an article by Lorraine Hansford, Felicity Thomas and Katrina Wyatt (University of Exeter, UK) published in Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Volume 27 Number 3 (October 2019)
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of increased welfare conditionality on people with mental health issues claiming benefits in the UK.
Drawing on data from the DeStress study, this paper explores the lived experience of welfare claimants in low-income communities, and the perspectives of GPs seeking to support them.
Particular focus is placed on people’s experience of the Work Capability Assessment, the tool used to determine welfare claimants’ entitlement to sickness benefit, and how the narratives and culture surrounding welfare reform and the actual assessment itself can have a negative impact on mental health and well-being.
Full text (PDF 18pp)
Showing posts with label welfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label welfare. Show all posts
Monday, 28 October 2019
Saturday, 12 October 2019
Emotional Compliance and Emotion as Resistance: Shame and Anger among the Long-Term Unemployed
an article by Michelle Peterie and Greg Marston (University of Queensland, Australia), Gaby Ramia (University of Sydney, Australia) and Roger Patulny (University of Wollongong, Australia) published in Work, Employment and Society Volume 33 Issue 5 (October 2019)
Abstract
Contemporary governments employ a range of policy tools to ‘activate’ the unemployed to look for work.
Framing unemployment as a consequence of personal shortcoming, these policies incentivise the unemployed to become ‘productive’ members of society. While Foucault’s governmentality framework has been used to foreground the operation of power within these policies, ‘job-seeker’ resistance has received less attention. In particular, forms of emotional resistance have rarely been studied.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with 80 unemployed welfare recipients in Australia, this article shows that many unemployed people internalise activation’s discourses of personal failure, experiencing shame and worthlessness as a result.
It also reveals, however, that a significant minority reject this framing and the ‘feeling rules’ it implies, expressing not shame but anger regarding their circumstances. Bringing together insights from resistance studies and the sociology of emotions, this article argues that ‘job-seeker’ anger should be recognised as an important form of ‘everyday resistance’.
Abstract
Contemporary governments employ a range of policy tools to ‘activate’ the unemployed to look for work.
Framing unemployment as a consequence of personal shortcoming, these policies incentivise the unemployed to become ‘productive’ members of society. While Foucault’s governmentality framework has been used to foreground the operation of power within these policies, ‘job-seeker’ resistance has received less attention. In particular, forms of emotional resistance have rarely been studied.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with 80 unemployed welfare recipients in Australia, this article shows that many unemployed people internalise activation’s discourses of personal failure, experiencing shame and worthlessness as a result.
It also reveals, however, that a significant minority reject this framing and the ‘feeling rules’ it implies, expressing not shame but anger regarding their circumstances. Bringing together insights from resistance studies and the sociology of emotions, this article argues that ‘job-seeker’ anger should be recognised as an important form of ‘everyday resistance’.
Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Stakeholder identities in Britain's neoliberal ethical community: Polish narratives of earned citizenship in the context of the UK's EU referendum
an article by Derek McGhee (Keele University, UK; University of Southampton, UK), Chris Moreh (York St. John University, UK; University of Southampton, UK) and Athina Vlachantoni (University of Southampton, UK) published in The British Journal of Sociology Volume 70 Issue 4 (September 2019)
Abstract
This article examines the narrative strategies through which Polish migrants in the UK challenge the formal rights of political membership and attempt to redefine the boundaries of ‘citizenship’ along notions of deservedness.
The analysed qualitative data originate from an online survey conducted in the months before the 2016 EU referendum, and the narratives emerge from the open‐text answers to two survey questions concerning attitudes towards the referendum and the exclusion of resident EU nationals from the electoral process.
The analysis identifies and describes three narrative strategies in reaction to the public discourses surrounding the EU referendum – namely discursive complicity, intergroup hostility and defensive assertiveness – which attempt to redefine the conditions of membership in Britain's ‘ethical community’ in respect to welfare practices. Examining these processes simultaneously ‘from below’ and ‘from outside’ the national political community, the paper argues, can reveal more of the transformation taking place in conceptions of citizenship at the sociological level, and the article aims to identify the contours of a ‘neoliberal communitarian citizenship’ as internalized by mobile EU citizens.
Abstract
This article examines the narrative strategies through which Polish migrants in the UK challenge the formal rights of political membership and attempt to redefine the boundaries of ‘citizenship’ along notions of deservedness.
The analysed qualitative data originate from an online survey conducted in the months before the 2016 EU referendum, and the narratives emerge from the open‐text answers to two survey questions concerning attitudes towards the referendum and the exclusion of resident EU nationals from the electoral process.
