An article examined obstacles to the introduction of an obligation for all European Union member states to guarantee a dignified minimum income to their citizens. Given the great heterogeneity between countries, any binding instrument on minimum income would have to be worded flexibly, introduced gradually, and implemented in unison with a convergence in activation measures and minimum wages. Priority should be given to measures aimed at covering the minimum costs of child-rearing, restricted in an initial phase to guaranteeing to all families with children an income equal to 40 per cent of median standardized income.
Source: Bea Cantillon, Herwig Verschueren, and Natascha Van Mechelen, 'Towards minimum income protection in Europe: budgetary and political obstacles to overcome', European Journal of Social Security, 2011 Volume 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A chapter in the 2011-12 British Social Attitudes Survey report examined whether being educated privately affected people's political attitudes and values. Differences were found between the views of those educated privately and those educated in state schools that could not be explained by differences in where they had come from (for example, parental income) and where they were (for example, existing income). 60 per cent of state-educated people agreed that there was 'one law for the rich, and one law for the poor', compared with 44 per cent of those who had been privately educated. 63 per cent of those educated privately saw themselves as middle or upper-middle class, compared with only 24 per cent of those educated by the state.
Source: Geoffrey Evans and James Tilley, 'Private schools and public divisions: the influence of fee-paying education on social attitudes' (in Alison Park, Elizabeth Clery, John Curtice, Miranda Phillips, and David Utting (eds.), British Social Attitudes 28: 2011-2012 Edition), SAGE Publications
Links: Chapter | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Dec
A report said that the gap between the wealthiest and poorest individuals in developed (OECD) countries was bigger than at any time in the previous 30 years. The gap had increased the most in the United Kingdom, where the richest 1 per cent had doubled their incomes since the 1970s.
Source: Divided We Stand: Why inequality keeps rising, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary | UK note | OECD press release | TUAC press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper examined the European Union's 2020 target for reducing poverty. It presented an analysis and critique of the way in which the target had been formulated on both conceptual and empirical grounds, and documented the consequence for the understanding of both cross-national and socio-economic patterning of poverty.
Source: Brian Nolan and Christopher Whelan, The EU 2020 Poverty Target, Discussion Paper 19, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined whether the 'disappointing' impact on social inclusion of the European Union's open method of co-ordination could be explained by methodological weaknesses or by substantive contradictions in the 'social investment paradigm'. Policy-makers could not ignore the failure of employment policies to reduce the proportion of children and working-age adults living in jobless households in Europe.
Source: Frank Vandenbroucke and Koen Vleminckx, 'Disappointing poverty trends: is the social investment state to blame?', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 21 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Notes: The open method of coordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary co-operation of member states rather than the application of legislative measures.
Date: 2011-Dec
A report examined the first year of implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy for socially inclusive growth. The focus by governments on cutting social security benefits and services, wage reductions, and increases in tax would disproportionately affect the poorest groups in society – leading to further exclusion of people who already found themselves on the margins of society. The macro-economic approach underpinning the strategy failed to recognize the interdependence of economic development, social development, and environmental protection. There also needed to be better participatory structures in regard to the development of the National Reform programmes, and adequate time should be allocated for stakeholders to respond to and participate in debates.
Source: Europe 2020: Shadow Report, Caritas Europa
Links: Report | Caritas press release
Date: 2011-Dec
A new book provided a social policy analysis of wealth and the wealthy. It considered the definition of wealth; the distribution of wealth; and social policy responses to the issues that wealth raised.
Source: Karen Rowlingson and Stephen McKay, Wealth and the Wealthy: Exploring and tackling inequalities between rich and poor, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper examined the trade union response to the European Commission consultation on the European Union 2020 strategy. It highlighted growing disenchantment with the strategy, as the neoliberal implications of European integration became 'increasingly unencumbered by any pretence at a social dimension'.
Source: Richard Hyman, Trade Unions, Lisbon and Europe 2020: From dream to nightmare, LEQS Paper 45/2011, London School of Economics
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Dec
Researchers examined the social effects of employment developments across the European Union as a result of the global economic crisis. They considered what kinds of job had been lost, together with the impact on household incomes and on the numbers at risk of poverty.
Source: Terry Ward and Erhan Ozdemir, The Social Effects of Employment Developments Across the EU in the Crisis, Research Note 1/2011, Social Situation Observatory (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the extent to which increased ethnic heterogeneity in European countries would reduce public support for welfare policy (following the experience in the United States of America), based on survey data from the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark.
Source: Christian Albrekt Larsen, 'Ethnic heterogeneity and public support for welfare: is the American experience replicated in Britain, Sweden and Denmark?', Scandinavian Political Studies, Volume 34 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A report examined which developed (OECD) countries deliberately attempted to reproduce social stratification through educational policies, and which countries put greater emphasis on intervening in the stratification process. It challenged a 'one-policy-fits-all approach' that advocated education policy reforms designed to increase equal opportunities in education. The context of each country needed to be considered before the implementation of such policies.
Source: Miroslav Beblavy, Anna-Elisabeth Thum, and Marcela Veselkova, Education Policy and Welfare Regimes in OECD Countries: Social stratification and equal opportunity in education, Working Document 357, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Dec
Researchers examined the distributional effects of the measures that had been introduced following the 2007-08 financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn (up to mid-2011) in six European countries (including the United Kingdom).
Source: Tim Callan, Chrysa Leventi, Horacio levy, Manos Matsaganis, Alari Paulus, and Holly Sutherland, The Distributional Effects of Austerity Measures: A comparison of six EU countries, Research Note 2/2011, Social Situation Observatory (European Commission)
Links: Report | ISER press release
Date: 2011-Dec
The European Commission published its first annual review of employment and social developments in Europe. The economic crisis had aggravated Europe's structural weaknesses, such as income inequality and the disappearance of medium-paid jobs. Poverty remained high, with 115 million Europeans (23 per cent of the EU population) at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2010. A mix of employment and social policies was necessary to ensure a long-term job-rich recovery in the existing climate of fiscal consolidation and bleak economic outlook.
