The current cost of living is pushing more people into poverty, with almost 68% of low income...
Social exclusion
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25/05/2014
Hard times: 2014
The Hard Times reports provide evidence gathered by communities themselves on the impact of austerity and cuts on families and young people across Northern Ireland. Watch the accompanying films on home repossession, struggles with debt and youth hopes and dreams on the community webpages.
Category: -
24/03/2014
European social inclusion – progress report
European Union countries are still not giving social inclusion goals a high enough priority, according to a new report based on the work of a network of independent experts.
The report assesses, from a social inclusion perspective, the extent to which EU countries’ National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and – where available – Strategic Social Reports (SSRs) are likely to ensure progress towards the Europe 2020 social inclusion objectives.
Category: Reports -
04/02/2014
Measuring social isolation
There is a need to recognise the role of social isolation in people’s experience of poverty, and to find ways of constructing a basic internationally comparable indicator for it, according to a new working paper by researchers at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.
The paper presents a working definition of social isolation; emphasises the relevance of isolation in poverty analysis; and proposes indicators to measure social connectedness that could be incorporated into a multi-topic household survey.
Category: Reports -
25/11/2013
Low income and digital exclusion
There’s a story that we tell ourselves about poverty and digital exclusion: the poorest people are digitally excluded; digital exclusion perpetuates poverty: therefore, getting people online will help lift them out of poverty. Lyndsey Burton assesses the evidence.
Category: Articles -
07/10/2013
Mental health, poverty and social exclusion
This conceptual note explores the complex relationship between poverty and social exclusion and mental health problems in terms of how we might measure poor mental health, and in how we might assess the direction of causality: does poverty, or social exclusion, cause poor mental health, or does poor mental health lead to poverty and social exclusion? The PSE research has used the well-validated instrument, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) 12, widely used to indicate presence or absence of symptoms of what are often described as ‘common mental disorders’, which will enable comparison with findings from other research in the UK and elsewhere.
Category: Conceptual notes -
17/07/2013
Childhood deprivation linked to adult social exclusion
Children from economically deprived families are more likely to be socially excluded as adults, finds a study from the Centre for Longitudinal Studies.
The study involved analysing data from more than 7,000 members of the 1970 British Cohort Study, and tracking six risk factors: poor physical and mental health; lack of emotional support from friends and family, and of trust in others; little or no interest or engagement in politics; having a low income, debts, or not having savings; limited access to good-quality public services; and being unemployed.
Category: Reports -
27/06/2013
A review of the qualitative evidence relating to the experience of poverty and exclusion
This working paper provides a review of the qualitative evidence base relating to the experience of poverty and social exclusion in the UK for which to date few systematic reviews exist. Its principal objective is to identify gaps in the current evidence base in order to inform the design and conduct of the Phase II Qualitative Research of the PSE 2011, ‘Understanding Experiences of Low Income During Recession’. It is also intended that the review will act as a resource for further aspects of PSE UK research.
Category: Methods development -
20/06/2013
Can relative poverty be abolished?
The idea that if poverty is relative it will always be with us is a common misconception, argues John Veit-Wilson. 'Relative poverty' can be abolished if no one has fewer resources than needed to achieve that society’s minimum standards.
Category: Articles -
27/05/2013
Poverty and social participation – Townsend’s legacy
The legacy of ideas and evidence left by sociologist Peter Townsend (who died in 2009) remain 'profoundly relevant' in 21st century Britain, according to a new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The JRF study draws on a large new dataset, Understanding Society, to explore the relationship between poverty and social participation highlighted in Townsend's work.
Category: Reports -
27/02/2013
Unequal access to essential services in Europe
There are marked variations in people's access to essential services in Europe, hampering their ability to participate fully in society, according to a new study published by the European Commission.
The study draws on 2009–2010 data included in the EU-SILC (Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) for four areas: healthcare, public transport, banking and postal services, and childcare. In each case it defines access in terms of both affordability and the convenience of the location from which services are provided.
Category: Reports