The analysis identifies and describes three narrative strategies in reaction to the public discourses surrounding the EU referendum – namely discursive complicity, intergroup hostility and defensive assertiveness – which attempt to redefine the conditions of membership in Britain's ‘ethical community’ in respect to welfare practices. Examining these processes simultaneously ‘from below’ and ‘from outside’ the national political community, the paper argues, can reveal more of the transformation taking place in conceptions of citizenship at the sociological level, and the article aims to identify the contours of a ‘neoliberal communitarian citizenship’ as internalized by mobile EU citizens.
Friday, 23 August 2019
Measuring Welfare Beyond GDP
an article by Andrew Aitken (National Institute of Economic and Social Research; Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE)) published in National Institute Economic Review Volume 249 Issue 1 (August 2019)
Abstract
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is often treated as shorthand for national economic well-being, even though it was never intended to be; it is a measure of (some) of the marketable output of the economy.
This paper reviews several developments in measuring welfare beyond GDP that were recently presented at the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) annual conference in May 2019.
The papers discussed fall into three broad areas.
First, a significant amount of work has focused on incorporating information about the distribution of income, consumption and wealth in the national accounts.
Second, the effects of digitisation and the growth of the internet highlight the potential value in measuring time use as a measure of welfare.
Third, the digital revolution has spawned many new, often ‘free’ goods, the welfare consequences of which are difficult to measure. Other areas, such as government services, are also difficult to measure.
Measuring economic welfare properly matters because it affects the decisions made by government and society. GDP does a reasonable job of measuring the marketable output of the economy (which remains important for some policies), but it should be downgraded; more attention should be given to measures that reflect both objective and subjective measures of well-being, and measures that better reflect the heterogeneity of peoples' experiences.
JEL classification: I31, D31, E01
Full text (PDF 14pp)
Abstract
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is often treated as shorthand for national economic well-being, even though it was never intended to be; it is a measure of (some) of the marketable output of the economy.
This paper reviews several developments in measuring welfare beyond GDP that were recently presented at the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) annual conference in May 2019.
The papers discussed fall into three broad areas.
First, a significant amount of work has focused on incorporating information about the distribution of income, consumption and wealth in the national accounts.
Second, the effects of digitisation and the growth of the internet highlight the potential value in measuring time use as a measure of welfare.
Third, the digital revolution has spawned many new, often ‘free’ goods, the welfare consequences of which are difficult to measure. Other areas, such as government services, are also difficult to measure.
Measuring economic welfare properly matters because it affects the decisions made by government and society. GDP does a reasonable job of measuring the marketable output of the economy (which remains important for some policies), but it should be downgraded; more attention should be given to measures that reflect both objective and subjective measures of well-being, and measures that better reflect the heterogeneity of peoples' experiences.
JEL classification: I31, D31, E01
Full text (PDF 14pp)
Monday, 5 August 2019
Trade and investment in the global economy
a column by James Anderson, Mario Larch and Yoto Yotov for VOX: CEPR&rsquop;s Policy Portal
Foreign direct investment has traditionally been viewed as a key driver of prosperity, and modern FDI has also become a vehicle for transferring intangible assets.
This column uses a counterfactual experiment based on a hypothetical world with no outward or inward FDI to and from low-income and lower-middle-income countries to examine the effects of FDI on trade, domestic investment, and welfare. World welfare falls by about 6% and all countries lose out, with some poorer countries losing over 50%. World trade falls by 7%, with the losses again unevenly distributed.
Continue reading
Foreign direct investment has traditionally been viewed as a key driver of prosperity, and modern FDI has also become a vehicle for transferring intangible assets.
This column uses a counterfactual experiment based on a hypothetical world with no outward or inward FDI to and from low-income and lower-middle-income countries to examine the effects of FDI on trade, domestic investment, and welfare. World welfare falls by about 6% and all countries lose out, with some poorer countries losing over 50%. World trade falls by 7%, with the losses again unevenly distributed.
Continue reading
Friday, 2 August 2019
Why Countries ‘Get Tough on the Work-Shy’: The Role of Adverse Economic Conditions
an article by Carlo Knotz (Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), University of Bremen & Jacobs University Bremen, Germany) published in Journal of Social Policy Volume 48 Issue 3 (July 2019)
Abstract
There has been a clear trend toward greater conditionality and coercion in labour market and social policy in recent decades, a key part of which is tougher sanctions for unemployment benefit claimants who refuse offers of employment or otherwise fail to comply with their obligations.