Source: Employment and Social Developments in Europe 2011, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Dec
A paper examined the extent to which the global financial and economic crisis had affected labour market developments in Europe. Institutional arrangements – such as employment protection, unemployment insurance benefits, and minimum income support – had played a crucial role in determining the extent to which the crisis had led to higher unemployment, wage cuts, or income losses and rising poverty. They had also led to an unequal distribution of economic risks across socio-economic groups.
Source: Gaetano Basso, Matthias Dolls, Werner Eichhorst, Thomas Leoni, and Andreas Peichl, The Effects of the Recent Economic Crisis on Social Protection and Labour Market Arrangements Across Socio-Economic Groups, Discussion Paper 6080, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A commission report said that the high salaries of company executives were 'corrosive' to the economy. It set out a 12-point plan designed to stop high pay creating inequalities 'last seen in the Victorian era'.
Source: Cheques With Balances: Why tackling high pay is in the national interest, High Pay Commission
Links: Report | Labour Party press release | NAPF press release | Unite press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper said that the increase in economic inequality in advanced welfare democracies could be understood better by taking account of the changes in the housing regimes of many countries.
Source: Caroline Dewilde, The Interplay Between Economic Inequality Trends and Housing Regime Changes in Advanced Welfare Democracies, Discussion Paper 18, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper described a new relative deprivation index, and applied it to European Union countries. The concept of relative deprivation was extended towards the inter-temporal framework: individuals were deemed to take care of their relative position not only with respect to others but also with respect to their own past.
Source: Lidia Ceriani and Chiara Gigliarano, An Inter-Temporal Relative Deprivation Index, Working Paper 2011-237, ECINEQ: Society for the Study of Economic Inequality
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined globalization's influences on individual life courses in different European societies, and political strategies to mediate this influence. Globalization did not lead to a 'race to the bottom' in modern welfare states but was mediated differently by nation-specific institutions. Employment insecurity was often channelled to specific disadvantaged groups, thereby amplifying existing inequality structures.
Source: Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Sandra Buchholz, Dirk Hofacker, and Kathrin Kolb (eds.), Globalized Labour Markets and Social Inequality in Europe, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined whether the midlife prevalence peak for psychological distress and common mental disorders occurred only in lower-income households. Prevalence of psychological distress, diagnoses, and treatments rose with age until early middle age and declined subsequently. In analyses conducted separately by income categories, this pattern was marked in low-income groups but absent in high-income groups.
Source: Iain Lang, David Llewellyn, Ruth Hubbard, Kenneth Langa, and David Melzer, 'Income and the midlife peak in common mental disorder prevalence', Psychological Medicine, Volume 41, Issue 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper examined the relationship between birth weight and socio-economic status in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There was strong evidence of intergenerational persistence in the transmission of poor early life conditions.
Source: Mark McGovern, Still Unequal at Birth: Birth weight, socioeconomic status and outcomes at age 9, Working Paper 11/25, Centre for Economic Research (University College Dublin)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A report examined the Europe 2020 strategy for socially inclusive growth. It said that national reform programmes (NRPs) should be framed in a manner that recognized the interdependence of economic development, social development, and environmental development. More participation was needed to develop the NRPs, especially in order to include and engage all stakeholders. The member states should also increase public debate in regard to the development of NRPs. A more comprehensive approach to monitoring the NRPs was required.
Source: Europe 2020 Shadow Report, Caritas Europa
Links: Report | Caritas press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper said that social capital and national income were positively correlated across European countries, but negatively correlated over time. This paradoxical evidence was compatible with an explanation in terms of increasing economic inequality: in countries experiencing strong increases in inequality, trends of social capital were negatively correlated with economic growth. For countries where economic growth was accompanied by negative or modest increases in inequality, this relationship disappeared.
Source: Francesco Sarracino, Economic Growth and Social Capital: Happily together ever after?, Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies (CEPS/INSTEAD)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
Researchers estimated subjective poverty equivalence scales for the whole Eurozone as well as its individual constituent countries. The scales increased consistently with household size. Adding the first child was more costly than adding a third adult, and the marginal cost of children declined. The scales 'redistributed poverty' away from larger to smaller households.
Source: Ismael Ahamdanech-Zarco, John Bishop, Andrew Grodner, and Haiyong Liu, Subjective Poverty Equivalence Scales for Euro Zone Countries, Working Paper 2011-233, ECINEQ: Society for the Study of Economic Inequality
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A think-tank report said that the world's rich nations differed markedly in their success in ensuring that economic growth led to an improvement in living standards for people on low-to-middle incomes. The United Kingdom's overall policy orientation from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s seemed to have been comparatively effective in that respect. Future growth in living standards would not be automatic, but would depend heavily on decisions made by the government of the day.
Source: Lane Kenworthy, When Does Economic Growth Benefit People on Low to Middle Incomes – And Why?, Resolution Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Nov
A report examined issues of ethics in relation to the operations of the financial sector, and the sector's relationship to wider society. Although professionals working in the City of London regarded financial incentives as extremely important, three-quarters of those surveyed felt that they were paid too much in relation to the rest of society.
Source: Robert Gordon, Value and Values: Perceptions of ethics in the City today, St Paul s Institute
Links: Report | SPI press release | Ekklesia report
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper used a new model to estimate the impact on relative income poverty of moving towards the Europe 2020 target of having 75 per cent of the working-age population in work. Employment growth did not necessarily result in lower relative poverty shares – a result that was largely consistent with observed outcomes over the previous decade.
