11/09/2012
Poor Britain
In Poor Britain (1985) Joanna Mack and Stewart Lansley set out the ‘consensual’ approach to poverty pioneered in the 1983 Breadline Britain survey. They introduce the concept of ‘socially perceived necessities’ and distinguish between those who lack necessities from choice and those who can’t afford them. They define poverty as ‘an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities’. Poor Britain is now out of print but you can download this influential book by clicking on the links below. We have provided both the full book, 324 pages, as one PDF, and each chapter and appendices as separate PDFs for download.
Copyright remains with J.H. Mack and S. Lansley. Please cite ‘J. Mack and S. Lansley (1985) Poor Britain, London, George Allen & Unwin’ if quoting from this book.
Poor Britain: whole book
Category: -
07/09/2012
Why equality matters
The fight against inequality must become a much higher political priority, according to a report published by a new think tank, the Centre for Labour and Social Studies. It highlights evidence showing that most social problems are worse in more unequal societies, and that inequality lies at their root. It says inequality has also played a significant role in the global economic crisis.
The report summarises a wide range of research on the effects of inequality, drawing in particular on the books The Spirit Level: Why Equality Is Better for Everyone (by Professors Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett) and The Cost of Inequality: Three Decades of the Super-rich and the Economy (by Stewart Lansley).
Category: Reports -
29/08/2012
Explaining trends in income inequality
Why has the trend in income inequality been relatively flat over the last two decades, even though earnings inequality has continued to increase? Essex University academics have sought to answer this question by 'decomposing' the data on recent trends – allowing them to identify the contribution from different factors such as income sources and household characteristics.
The study concludes that four key factors have mitigated the effect of growing earnings inequality:
Category: Reports