Our understanding of this trend and its determinants is so far built only on a corpus of small-N evidence, while systematic comparative large-N analyses are lacking. As a result, the broad patterns of policy change and their general political drivers remain underexplored.
This paper fills this gap by examining unemployment benefit sanction reforms in 20 democracies between 1980 and 2012 using an original dataset.
It is shown that governments introduce tougher sanctions in order to reconcile two competing pressures that arise during economic downturns: an increased need for social protection and reduced fiscal revenues. The findings, which are also applicable to other historical periods and policy areas, provide an impulse for future comparative large-N research on ‘demanding activation’ policies.
Abstract
There has been a clear trend toward greater conditionality and coercion in labour market and social policy in recent decades, a key part of which is tougher sanctions for unemployment benefit claimants who refuse offers of employment or otherwise fail to comply with their obligations.
Our understanding of this trend and its determinants is so far built only on a corpus of small-N evidence, while systematic comparative large-N analyses are lacking. As a result, the broad patterns of policy change and their general political drivers remain underexplored.
This paper fills this gap by examining unemployment benefit sanction reforms in 20 democracies between 1980 and 2012 using an original dataset.
It is shown that governments introduce tougher sanctions in order to reconcile two competing pressures that arise during economic downturns: an increased need for social protection and reduced fiscal revenues. The findings, which are also applicable to other historical periods and policy areas, provide an impulse for future comparative large-N research on ‘demanding activation’ policies.
Thursday, 25 July 2019
The ‘Other Britain’
a post by Heidi Allen MP (Member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee) for the CPAG (Child Poverty ACtion Group[ blog
A little over a century ago, the cry among social reformers concerned about the plight of the poor was for a safety net to be stitched together by the state, to catch any of our fellow citizens who were falling into the clutches of destitution.
Had those same reformers witnessed what we have picked up during the past six months – from visits to food banks in Poplar, Waterloo, Leicester, Morecambe, Chester, and Glasgow – they would be appalled by the extent of hunger, homelessness, and insecurity afflicting so many families and vulnerable individuals in our country.
Here we are introduced to an ‘Other Britain’ where entire communities are not only bypassed by economic growth but are also being pushed through gaping holes in the safety net. One support worker in Chester, for example, told us that, “I don’t meet a single person now who isn’t cold and hungry.”
Continue reading
Read the whole report: The ‘Other Britain’ and the failure of the welfare state
A little over a century ago, the cry among social reformers concerned about the plight of the poor was for a safety net to be stitched together by the state, to catch any of our fellow citizens who were falling into the clutches of destitution.
Had those same reformers witnessed what we have picked up during the past six months – from visits to food banks in Poplar, Waterloo, Leicester, Morecambe, Chester, and Glasgow – they would be appalled by the extent of hunger, homelessness, and insecurity afflicting so many families and vulnerable individuals in our country.
Here we are introduced to an ‘Other Britain’ where entire communities are not only bypassed by economic growth but are also being pushed through gaping holes in the safety net. One support worker in Chester, for example, told us that, “I don’t meet a single person now who isn’t cold and hungry.”
Continue reading
Read the whole report: The ‘Other Britain’ and the failure of the welfare state
Friday, 5 July 2019
Work must pay: Does it? Precarious employment and employment motivation for low-income households
asn article by Lucie Trlifajová and Jakob Hurrle (Charles University, Czech Republic) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 29 Issue 3 (July 2019)
Abstract
One of the core dilemmas of current welfare politics is the question of how to ensure social protection while providing incentives to seek employment at the same time. A way to address this dilemma is to base policies and policy models on the principle notion that ‘work must pay’; in other words, income from employment should be higher than the social support of the unemployed.
However, how accurately do these approaches and models represent the reality of benefit recipients, particularly in the context of increased employment precariousness?
In this article, we use the cases of two disadvantaged regions in Czech Republic in order to contrast the presumptions of ‘making work pay’ policies with the everyday experience of welfare recipients. As we show, their situations are strongly shaped by current changes in the labour market, particularly the precarious character of accessible employment and high levels of indebtedness.
The modelling of financial employment incentives and the public policies based on these calculations often do not correspond with the reality of welfare recipients that are often cycling in and out of precarious forms of employment.
However, the authors’ main claim is that the very idea of the ‘work must pay’ approach focuses on the wrong question. A truly functioning financial incentive would need to focus not solely on the difference in income between those who work and those who do not work, but rather should analyse what type of arrangements allow working households to rise permanently above the poverty line.