Source: Ive Marx, Pieter Vandenbroucke, and Gerlinde Verbist, Can Higher Employment Levels Bring Lower Poverty in the EU? Regression based simulations of the Europe 2020 target, Discussion Paper 6068, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper examined concerns about horizontal equity or generational fairness in developed (OECD) countries and in the United Kingdom. For the OECD as a whole, there was no evidence that social expenditure had been shifting in favour of the elderly at the expense of children, except perhaps recently in Nordic countries. In the UK, there had been a small shift in final income in favour of the elderly – but this was a result of a change in the original income distribution in favour of the elderly, rather than changes in taxes, benefits, or services in kind.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw and John Holmes, An Analysis of Generational Equity Over Recent Decades in the OECD and UK, Discussion Paper 11, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
An annual assessment of poverty in the United Kingdom said that the coalition government did not have a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy, and relied too much on the tax and benefits system alone to encourage people into work – repeating the mistake made by its Labour predecessor.
Source: Hannah Aldridge, Anushree Parekh, Tom MacInnes, and Peter Kenway, Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2011, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Findings | JRF press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper examined the link between inequality and voter turnout. Inequality was associated negatively with turnout at the national elections in Europe – not a very strong effect, but net of several factors affecting voter turnout that were empirically well proven. Larger differences in income between very rich groups and the middle decreased overall turnout, while larger differences between the middle and very poor groups increased turnout.
Source: Daniel Horn, Income Inequality and Voter Turnout: Evidence from European national elections, Discussion Paper 16, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Nov
The European Commission set out the European Union's priorities for 2012 in terms of economic and budgetary policies and reforms to boost growth and employment. An annex described the progress that had been made on the Europe 2020 targets: based on existing national targets, around 12 million people would be lifted out of poverty and social exclusion, short of the target of 20 million.
Source: Annual Growth Survey 2012, European Commission
Links: Report | Annex (Europe 2020) | Annex (employment) | European Commission press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the mechanisms through which the European Union played a role in domestic social policy changes. It focused on where, when, and how national actors used the tools and resources offered by the process of European integration to support them in pursuing national welfare reforms.
Source: Paolo Graziano, Sophie Jacquot, and Bruno Palier (eds.), The EU and the Domestic Politics of Welfare State Reforms, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A think-tank report examined what had caused the surge in economic inequality since the 1980s, and how policymakers could address it. Taxation measures were the obvious remedy: but in a context where demands were growing on shrinking public resources, this was 'not a realistic possibility'.
Source: Eil s Lawlor, Stephen Spratt, Faiza Shaheen, and Daiana Beitler, Why the Rich Are Getting Richer: The determinants of economic inequality, New Economics Foundation
Links: Report | NEF press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A report provided an overview of the impact of a wide range of social inequalities in developed countries, including inequalities of income, wealth, and education. It considered social, political, and cultural impacts.
Source: Wiemer Salverda (ed.), Inequalities Impacts: State of the art review, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book brought together a selection of writings on inequality and social justice. Britain was becoming more politically, socially, and economically divided – but coming together in terms of educational outcomes and reduced segregation by ethnicity.
Source: Daniel Dorling, Fair Play: A Daniel Dorling reader on social justice, Policy Press
Links: Summary | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2)
Date: 2011-Oct
A report said that the macro-economic approach being pursued by European Union countries – driven by EU economic governance rules, and focusing on stability and competitiveness – was failing to promote inclusive growth, threatened human rights, and was likely to generate increased poverty, exclusion, and inequality.
Source: Deliver Inclusive Growth – Put the heart back in Europe! EAPN analysis of the 2011 National Reform Programmes (NRPs) Europe 2020, European Anti-Poverty Network
Links: Report | EAPN press release
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the economic case for dismantling an economy based on the interests of the 'super-rich'. The great concentrations of income and wealth needed to be broken up – as they had been from the 1930s onwards – and the wage share restored to the post-war levels that had brought equilibrium and sustained stability.
Source: Stewart Lansley, The Cost of Inequality: Three decades of the super-rich and the economy, Gibson Square Books
Links: Summary | Compass blog
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the European model of social justice in private law.
Source: Hans Micklitz (ed.), The Many Concepts of Social Justice in European Private Law, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A report provided an overview of national experts' reports on the extent to which national reform programmes were likely to ensure progress towards the achievement of social inclusion objectives in the Europe 2020 strategy. Only a very few member states had presented a reasonably developed and coherent analysis of the challenges and bottlenecks that needed to be addressed.
Source: Hugh Frazer and Eric Marlier, Assessment of Progress Towards the Europe 2020 Social Inclusion Objectives, EU Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion/European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A think-tank report examined the relationship between economic growth and wages for workers on middle (median) wages over the previous 30 years in 10 major developed (OECD) countries. The United Kingdom was in a middle group where median pay had tracked economic growth for long periods, but had increased at less than one-half the rate of national income per capita in the previous decade.
Source: Jess Bailey, Joe Coward, and Matthew Whittaker, Painful Separation: An international study of the weakening relationship between economic growth and the pay of ordinary workers, Resolution Foundation
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined key issues surrounding the future of the European 'social model'. Contributors evaluated the impact of the enlargement processes, the implications of the Lisbon treaty, the integration of the social charter into European Union law – and, above all, the consequences of the global economic crisis.
Source: Marie-Ange Moreau (ed.), Before and after the Economic Crisis: What Implications for the European social model ?, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A think-tank report examined the policies of developed (OECD) countries on poverty prevention, access to education, labour market inclusion, health, intergenerational justice, social cohesion, and non-discrimination. Whereas the northern European states performed best in promoting equal opportunities, many European and 'Anglo-Saxon' welfare states – including the United Kingdom – were falling behind.
