The current cost of living is pushing more people into poverty, with almost 68% of low income...
International comparisons
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20/02/2013
Tax systems ‘lack progressivity’
Tax systems in developed countries generally become less progressive at higher income levels, says a new working paper from the OECD in Paris.
The paper presents statutory tax progressivity indicators for the 34 OECD member countries in 2011 – on the basis of average effective income tax rates and also tax 'wedges' (that is, taking into account social security contributions, payroll taxes and cash benefits). Average rate progression is calculated for four different household types: single people without children, one-earner married couples without children, lone parents with two children, and one-earner married couples with two children. The progression rate is given for five income bands between 50 and 200 per cent of the average.
Category: Reports -
15/02/2013
Tackling child poverty – lessons from abroad
The coalition needs to urgently review its approach to reducing child poverty, says a new report from the National Children's Bureau. The government should spend less time focusing on how child poverty is measured, it argues, and concentrate instead on practical lessons from other countries about what works best in tackling the problem.
Category: Reports -
31/12/2012
Global poverty ‘as high as 1.5 billion’
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.
Category: Reports -
16/11/2012
Home ownership lowers UK wealth inequality
Increases in owner-occupation and house prices in the UK over the period 2000–2005 led to falls in relative measures of wealth inequality, according to a new study. Researchers compared the level, composition and distribution of household wealth in five industrial countries: the UK, USA, Italy, Finland and Sweden.
Category: Reports -
12/11/2012
UK heading for bottom place on public spending
by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby, University of Kent
By 2017 the UK is set to have the lowest share of public spending among major capitalist economies, including the USA, as a result of the exceptionally harsh cuts in public spending currently planned. But is this really necessary?
Category: Articles -
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 -
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.
Category: Reports -
17/08/2012
New Zealand
A presentation on poverty measurement in New Zealand was made by Bryan Perry, Ministry of Social Development, at the Second Peter Townsend Memorial Conference, Measuring Poverty: The State of the Art, in 2011.
The Ministry of Social Development in New Zealand has developed an Economic Living Standards Index (ELSI). This index is used to compare the material wellbeing of individuals and population subgroups but, in contrast to both the Townsend deprivation approach and the Mack and Lansley consensual method, the ELSI measures the full range of living standards rather than being just hardship-focused.
Category: -
17/08/2012
Australia
In 2014/15, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey used a new set of questions to examine deprivation poverty. It found 10.7% of the population was in deprivation poverty defined as those who lacked two or more necessities because they couldn't afford them.
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