Abstract
One of the core dilemmas of current welfare politics is the question of how to ensure social protection while providing incentives to seek employment at the same time. A way to address this dilemma is to base policies and policy models on the principle notion that ‘work must pay’; in other words, income from employment should be higher than the social support of the unemployed.
However, how accurately do these approaches and models represent the reality of benefit recipients, particularly in the context of increased employment precariousness?
In this article, we use the cases of two disadvantaged regions in Czech Republic in order to contrast the presumptions of ‘making work pay’ policies with the everyday experience of welfare recipients. As we show, their situations are strongly shaped by current changes in the labour market, particularly the precarious character of accessible employment and high levels of indebtedness.
The modelling of financial employment incentives and the public policies based on these calculations often do not correspond with the reality of welfare recipients that are often cycling in and out of precarious forms of employment.
However, the authors’ main claim is that the very idea of the ‘work must pay’ approach focuses on the wrong question. A truly functioning financial incentive would need to focus not solely on the difference in income between those who work and those who do not work, but rather should analyse what type of arrangements allow working households to rise permanently above the poverty line.
Monday, 3 June 2019
Measuring the welfare effects of AI and automation
a column by Jacques Bughin, Christopher Pissarides and Eric Hazan for VOX: CEPR’;s Policy Portal
Artificial intelligence promises economic growth as well as creating fear for those whose jobs it may replace.
This column takes a wider approach to examining how AI and other technologies will affect citizens’ welfare beyond just their income. It argues that the new technologies are intrinsically neither good nor bad, it is how they are deployed and how the transition is crafted that conditions the welfare dynamics of societies.
Continue reading
Definitely more on the social issues than the economics. An interesting read.
Artificial intelligence promises economic growth as well as creating fear for those whose jobs it may replace.
This column takes a wider approach to examining how AI and other technologies will affect citizens’ welfare beyond just their income. It argues that the new technologies are intrinsically neither good nor bad, it is how they are deployed and how the transition is crafted that conditions the welfare dynamics of societies.
Continue reading
Definitely more on the social issues than the economics. An interesting read.
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Ending Global Poverty: Why Money Isn't Enough
an article by Lucy Page (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA) and Rohini Pande (Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, USA) published in Journal of Economic Perspectives Volume 32 Number 4 (Fall 2018)
Abstract
Between 1981 and 2013, the share of the global population living in extreme poverty fell by 34 percentage points.
This paper argues that such rapid reductions will become increasingly hard to achieve for two reasons.
First, the majority of the poor now live in middle-income countries where the benefits of growth have often been distributed selectively and unequally.
Second, a reservoir of extreme poverty remains in low-income countries where growth is erratic and aid often fails to reach the poor.
If the international community is to most effectively leverage available resources to end extreme poverty, it must ensure that its investments in institutions and physical infrastructure actually provide the poor the capabilities they need to craft an effective pathway out of poverty. We term the human and social systems that are required to form this pathway "invisible infrastructure" and argue that an effective domestic state is central to building this.
By corollary, ending extreme poverty will require both expanding state capacity and giving the poor power to demand reforms they need by solving agency problems between citizens, politicians, and bureaucrats.
JEL Classification: F35, H23, I32, I38, O15
Full text (PDF 28pp)
Abstract
Between 1981 and 2013, the share of the global population living in extreme poverty fell by 34 percentage points.
This paper argues that such rapid reductions will become increasingly hard to achieve for two reasons.
First, the majority of the poor now live in middle-income countries where the benefits of growth have often been distributed selectively and unequally.
Second, a reservoir of extreme poverty remains in low-income countries where growth is erratic and aid often fails to reach the poor.
If the international community is to most effectively leverage available resources to end extreme poverty, it must ensure that its investments in institutions and physical infrastructure actually provide the poor the capabilities they need to craft an effective pathway out of poverty. We term the human and social systems that are required to form this pathway "invisible infrastructure" and argue that an effective domestic state is central to building this.
By corollary, ending extreme poverty will require both expanding state capacity and giving the poor power to demand reforms they need by solving agency problems between citizens, politicians, and bureaucrats.
JEL Classification: F35, H23, I32, I38, O15
Full text (PDF 28pp)
Monday, 24 December 2018
An East–West comparison of healthcare evaluations in Europe: Do institutions matter?
an article by Tamara Popic (Institute for Social and Political Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal) and Simone M. Schneider (Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Germany) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 28 Issue 5 (December 2018)
Abstract
Differences in welfare attitudes of Eastern and Western Europeans have often been explained in terms of legacies of communism.