Source: Social Justice in the OECD: How Do the Member States Compare?, Bertelsmann Foundation
Links: Report | Bertelsmann Foundation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper examined earnings inequality and mobility across the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, and the United States of America during the late 1990s. Earnings mobility and employment risk were found to be positively correlated with base-year inequality. Taken together they produced more equalization in countries with high cross-section inequality, such that the countries had more similar lifetime inequality levels than cross-section measures suggested.
Source: Audra Bowlus and Jean-Marc Robin, An International Comparison of Lifetime Inequality: How continental Europe resembles north America, Working Paper 2011-6, Department of Economics (University of Western Ontario, Canada)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper examined if, and to what extent, government redistribution policies in developed (OECD) countries had slowed or accelerated the trend towards greater income disparities in the previous 20-25 years. Tax-benefit systems had become more redistributive since the 1980s: but this had not stopped income inequality from rising – market income inequality had grown by twice as much as redistribution.
Source: Herwig Immervoll and Linda Richardson, Redistribution Policy and Inequality Reduction in OECD Countries: What has changed in two decades?, Discussion Paper 6030, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the relationship between national and transnational social solidarity in Europe. Social solidarity was the 'defining pillar' of European integration.
Source: Marion Ellison (ed.), Reinventing Social Solidarity Across Europe, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the policy record of the former Labour governments (1997-2010).
Source: Patrick Diamond and Michael Kenny (eds.), Reassessing New Labour: Market, state and society under Blair and Brown, Wiley
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper examined the outcomes of the European Union's agenda for growth, employment, and social inclusion. It considered why, despite higher incomes and employment, poverty rates had not gone down. Rising employment had benefited workless households only partially; income protection for the working-age population out of work had become less adequate; and social policies had become less 'pro-poor'.
Source: Bea Cantillon, The Paradox of the Social Investment State: Growth, employment and poverty in the Lisbon era, Working Paper 11/03, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy (University of Antwerp)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Sep
A new book provided a systematic comparative and longitudinal analysis of minimum income protection systems in 17 European Union countries, based on a newly developed dataset.
Source: Thomas Bahle, Vanessa Hubl, and Michaela Pfeifer, The Last Safety Net: A handbook of minimum income protection in Europe, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
An annual publication surveyed labour market conditions in developed (OECD) countries. Unemployment remained 'stubbornly high'. A chapter examined how well social safety net systems had stood up to the global economic recession, and considered what insights this experience had offered.
Source: OECD Employment Outlook 2011, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Summary | UK note | OECD press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper explored and compared the effectiveness of minimum income (MI) schemes in protecting persons of working age from poverty in the European Union. In several countries a significant number of individuals were ineligible for MI even when they fell below a poverty line set at 40 per cent of median income. In other countries a large fraction of those entitled to MI remained at very low levels of income even when MI benefit was added.
Source: Francesco Figari, Manos Matsaganis, and Holly Sutherland, Are European Social Safety Nets Tight Enough?, Discussion Paper 2, GINI Project (European Commission)
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper reported two experiments (one in the United Kingdom, the other in South Africa) designed to investigate whether individuals' notions of distributive justice were associated with their relative (within-society) economic status. In both locations relatively well-off individuals made allocations to others that reflected those others' initial endowments more when those endowments were earned rather than random; among relatively poor individuals this was not the case.
Source: Abigail Barr, Justine Burns, Luis Miller, and Ingrid Shaw, Individual Notions of Distributive Justice and Relative Economic Status, Discussion Paper 2011-005, Nuffield Centre for Experimental Social Sciences
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Sep
A study examined the long-term effects of financial hardship and negative shocks, such as those induced by the recent financial crisis, experienced by individual households in different European countries. A financial hardship episode was found to be similar to a bad start in life, in that it depressed earnings for a similarly long period. In southern European countries, informal insurance mechanisms mitigated the effects on earnings, but were unable to cope with the more persistent shocks.
Source: Agar Brugiavini and Guglielmo Weber, with Orazio Attanasio, Margherita Borella, Olympia Bover, and Torben Heien Nielsen, Longer-Term Consequences on Income Distribution of the Great Recession, Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti (Milan)
Links: Report | FRDB press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A study examined whether there was a link between income inequality and health/social problems; who was most affected by income inequality; and other possible impacts of income inequality – for example, on the economy. There was general agreement about a correlation between income inequality and health/social problems: but there was less agreement about whether income inequality caused problems independently of other factors. Some research suggested that inequality was particularly harmful beyond a certain threshold. Anxiety about status might explain the effect on health/social problems. There was a need for further research.
Source: Karen Rowlingson, Does Income Inequality Cause Health and Social Problems?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper examined how redistributive preference in European countries related to actual income and to its distribution. On a macro level there was a continued and high support of state redistribution in many European countries: but the cross-country variance was also high. Although affluent, middle-income, and low-income groups had a different appetite for redistribution everywhere, the distance between their attitudes also seemed to be determined by the distance between their relative positions.
Source: Istvan Gyorgy Toth and Tamas Keller, Income Distributions, Inequality Perceptions and Redistributive Claims in European Societies, Discussion Paper 7, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper called for higher taxes on the wealthiest people and companies, and proposed using the extra revenue to: give all children a good start in life; reduce youth unemployment; support families with childcare and eldercare; and enable older people to play a full part in society.
Source: Investing in the Future: Wealth, work and welfare in a multi-generational society, United for All Ages
Links: Report | UAA press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper examined the effect of changes in the early life economic environment on late life cognitive ability in 11 European countries (not including the United Kingdom). Being born during a recession or boom period significantly influenced cognitive functioning late in life in various domains. The effects were particularly pronounced among the less well educated.
Source: Gabriele Doblhammer, Gerard van den Berg, and Thomas Fritze, Economic Conditions at the Time of Birth and Cognitive Abilities Late in Life: Evidence from eleven European countries, Discussion Paper 5940, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Sep
A briefing note examined the European Union's 2020 strategy, and highlighted the opportunities it presented for interventions by anti-poverty organizations.
