Suchergebnisse

I examine how single motherhood affects income in different quantiles of the distribution in twelve rich countries. Using harmonized data from the Luxembourg Income Study, I show how the distribution of income for households headed by single mothers differs from households with children that are headed by couples. I show that there is a striking variation by country in the influence of single motherhood on income at different points of the distribution. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, single motherhood has a greater effect on income at the top of the distribution than at the bottom. In others, such as the United States, effects are largest at the bottom of the distribution. I discuss the role of employment and social policies in driving differences between countries in the income penalties associated with single motherhood across the distribution.

The idea that 'work is good for you' has long been championed by politicians and policy makers. Recent research by the University of Bath suggests that, for lone mothers, paid work that enables them to balance work and childcare responsibilities really does improve their mental well-being. This is particularly where there is flexibility over working hours and no pressure to work more hours than desired. The study carried out by Dr Susan Harkness, in collaboration with Gingerbread (a leading charity supporting single parent families) and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, has shown that being in paid employment is a key factor explaining the fall in lone mother's rates of depression seen in the last decade. This improvement was found only among working lone mothers; for those not in work, mental well-being deteriorated over the same period. This contrasts with the mid-1990s, when work and positive mental health showed little association, with those both in and out of work being at high risk of depression.

A plethora of what are loosely described as social and political indicators of well-being exist. Both the range and country coverage of these indicators has increased appreciably in recent years. In this paper we ask what contribution these indicators can make towards our understanding of human well-being. There is currently a vast array of political and social indicators of development. These measures include information on access to services, housing, environmental degradation, income, social participation, inequalities, and time use; while political indicators include measures of political participation, civil liberties, and human and labour rights. While some of these indicators reflect the progress countries are making towards attaining fundamental developmental goals, with several being used to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (in particular measures of income, health, and education status) others act as more intermediate indicators of progress. This paper critically surveys the range of social and political indicators of development currently available focussing particularly on non-income based social and political indicators of well-being.

To cut the deficit, the UK government has increasingly turned to cuts in working age welfare. To date, it has operated a 'salami slicing' approach: cutting or capping out of work benefit entitlements, in-work tax credits and Child Benefit. This has been combined with dis-entitling some groups from benefits through tougher testing or changing the rules of entitlement, for example limiting access to some disability benefits to a year where the person has some other income sources and removing Child Benefit for better off families with children.At the same time, those claiming out of work benefits face the threat of more severe sanctions where they fail to comply with stringent job search requirements. This Policy Brief, by two leading labour market and welfare reform researchers at the University of Bath (Professor Paul Gregg and Dr Susan Harkness), examines two of the latest developments in Coalition policy that were announced in the 2013 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR): extending the period between leaving work and being entitled to receive benefit payments; and extending restrictions on benefit for lone parents to those with younger children. The Policy Brief assesses the implications for future developments in the area of welfare reform.

This article analyses the theoretical and applied aspects of employment disincentives for second earners that exist in the British tax benefit system. The shortcomings of existing tax-benefit income profiles are examined, together with the underlying role of tax credits in disincentives compared with other factors. The potential of such disincentives to worsen employment of second earners in a recession is addressed. Conclusions suggest that a more sophisticated applied approach is required by social policy analysts, together with improved ways to profile incentives in the tax benefit system.

This article explores social protection in Vietnam. Vietnam is one of the best-performing countries in terms of combining rapid economic growth, rapidly falling poverty and a commitment to social protection. It is keen not to repeat the mistakes of increased inequality and rural instability that have plagued its neighbour China and deserves more coverage by, and attention from, European policy analysts. This article summarises research on elderly people undertaken for the United Nations Development Programme in Hanoi using data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey. We show that social protection for elderly people in Vietnam is currently patchy, with state transfers tending to reinforce patterns of inequality. These transfers are currently disproportionately captured by those who already relatively well off: those in formal sector employment, the better educated, those living in urban areas and state employees. Those people most likely to be poor, including the minority ethnic population, are among the least likely to be in receipt of state support. Elderly people in this group are largely dependent on income from their own labour and from familial transfers. While the government is committed to extending the coverage of social protection, progress towards a universal and comprehensive system is likely to be slow, given current financial and information constraints and existing commitments to paying the pensions of old cadres now reaching retirement.

The present paper analyzes the incidence and progressivity of Vietnamese state income transfers using survey data from the Vietnamese Household Living Standards Survey 2004. Data quality and sample selection issues are highlighted, especially in the coverage of rural‐urban migrants. Simple income‐based profiles of incidence are matched to several influences that confound and complicate the measurement of progressivity. The issue of the informal economy is highlighted through analysis of both the extent of private inter‐household transfers and remittances and their relationship with state transfers, and in the informal charges that accompany uptake of state services and other petty corruption. Second, the issue of user‐charges for health and education services is considered, as a considerable portion of state transfers are related to the take up of schooling and health care. Third, the issue of behavioral effects is also considered, concentrating on private inter‐household transfers. The paper concludes by drawing together the evidence and the obstacles to measurement and progressivity to argue a range of data collection, methodological and policy recommendations.

The field of social policy has a rich history but policies on the ground are undergoing intensive change. Governments around the world are responding to political, economic and financial pressures, many of them linked to the global economic crisis. National agendas typically have social policy at or close to the centre. This latest edition of Social Policy Review presents an up-to-date and diverse review of the best in social policy scholarship. It brings together research by an exciting range of internationally renowned authors and examines important debates in British and international social policy. This edition includes a special focus in the third part on work, employment and insecurity. Social Policy Review is essential reading for social policy academics and students and for anyone who is interested in the social and economic implications of government policy