In this article, we explore evaluations of healthcare systems across European countries and argue that East–West differences in these evaluations are explained by differences in the current institutional design of healthcare systems in the two regions.
The empirical analysis is based on the fourth round of the European Social Survey, applying multilevel and multilevel mediation analysis. Our results support the institutional explanation. Regional differences in healthcare evaluations are explained by institutional characteristics of the healthcare system, that is, lower financial resources, higher out-of-pocket payments, and lower supply of primary healthcare services in Eastern compared to Western European countries.
We conclude that specific aspects of the current institutional design of healthcare systems are crucial for understanding East–West differences in healthcare evaluations and encourage research to further explore the relevance of institutions for differences in welfare state attitudes across socio-political contexts.
Abstract
Differences in welfare attitudes of Eastern and Western Europeans have often been explained in terms of legacies of communism.
In this article, we explore evaluations of healthcare systems across European countries and argue that East–West differences in these evaluations are explained by differences in the current institutional design of healthcare systems in the two regions.
The empirical analysis is based on the fourth round of the European Social Survey, applying multilevel and multilevel mediation analysis. Our results support the institutional explanation. Regional differences in healthcare evaluations are explained by institutional characteristics of the healthcare system, that is, lower financial resources, higher out-of-pocket payments, and lower supply of primary healthcare services in Eastern compared to Western European countries.
We conclude that specific aspects of the current institutional design of healthcare systems are crucial for understanding East–West differences in healthcare evaluations and encourage research to further explore the relevance of institutions for differences in welfare state attitudes across socio-political contexts.
Monday, 14 May 2018
10 policies if you think you might want a Universal Basic Income but aren’t sure
a post by Adam Corlett for the Resolution Foundation blog
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the policy idea du jour, especially among Labour, Lib Dem, SNP and Green members. But those three words by themselves are not a policy.
The concept draws support for a range of different – and sometimes contradictory – reasons, and a UBI could be designed in countless ways with vastly different results. In addition, the debate often fails to engage with the real-life benefits system we already have.
To help clarify which aspects of a UBI really matter to you, and which aspects may not be so appealing, here’s a set of thought experiments: what a UBI manifesto for incrementalists might look like (not all of them necessarily welcome). It shows that there are good ideas to be taken from the concept and the motivations behind it, but that UBI may not be the only or best way to achieve particular goals.
Continue reading
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the policy idea du jour, especially among Labour, Lib Dem, SNP and Green members. But those three words by themselves are not a policy.
The concept draws support for a range of different – and sometimes contradictory – reasons, and a UBI could be designed in countless ways with vastly different results. In addition, the debate often fails to engage with the real-life benefits system we already have.
To help clarify which aspects of a UBI really matter to you, and which aspects may not be so appealing, here’s a set of thought experiments: what a UBI manifesto for incrementalists might look like (not all of them necessarily welcome). It shows that there are good ideas to be taken from the concept and the motivations behind it, but that UBI may not be the only or best way to achieve particular goals.
Continue reading
Sunday, 15 April 2018
Humans Need Not Apply
an article by Dexter Levick for DEMOS
Visions of a technological utopia in which humans are free of the shackles of work and where purpose-built robots undertake a myriad of tasks in their place has long been a motif of science fiction. Yet the seemingly exponential advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) means that vision may soon become a reality. A report published last year by IPPR concluded that one in three jobs are thought to be at risk from automation within the next two decades – the general consensus amongst academics being that these will be primarily low-skilled jobs. Recently released research by the OECD puts that number lower, but still suggests a significant impact, concluding one in ten jobs are likely to be automated.
Whether the actual number of jobs to be automated is one in three, one in ten or something else, automation will necessitate some kind of shift in social policy, including welfare. Science fiction may have presented us with stark depictions of the process of automation, but it has little to offer about what that shift should look like – for example, how our welfare system will need to adapt to a labour economy in which AI plays a key role.
Continue reading
Visions of a technological utopia in which humans are free of the shackles of work and where purpose-built robots undertake a myriad of tasks in their place has long been a motif of science fiction. Yet the seemingly exponential advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) means that vision may soon become a reality. A report published last year by IPPR concluded that one in three jobs are thought to be at risk from automation within the next two decades – the general consensus amongst academics being that these will be primarily low-skilled jobs. Recently released research by the OECD puts that number lower, but still suggests a significant impact, concluding one in ten jobs are likely to be automated.