Source: The Europe 2020 Strategy, European Anti-Poverty Network
Date: 2011-Sep
A new book examined the effect of the global economic crisis on social policy in developed countries. 'The crisis' was better understood as a variety of crises, each mediated by national context. Consequently, there was an array of potential trajectories for welfare systems, from those where social policy was regarded as incompatible with the post-crisis economy to those where it was considered essential to future economic growth and security.
Source: Kevin Farnsworth and Zoe Irving (eds.), Social Policy in Challenging Times: Economic crisis and welfare systems, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
A new book examined social solidarity within and across Europe. It considered how it was being reinvented from below, and redefined from above.
Source: Marion Ellison (ed.), Reinventing Social Solidarity Across Europe, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
A group of left-of-centre Members of the European Parliament published a 10-point social policy strategy for Europe. They said that economic freedom needed to be matched by respect for advanced labour laws, including equal pay and full trade union rights; that European Union measures were needed to eradicate poverty, along with action on social exclusion and lack of access to education; and that completing the single market needed to include strengthening its social dimension – making the market not just a goal in itself but a way of improving people's quality of life.
Source: Europe Needs a New Social Strategy, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament
Links: Strategy | Group press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A paper examined how best to approach the measurement of income inequality and wage inequality, to enhance comparability across different country studies. It focused first on income inequality, dealing with the definition of income, the income recipient unit, and the unit of analysis. It then explored inequality in earnings among employees.
Source: Brian Nolan, Ive Marx, and Wiemer Salverda, Comparable Indicators of Inequality Across Countries, Discussion Paper 9, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Sep
A report examined the social impact in Europe of the global economic crisis, focusing on groups who were vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. It outlined a recovery strategy based on broader social and sustainable development.
Source: Katherine Duffy, Re-Engaging Hope and Expectations: Getting out of the crisis together, European Anti-Poverty Network
Links: Report | EAPN press release
Date: 2011-Sep
A new book examined how to improve the absolute living standards of the least well-off people, based on the experiences of 20 affluent countries since the 1970s. It considered the extent to which economic growth helped to reduce poverty; when and why growth failed to 'trickle down'; how social policy could help; whether universal programmes were better than targeted ones; and the role of public services and social spending in anti-poverty efforts.
Source: Lane Kenworthy, Progress for the Poor, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined the extent to which the global financial crisis had intensified pressure to 'reform' the welfare state, based on a comparison of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden. Initial responses had been surprisingly similar, with continuing public support for the welfare state the main explanatory factor.
Source: Barbara Vis, Kees van Kersbergen, and Tom Hylands, 'To what extent did the financial crisis intensify the pressure to reform the welfare state?', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 45 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined the immediate policy responses to urgent social matters under conditions of economic crisis, focusing on social and unemployment policies in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. Governments seemed to have fallen back on 'old habits' by adopting reactive policies that were based on their institutional legacies.
Source: Heejung Chung and Stefan Thewissen, 'Falling back on old habits? A comparison of the social and unemployment crisis reactive policy strategies in Germany, the UK and Sweden', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 45 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
A paper examined how social comparisons over time shaped perceptions of inequality, by drawing on a qualitative study of popular genealogy.
Source: Wendy Bottero, Placing People in the Past: Family history and understandings of inequality, Working Paper 104, Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (University of Manchester)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Aug
The European Commission published a proposal for the establishment of a European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion. It set out the challenges presented by poverty and exclusion, and outlined the contribution of different policies to reducing poverty and increasing inclusion. It identified a number of associated actions, and explained the design and the content of the Platform.
Source: The European Platform Against Poverty and Social Exclusion: A European framework for social and territorial cohesion, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Aug
A trade union report said that there was no evidence to support the idea that there was a 'trade off' between inequality and prosperity: indeed, there was strong evidence that countries with higher inequality had worse performance on a range of health and social outcomes. It recommended policies that would help reduce inequality from its existing very high level in the United Kingdom.
Source: Howard Reed, Fairness and Prosperity, Trades Union Congress
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jul
An article used data from the 2008 European Social Survey to examine whether the shift in responsibility for outcomes more towards individuals might threaten the political legitimacy of welfare states. A corresponding 'proactivity' by governments was required in securing good access to more equal opportunities for vulnerable groups.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, 'Opportunity and solidarity', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 40 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
A think-tank report examined the prospects for social progress in Europe. Separate sections dealt with: politics, social cohesion, and re-energizing citizenship; social investment; the labour market and workplace; and intergenerational inequality.
Source: Michael McTernan (ed.), Social Progress in the 21st Century: Social investment, labour market reform and intergenerational inequality, Policy Network
Links: Report | Policy Network press release
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper examined the approach taken by the European Union to poverty and social exclusion over the previous decade. The EU had been 'quietly redefining' the measurement of poverty, and giving substance to social exclusion as a problem for social policy. The EU's approach had a number of significant and unique elements, but also a number of attendant weaknesses.
Source: Mary Daly, Lisbon and Beyond: The EU approach to combating poverty and social exclusion in the last decade, Working Paper 3, Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK Project
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
A report reviewed activities undertaken during the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (in 2010).
Source: European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion: Springboard into the future, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jul
A new book examined public attitudes in Europe towards healthcare, family policy, and social security benefits. It said that the institutional design of social policies had a great impact on inequalities among social groups, and provided best practice for gaining public support for social policy reform.
Source: Claus Wendt, Monika Mischke, and Michaela Pfeifer, Welfare States and Public Opinion: Perceptions of healthcare systems, family policy and benefits for the unemployed and poor in Europe, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jul
A trade union report set out the case for defending the welfare state against cuts and propaganda attacks. It called for: a welfare state that ensured that everyone had a decent standard of living free from poverty; a government that was committed to full employment; a welfare system based on need, not moral judgements; and an end to the low pay rates that left people dependent on means-tested benefits.
