This report looks in detail at food insecurity among benefit claimants using YouGov surveys of the...
Inequality
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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
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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).
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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:
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25/08/2012
Inequality ‘reduces happiness’
Social inequality reduces people’s sense of happiness in Western societies, according to a new study.
Researchers reviewed the available evidence from national surveys of self-reported happiness, and looked at the relationship between happiness and levels of inequality – drawing a distinction between the results for Western and non-Western societies.
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25/08/2012
Young people’s perspectives on economic inequality
Young people use both ‘neo-liberal’ and egalitarian ideas when describing their attitudes to economic inequality, according to a new study.
The Reading University research drew on a series of group interviews with a total of 110 young people aged between 11 and 16 across eight schools in the south east of England.
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22/08/2012
Welfare services ‘less effective’ than cash benefits in reducing inequality and poverty
Welfare services help to reduce inequality and poverty in European countries, according to a new study. But they are not as effective as cash benefits.
Researchers examined the impact of welfare services, such as education and healthcare, on inequality and poverty in 21 EU countries, by reference to a hypothetical situation in which no publicly provided services existed.
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22/08/2012
Inequality undermines social solidarity
People living in more unequal countries show less social solidarity towards others, a new study has suggested.
The study investigated the relationship between income inequality and solidarity (defined as a willingness to contribute to the welfare of other people) in 26 European countries, using data from the 1999 European Values Study.
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16/08/2012
Poverty in the United Kingdom
In Poverty in the United Kingdom (1979) Peter Townsend examined relative deprivation covering a wide range of aspects of living standards, both material and social. He found that there were levels of income below which consumption and participation fell well below what might be seen as normal or acceptable in an increasingly affluent society and argued that this group should be seen to be in poverty. By clicking on the libks below you can download this seminal book. We have provided the full book, 1,216 pages, as one PDF as well as individual chapters and appendices as separate PDFs for download.
Please cite ‘Townsend, P. (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom, London, Allen Lane and Penguin Books’ if quoting from this book.
Poverty in the United Kingdom: whole book
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15/08/2012
Inequality ‘perpetuates itself’ through popular support
Inequality undermines social trust, which in turn weakens popular support for income redistribution, according to a new study.
The study looked at the relationship between economic inequality – at both individual and national level – and attitudes towards income inequality in 20 developed capitalist societies.
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13/08/2012
PSE: Northern Ireland bulletin, No. 2, December 2011
This bulletin reports on OECD measures of inequality, the rise in income poverty, the final report of the High Pay Commission, fuel poverty, the Family Resources Survey deprivation indicators for Northern Ireland, HM Revenue and Customs child poverty measure, and the Child Poverty Act.
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