Whether the actual number of jobs to be automated is one in three, one in ten or something else, automation will necessitate some kind of shift in social policy, including welfare. Science fiction may have presented us with stark depictions of the process of automation, but it has little to offer about what that shift should look like – for example, how our welfare system will need to adapt to a labour economy in which AI plays a key role.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
The welfare myth of them and us
via Policy Press: a blog post
Read the complete preface to the second edition of John Hill’s influential Good times, bad times below. This ground-breaking book uses extensive research and survey evidence to challenge the myth that the population divides into those who benefit from the welfare state and those who pay into it – ‘skivers’ and ‘strivers’, ‘them’ and ‘us’.
“Good times, bad times was completed in 2014. A great deal has happened in UK politics and policy since then, not least the election of a majority Conservative government led by David Cameron in May 2015, the result of the referendum in June 2016 for Britain to leave the European Union, and the subsequent appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister in July 2016.
Through all of this, the issues discussed in this book have remained central. One of its themes is the way that our lives are ever-changing.
Sometimes this is simply because we get older, we form – and dissolve – marriages and other partnerships, children are born, and they leave home.
But it is also because we move in and out of work, change and lose jobs, and what comes in from work and other sources can change not just from year to- year with our careers, but also from month-to-month, or even day-to-day, in ways highlighted by the spread of ‘zero hours contracts’.
Our needs – for education and for health and social care – change as we grow older, but also with the fluctuations in our state of health.
Continue reading
Read the complete preface to the second edition of John Hill’s influential Good times, bad times below. This ground-breaking book uses extensive research and survey evidence to challenge the myth that the population divides into those who benefit from the welfare state and those who pay into it – ‘skivers’ and ‘strivers’, ‘them’ and ‘us’.
“Good times, bad times was completed in 2014. A great deal has happened in UK politics and policy since then, not least the election of a majority Conservative government led by David Cameron in May 2015, the result of the referendum in June 2016 for Britain to leave the European Union, and the subsequent appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister in July 2016.
Through all of this, the issues discussed in this book have remained central. One of its themes is the way that our lives are ever-changing.
Sometimes this is simply because we get older, we form – and dissolve – marriages and other partnerships, children are born, and they leave home.
But it is also because we move in and out of work, change and lose jobs, and what comes in from work and other sources can change not just from year to- year with our careers, but also from month-to-month, or even day-to-day, in ways highlighted by the spread of ‘zero hours contracts’.
Our needs – for education and for health and social care – change as we grow older, but also with the fluctuations in our state of health.
Continue reading
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
In pursuit of “the welfare trait”: recycling deprivation and reproducing deprivation
an article by Michael Lambert (Lancaster University) published in People, Place and Policy Volume 10 Issue 3 (2016)
Abstract
Adam Perkins’ The Welfare Trait outlines the most recent attempt to provide substance to the existence of an underclass, based on the idea of a shared ‘welfare-induced’, ‘employment-resistant’ personality amongst benefit claimants.
Following in the footsteps of historian John Macnicol who went ‘in pursuit’ of the underclass, this article travels ‘in pursuit’ of the welfare trait by situating its claims in historical context through a comparison of the post-war study by William Tonge, Families without Hope, which sought to identify a common psychological maladjustment in ‘problem families’.
The common intention, methods and recommendations of the two studies underline their shared purpose: to transfer the social and policy problems associated with poverty from their socio-economic context and the culpabilities of the state to finding the problem in individual families, identifying their behaviour as problematic and proscribing solutions rooted around cultivating personal responsibility. in historical context
Full text (HTML) also available as downloadable PDF
Abstract
Adam Perkins’ The Welfare Trait outlines the most recent attempt to provide substance to the existence of an underclass, based on the idea of a shared ‘welfare-induced’, ‘employment-resistant’ personality amongst benefit claimants.
Following in the footsteps of historian John Macnicol who went ‘in pursuit’ of the underclass, this article travels ‘in pursuit’ of the welfare trait by situating its claims in historical context through a comparison of the post-war study by William Tonge, Families without Hope, which sought to identify a common psychological maladjustment in ‘problem families’.
The common intention, methods and recommendations of the two studies underline their shared purpose: to transfer the social and policy problems associated with poverty from their socio-economic context and the culpabilities of the state to finding the problem in individual families, identifying their behaviour as problematic and proscribing solutions rooted around cultivating personal responsibility. in historical context
Full text (HTML) also available as downloadable PDF
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
Supporting the UK’s Workless – An International Comparative Perspective
an article by Mike Danson (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK), Ailsa McKay (Glasgow Caledonian University, UK) and Willie Sullivan (Common Weal, Biggar, UK) published in Social Policy & Administration Volume 49 Issue 2 (March 2015)
Abstract
Within and between nations, spatial inequalities in relation to health, labour markets and employment shape the barriers faced by those trapped on disability benefits, and thus create challenges for public policy.