Source: Welfare: An Alternative Vision, Public and Commercial Services Union
Links: Report | PCS press release
Date: 2011-Jul
An article considered the grounds on which rich people might be considered 'deserving', using the notion of 'deservingness' frequently used in relation to people in poverty. It identified three sets of arguments, concerning: the appropriateness of rewarding merit/effort/risk-taking; the need to provide incentives for wealth creation; and the character/behaviour of rich people. The authors examined the social policy implications, including for taxation, that emerged from the debate.
Source: Karen Rowlingson and Stuart Connor, 'The "deserving" rich? Inequality, morality and social policy', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 40 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
A new textbook examined sociological debates surrounding inequality. It looked at how inequalities were experienced across a variety of settings – including education, health, geography and housing, and income and wealth – and how they cumulated across the life course.
Source: Lucinda Platt, Understanding Inequalities: Stratification and difference, Polity Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined what social policy contracts revealed about contemporary forms of social solidarity, and about the nature of social cohesion in western societies, by reference to 'workfare' in various countries. The moralistic nature of the workfare contract, and the forms of social solidarity that it expressed, contributed to the persistence of social suffering and had a 'de-politicizing' effect on social policy.
Source: Kenneth Veitch, 'Social solidarity and the power of contract', Journal of Law and Society, Volume 38 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the situation in the European Union in relation to poverty and social exclusion, and assessed related policy options for addressing the challenges involved. 1 in 5 people in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and 40 million people were in a condition of severe deprivation. Achieving the EU commitment to lift at least 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion in a decade would require 'ambitious' national targets, and protection for the most vulnerable people from fiscal consolidation measures.
Source: Social Protection Committee, The Social Dimension of the Europe 2020 Strategy, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined differences in anti-poverty approaches between the European Union and the United States of America.
Source: Koen Caminada and Megan Martin, 'Differences in anti-poverty approaches in Europe and the United States: a cross-Atlantic descriptive policy analysis', Poverty & Public Policy, Volume 3 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
A new book examined the intellectual legacy of the sociologist Peter Townsend (1928-2009), and applied it to contemporary policy debates on poverty, social justice, and social inclusion.
Source: Alan Walker, Adrian Sinfield, Carol Walker (eds.), Fighting Poverty, Inequality and Injustice: A manifesto inspired by Peter Townsend, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jun
A new book examined the various mechanisms that held different societies together and how these were withstanding the strains of the latest economic crisis. It identified four major traditions of social cohesion in developed societies, each with specific institutional and cultural foundations. There were still distinctive 'regimes of social cohesion' in 'liberal,' 'social market', and 'social democratic' countries; and they achieved social bonding in quite different ways.
Source: Andy Green and Jan Germen Janmaat, Regimes of Social Cohesion: Societies and the crisis of globalization, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary | IOE press release
Date: 2011-Jun
The European Commission published a set of recommendations designed to help the United Kingdom adjust its economic and social policies for growth, jobs, and reform of public finances – alongside similar recommendations for the other European Union member states, and for the euro area as a whole.
Source: Recommendation for a Council Recommendation on the National Reform Programme 2011 of the United Kingdom and Delivering a Council Opinion on the Updated Convergence Programme of the United Kingdom, 2011-2014, European Commission | Recommendation for a Council Recommendation on the Implementation of the Broad Guidelines for the Economic Policies of the Member States Whose Currency Is the Euro, European Commission
Links: UK report | EC working paper (UK) | Euro area report | EC working paper (euro area) | European Commission press release | Link to country reports | EAPN press release | EWL press release | Joint EMCO/SPC opinion
Notes: UK national reform programme (April 2011) | UK convergence programme (April 2011)
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined the relationship between macroeconomic activity and inequality, using data for the United Kingdom, Sweden, and United States of America.
Source: Marika Karanassou and Hector Sala, Inequality and Employment Sensitivities to the Falling Labour Share, Discussion Paper 5796, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined the 'conventional wisdom' that the welfare state foundations of European Union member states had been fatally eroded by globalization, European integration, demographic change, and individualization processes in society.
Source: Arne Heise and Hanna Lierse, The European Social Model Under Pressure: The effects of European austerity programmes on social security systems, Working Papers on Economic Governance 37, Department of Socio-Economics, Hamburg University
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
A paper provided a Marxian analysis of trends in the distribution of income in the period 1955-2010.
Source: Juan Carlos Cuestas and Bruce Philp, Economic Class and the Distribution of Income: A time-series analysis of the UK economy, 1955-2010, SERP 2011012, Department of Economics, University of Sheffield
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
A new book examined the growth of social inequality and its consequences. Treating poverty as a problem to be controlled by the criminal justice system obscured the social roots of inequality, which lay in the combination of a consumer-oriented economy and the rapid shrinking of life-chances available to those in poverty. The latter were treated in a consumer-oriented society as 'aliens inside' who were deprived of the rights enjoyed by other members of the social order.
Source: Zygmunt Bauman, Collateral Damage: Social inequalities in a global age, Wiley
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-May
An article said that there was 'very strong evidence' of welfare state convergence among developed countries. The speed of convergence was driven by globalization and European Union membership, and shaped by existing welfare state structures.
Source: Carina Schmitt and Peter Starke, 'Explaining convergence of OECD welfare states: a conditional approach', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
The interim report of an independent commission reviewed the policy debate over high pay. It highlighted the dramatic growth in pay experienced by those at the top of the earnings distribution over the previous 30 years, and discussed its causes. If existing trends continued, the top 0.1 per cent of the distribution would see their pay rise from 5 to 14 per cent of national income by 2030 – a level not seen since the start of the 20th century.
