Policy-makers need to pay closer attention to links between housing and poverty, according to a new study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that looks at how housing can mitigate or exacerbate the impact of poverty on people’s lives.
Only a quarter of the world's multi-dimensionally poor people, and just a third of those who are severely multi-dimensionally poor, live in the world’s poorest countries. That's the conclusion of a new paper from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, which has pioneered the use of multi-dimensional poverty indices that measure not just living standards but also factors such as health and education.
Observed patterns of poverty in Europe are strongly affected by the way they are measured, says a new paper from an EU-funded research project. The authors look at different poverty measures, including those applied in the EU's social strategy, and how they affect the results derived for poverty between 2005 and 2009.
A broader poverty measure is needed for older people that looks beyond low income, according to research published by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Two linked pieces of research look at material deprivation among older people. The first study provides in-depth quantitative analysis of the material deprivation and low income experiences of older people, based on Family Resources Survey (FRS) data. The second is a qualitative study comprising 29 in-depth interviews with pensioners aged 65 and over, exploring the non-income factors that 'push down’ or 'pull up’ their material circumstances across four categories: basic needs, dealing with financial shocks, housing needs and meeting social needs.
Nearly 1 in 5 children who are living materially deprived lives – 2.3 million in total – are excluded from the government's headline measure of relative income poverty, according to a report from the Policy Exchange think tank. This, it says, is despite the £170 billion spent between 2003 and 2010 on financial support for the poorest households with children.
As many as nine out of ten people say children can be described as living in poverty if their parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol, according to an opinion survey carried out for the government. This is more than the proportion who say lack of money is a factor in child poverty.
The results come from a survey carried out in December 2012 by GfK NOP. 967 people were contacted by telephone. They were asked the question: 'Could you please tell me how important you think each of the following are when deciding whether someone is growing up in poverty?' (followed by a list of 12 options, of which people could pick up to four).
Older pensioners do not have fewer needs compared with younger pensioners, a Joseph Rowntree Foundation study has found – contrary to suggestions that because they lead more restricted lives they also have reduced financial needs.
There is a strong association between social capital and household economic well-being, especially as far as poverty perception is concerned, according to a new Italian research paper.
The paper looks at official European Union data sources, focusing on two sets of variables: one serving as a proxy for community and household social capital endowment, and a supplementary set describing household economic well-being.
Over one-fifth of the world's population – some 1.5 billion people – live in poverty according to national poverty measures, says a United Nations think-tank study. This is significantly higher than the extent of poverty arrived at using international poverty measures.
Measures of material deprivation, rather than low income, are particularly effective in identifying individuals at risk of multiple forms of deprivation, according to a paper from the LSE's Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion.
The paper critically examines a proposal for a 'consistent poverty' measure (put forward by researchers in Dublin) in which low income and material deprivation are given an equal weight.