To provide context for such analyses and policy discussions, this article presents evidence on levels of poverty, welfare support and inequality across Europe. It compares and contrasts especially the position and support for those out of or at the margins of the labour market under different welfare states to reveal the significant differences between the UK on the one hand and the Nordic and Benelux countries on the other hand.
Applying insights from theories and practices of endogenous growth, universalism and inclusion, it is demonstrated that lessons are to be learnt from the better economic and social performances of the more inclusive and coherent nations of northern Europe. In particular, it is argued that the very high levels of poverty and inequality inherent in the neo-liberal policies of the UK cannot generate the conditions for simultaneously reducing public sector deficits and stimulating demand so that worklessness and exclusion inevitably will continue.
The article concludes that an alternative social democratic paradigm is required based on solidarity, equity and fiscal responsibility to address this self-defeating feedback.
Abstract
Within and between nations, spatial inequalities in relation to health, labour markets and employment shape the barriers faced by those trapped on disability benefits, and thus create challenges for public policy.
To provide context for such analyses and policy discussions, this article presents evidence on levels of poverty, welfare support and inequality across Europe. It compares and contrasts especially the position and support for those out of or at the margins of the labour market under different welfare states to reveal the significant differences between the UK on the one hand and the Nordic and Benelux countries on the other hand.
Applying insights from theories and practices of endogenous growth, universalism and inclusion, it is demonstrated that lessons are to be learnt from the better economic and social performances of the more inclusive and coherent nations of northern Europe. In particular, it is argued that the very high levels of poverty and inequality inherent in the neo-liberal policies of the UK cannot generate the conditions for simultaneously reducing public sector deficits and stimulating demand so that worklessness and exclusion inevitably will continue.
The article concludes that an alternative social democratic paradigm is required based on solidarity, equity and fiscal responsibility to address this self-defeating feedback.
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
From the Cradle to the Grave: Funeral Welfare from an International Perspective
an article by Christine Valentine and Kate Woodthorpe (Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath) published in Social Policy & Administration Volume 48 Issue 5 (October 2014)
Abstract
This article reports on a pilot study examining funeral welfare for citizens from low income backgrounds.
Through a review of funeral welfare provision in 12 capitalist democratic countries it seeks to inform the current system of state support in Britain, arguing that insufficient attention has been given to funeral costs as a policy issue.
Mindful of the British welfare state’s original ‘cradle to grave’ ethos, such attention is ever more pressing in light of rising funeral costs, an ageing population and projected increases in the death rate. Arguing that funeral costs are an issue of income support, the article draws on Esping-Andersen's threefold welfare-regime typology to situate the British system within a comparative study of funeral welfare that identifies similarities and differences both within and between the three welfare-regime types.
On the basis of an empirical example, the article further argues that systems of funeral welfare reflect the relationship between culture, politics and local practice.
The findings indicate that the British system is hampered by a discourse of welfare dependency rather than entitlement, which stigmatises those who need support with funeral costs at a time when they are under pressure to ensure that the deceased person receives a ‘dignified’ send-off.
Abstract
This article reports on a pilot study examining funeral welfare for citizens from low income backgrounds.
Through a review of funeral welfare provision in 12 capitalist democratic countries it seeks to inform the current system of state support in Britain, arguing that insufficient attention has been given to funeral costs as a policy issue.
Mindful of the British welfare state’s original ‘cradle to grave’ ethos, such attention is ever more pressing in light of rising funeral costs, an ageing population and projected increases in the death rate. Arguing that funeral costs are an issue of income support, the article draws on Esping-Andersen's threefold welfare-regime typology to situate the British system within a comparative study of funeral welfare that identifies similarities and differences both within and between the three welfare-regime types.
On the basis of an empirical example, the article further argues that systems of funeral welfare reflect the relationship between culture, politics and local practice.
The findings indicate that the British system is hampered by a discourse of welfare dependency rather than entitlement, which stigmatises those who need support with funeral costs at a time when they are under pressure to ensure that the deceased person receives a ‘dignified’ send-off.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Pathways back to work for problem alcohol users
Linda Bauld and Jennifer McKell (University of Stirling, Scotland, UK), Lorna Templeton (Independent Research Consultant, Bristol, UK), Karin Silver (University of Bath, UK), Claire Novak (University of Bristol, UK) and Gordon Hay (University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK) published in Policy Studies Volume 34 Issue 3 (May 2013)
Abstract
The relationship between alcohol misuse, employment and unemployment is complex.