Source: More for Less: What has happened to pay at the top and does it matter?, High Pay Commission
Links: Report | Commission press release | PwC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-May
A report examined the impact of taxes and benefits on the richest and poorest households. Before taxes and benefits, the richest fifth of households received income in 2009-10 that was 16 times greater than the poorest fifth, compared with 17 times greater in 2008-09. After taxes and benefits, including benefits in kind, the ratio between the richest and poorest fifth of households was 4 to 1.
Source: Andrew Barnard, Steve Howell, and Robert Smith, The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income: Further analysis and methodology, Office for National Statistics
Links: Report | ONS press release | CCCS press release
Date: 2011-May
A new book examined recent developments in welfare policy in the United Kingdom and Germany. It considered the similarities and differences between the two countries, and analyzed the degree to which social attitudes towards welfare provision, fairness, and social justice had changed. It focused on three public policy domains: family policy, pensions, and policies aimed at social and labour market integration.
Source: Jochen Clasen (ed.), Converging Worlds of Welfare? British and German social policy in the 21st century, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-May
'Households Below Average Income' statistics were published for 2009-10 (the final year of the former Labour government), including data on the number and percentage of children, pensioners, and working-age people in the United Kingdom living in relative and absolute poverty:
• 16 per cent of working-age adults were living in relative poverty before housing costs (BHC), and 22 per cent after housing costs (AHC): compared with 2008-09, this was a fall of 0.1 percentage points BHC, and a rise of 0.1 percentage points AHC.
• 18 per cent of pensioners BHC, and 16 per cent AHC, were living in relative poverty – a fall of 2 percentage points BHC, and no change AHC.
• 20 per cent of children BHC, and 29 per cent AHC, were living in relative poverty – a fall of 2 percentage points BHC, and a fall of 1 percentage point AHC.
Source: Households Below Average Income: An Analysis of the Income Distribution 1994/95-2009/10, Department for Work and Pensions
Links: Report | Technical note (child poverty) | Technical note (pensioner poverty) | DWP press release | Scotland data | Barnardos press release | CESI press release | CPAG press release | Gingerbread press release | JRF press release | NAPF press release | NPI press release | Unicef UK press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-May
An article used data from the 2008 European Social Survey to consider whether citizen attitudes would provide continuing support for the welfare state in more difficult times. Pressures on state welfare might diminish the feeling of security so that support for state provision grew: but they did so in a climate of more equivocal trust in government services.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, 'Security, equality and opportunity: attitudes and the sustainability of social protection', Journal of European Social Policy, Volume 21 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
A think-tank paper said that measures of income inequality revealed nothing about the living conditions, health, or access to economic opportunity of people in poverty. Income inequality could easily increase in societies in which everyone (including those in the greatest poverty) was becoming better off. The contemporary focus on income inequality was a 'fundamentally flawed' tool for policy-making.
Source: Dalibor Rohac, Does Inequality Matter?, Adam Smith Institute
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-May
A report examined wealth, inequality, and social polarization in the European Union.
Source: Wealth, Inequality and Social Polarisation in the EU, European Anti-Poverty Network
Links: Report
Date: 2011-May
A think-tank report examined changes to average incomes, inequality, and poverty since 1997, with a particular focus on those in the latest year of data (2009-10). Around 300,000 children would be pushed below the poverty line in the next three years as a result of the coalition government's spending cuts – reversing the improvement during the previous Labour government's years in office.
Source: Wenchao Jin, Robert Joyce, David Phillips, and Luke Sibieta, Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2011, Commentary 118, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Links: Report | IFS press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-May
A report set out data on the overall level of economic inequality in Wales, and inequalities between and within sub-groups of the Welsh population. It looked at outcomes in education, employment, earnings, income, poverty, and wealth in Wales in comparison to other areas of the United Kingdom. The data analysis compared outcomes by gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, and housing tenure.
Source: Rhys Davies et al., An Anatomy of Economic Inequality in Wales, Research Report RRS/002, Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (Cardiff University)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2011-May
A think-tank survey examined public attitudes towards fairness, poverty, and welfare reform. There was strong support for requiring long-term unemployed people to do community work in return for their benefits, and also support for a cap on child benefit. Reducing unemployment and cutting taxes for people on low earnings were seen as the most important steps to a fairer society. People wanted politicians to tackle poverty: but they wanted them to focus on its root causes rather than 'papering over the cracks' with cash transfers.
Source: Neil O Brien, Just Deserts? Attitudes to fairness, poverty and welfare reform, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release
Date: 2011-Apr
A paper highlighted the benefits of the social 'open method of co-ordination' (OMC) within the European Union as an independent, rights-based strategy aimed at preventing as well as alleviating poverty. A distinct EU strategy for social protection and social inclusion should be retained, rather than being subsumed within the broader 'Europe 2020' strategy.
Source: EAPN Input on the Role of the Social OMC in the Context of Europe 2020, European Anti-Poverty Network
Date: 2011-Apr
A report examined two key components of the Lisbon Strategy and the Europe 2020 agenda – promoting labour force participation and reducing income inequality. The economic crisis of 2008 had undone much of the progress on improving employment and growth in Europe over the previous 20 years. Vulnerable groups in particular remained at risk of poverty and not being in employment or education. Policy-makers needed to focus more on 'enabling' social policy that allowed individuals to achieve their full productive potential and participate in the labour market, as a complement to welfare approaches such as social insurance.
Source: Christian van Stolk et al., Life after Lisbon: Europe s challenges to promote labour force participation and reduce income inequality, RAND Corporation
Links: Report | Summary | Rand press release
Date: 2011-Apr
An article said that it was possible to develop key indicators to assess the broad agenda of 'fairness', even in the context of competing frameworks (e.g. equality, capabilities), multiple equality strands (gender, race/ethnicity, disability, age, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, and social class) and several domains (e.g. health, education). Indicators were required to summarize complex statistical information to make it accessible to a wide audience.