Alcohol misuse is correlated with a range of other problems, including, for example, drug misuse, mental health problems and social deprivation. Together these can be a barrier to accessing and sustaining employment.
The aim of this study was to explore these issues with a sample of adults in the UK who were currently accessing treatment for an alcohol problem. The study involved a systematic literature review followed by qualitative research with 53 treatment service clients and 12 professionals across 5 research sites in England, Scotland and Wales. The findings focus on the main facilitators and barriers, both individual and organisational, for returning to work identified by interviewees. Some of the facilitators and barriers identified were similar to those described in the literature for other groups of unemployed adults.
Others were more specific to alcohol misusers; for example, the stigma experienced by interviewees as a result of the views of others regarding substance misuse, the nature of recovery from addiction and the challenges posed by the prevalence of coexisting mental and physical health problems. Despite the problems faced by many of the study participants, however, the majority were eager to return to work, and this desire to gain employment is discussed in the context of ongoing welfare reform in the UK.
Abstract
The relationship between alcohol misuse, employment and unemployment is complex.
Alcohol misuse is correlated with a range of other problems, including, for example, drug misuse, mental health problems and social deprivation. Together these can be a barrier to accessing and sustaining employment.
The aim of this study was to explore these issues with a sample of adults in the UK who were currently accessing treatment for an alcohol problem. The study involved a systematic literature review followed by qualitative research with 53 treatment service clients and 12 professionals across 5 research sites in England, Scotland and Wales. The findings focus on the main facilitators and barriers, both individual and organisational, for returning to work identified by interviewees. Some of the facilitators and barriers identified were similar to those described in the literature for other groups of unemployed adults.
Others were more specific to alcohol misusers; for example, the stigma experienced by interviewees as a result of the views of others regarding substance misuse, the nature of recovery from addiction and the challenges posed by the prevalence of coexisting mental and physical health problems. Despite the problems faced by many of the study participants, however, the majority were eager to return to work, and this desire to gain employment is discussed in the context of ongoing welfare reform in the UK.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Women and recession revisited
an article by Jill Rubery and Anthony Rafferty (University of Manchester, UK) published in Work Employment & Society Volume 27 Number 3 (June 2013)
Abstract
In earlier work (Rubery, 1988), the extent to which women might act as a flexible reserve over the business cycle was argued to depend on three main factors:
Abstract
In earlier work (Rubery, 1988), the extent to which women might act as a flexible reserve over the business cycle was argued to depend on three main factors:
- the pattern of gender segregation and its relationship to employment change;
- women’s commitment to labour market participation; and
- state policy and support for women’s employment.
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Female Labour Supply, Human Capital and Welfare Reform
COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1892 by Richard Blundell (University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies), Monica Costa Dias (Institute for Fiscal Studies and CEF-UP at the University of Porto), Costas Meghir (Yale University, Institute for Fiscal Studies and NBER) and Jonathan Shaw (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London)
Abstract
We consider the impact of Tax Credits and income support programmes on female education choice, employment, hours and human capital accumulation over the life-cycle. We thus analyse both the short run incentive e ffects and the longer run implications of such programmes.
By allowing for risk aversion and savings we are also able to quantify the insurance value of alternative programmes. We find important incentive e ffects on education choice, and labor supply, with single mothers having the most elastic labour supply. Returns to labour market experience are found to be substantial but only for full-time employment, and especially for women with more than basic formal education.
For those with lower education the welfare programmes are shown to have substantial insurance value. Based on the model marginal increases to tax credits are preferred to equally costly increases in income support and to tax cuts, except by those in the highest education group.
Full text (PDF 54pp)
Abstract
We consider the impact of Tax Credits and income support programmes on female education choice, employment, hours and human capital accumulation over the life-cycle. We thus analyse both the short run incentive e ffects and the longer run implications of such programmes.
By allowing for risk aversion and savings we are also able to quantify the insurance value of alternative programmes. We find important incentive e ffects on education choice, and labor supply, with single mothers having the most elastic labour supply. Returns to labour market experience are found to be substantial but only for full-time employment, and especially for women with more than basic formal education.
For those with lower education the welfare programmes are shown to have substantial insurance value. Based on the model marginal increases to tax credits are preferred to equally costly increases in income support and to tax cuts, except by those in the highest education group.
Full text (PDF 54pp)
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