Source: Sylvia Walby and Jo Armstrong, 'Developing key indicators of "fairness": competing frameworks, multiple strands and ten domains – an array of statistics', Social Policy and Society, Volume 10 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
A report by an independent commission (which brought together civic leaders in Scotland with people living in poverty) said that people living in poverty needed to be involved in shaping and delivering anti-poverty policy.
Source: Nothing About Us Without Us Is For Us, Poverty Truth Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Apr
An article examined whether a 'risk' society (where everyday life-risks were understood as issues of personal failure and responsibility) dissolved traditional welfare state solidarities, and how far it offered a basis for new solidarities to maintain support for vulnerable groups.
Source: Peter Taylor-Gooby, 'Does risk society erode welfare state solidarity?', Policy & Politics, Volume 39 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
A paper presented 'generational accounts' for the United Kingdom, showing the net discounted life-time contribution that people, as a function of their age, could fairly be expected to make to the Exchequer. Taxes needed to rise by 15.4 per cent, or £82 billion per year, to deliver intergenerational budget balance. The main driver of generational imbalance was pay-as-you-go finance of age-related expenditures such as health and welfare benefits for old people.
Source: David McCarthy, James Sefton, and Martin Weale, Generational Accounts for the United Kingdom, Discussion Paper 377, National Institute for Economic and Social Research
Links: Discussion paper | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2011-Mar
The Scottish Government published its response to the 'Europe 2020' strategy for economic growth and social cohesion. It set out how the policies of the Scottish Government contributed to European economic recovery.
Source: Europe 2020: Scottish National Reform Programme 2011, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Mar
A trade union report offered a critical assessment of the 'Europe 2020' strategy for growth and social cohesion. It questioned the emphasis on fiscal consolidation at the expense of economic growth and the creation of high-quality jobs. The introduction of a target to reduce poverty was a positive improvement over the previous Lisbon Strategy: but a change in how poverty and social exclusion were measured was at odds with commonly accepted definitions.
Source: Benchmarking Working Europe 2011, European Trade Union Institute
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper examined the trend for western European welfare states to move towards policies of cost-containment, activation, social investment, and the 'flexicurity' model.
Source: Giuliano Bonoli and David Natali, The Politics of the New Welfare States in Western Europe, Working Paper 2011/17, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute (Florence)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper said that, given past income, higher current income increased trustworthiness; and, given current income, higher past income reduced trustworthiness.
Source: John Ermisch and Diego Gambetta, The Long Shadow of Income on Trustworthiness, Working Paper 2011-08, Institute for Social and Economic Research (University of Essex)
Links: Working paper | Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
A report examined the impacts of the coalition government's Spending Review across key areas of the welfare state. It considered the implications for the fundamental principles underpinning the welfare state – fairness, social justice, and the reduction of inequalities. It proposed alternative measures for addressing the fiscal deficit, and called for policy debates to recognize social as much as economic goals.
Source: Nicola Yeates, Tina Haux, Rana Jawad, and Majella Kilkey (eds.), In Defence of Welfare: The impacts of the Spending Review, Social Policy Association
Links: Report | Kent University press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A new book examined economic inequality, focusing primarily on highly developed countries. Sections included: concepts and theories of inequality; the measurement of economic inequality; and the extent of inequality.
Source: Wiemer Salverda, Brian Nolan, and Timothy Smeeding (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Economic Inequality, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Feb
A think-tank paper examined the concept of 'fairness'. It said that being fair was a special kind of being proportionate, with particular application in respect of equality, proportionality, and desert. This concept was related to justice: but it was not the same as it, because although justice was a moral concept and an ethical/normative obligation, fairness was a technical concept and an ethical 'consideration'.
Source: Andrew Lilico, On Fairness, Policy Exchange
Links: Paper | Policy Exchange press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A paper examined models of social justice under private law in the European Union member states. National models were being challenged by a European Union model, in which weaker parties were helped to gain access to market freedoms.
Source: Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, Social Justice and Access Justice in Private Law, Working Paper LAW 2011/02, European University Institute (Florence)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Feb
An article questioned the ethics and effectiveness of the trend towards 'behavioural conditionality', and considered the alternative of moving towards universalism and unconditionality.
Source: Guy Standing, 'Behavioural conditionality: why the nudges must be stopped – an opinion piece', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, Volume 19 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
A briefing paper examined levels of poverty, and trends in poverty rates, across the European Union in the period 2004-2007. The rate of poverty varied between 9 per cent and 26 per cent across EU member states (based on national standards). Poverty was deeper in countries with higher rates of poverty – that is, people in poverty tended to have lower incomes compared with the poverty threshold value. In the majority of countries there had been no statistically significant change in the at-risk-of-poverty rate over the period examined.
Source: Orsolya Lelkes and Katrin Gasior, Income Poverty in the EU: Situation in 2007 and trends, European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research (Vienna)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
A study examined the feasibility of establishing meaningful, agreed methods for measuring 'extreme poverty' in the European Union. It reviewed the methods employed to measure poverty and extreme poverty in EU countries and internationally; and it considered the implications of the results for future work leading up to the 2015 review of the EU target for combating poverty and social exclusion.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw and Emese Mayhew, The Measurement of Extreme Poverty in the European Union, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined why socio-economic inequalities in Europe were increasing. Economic modernization and labour market deregulation had resulted in employment polarization and widening earnings inequalities that had not been offset by social transfers or other policies.
Source: Diane Perrons and Ania Plomien, Why Socio-Economic Inequalities Increase? Facts and policy responses in Europe, European Commission
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper examined the extent to which increased ethnic heterogeneity in European countries might undermine public support for social welfare policies.
Source: Christian Larsen, Ethnic Heterogeneity and Public Support for Welfare Policies: Is the 'black' American experience resembled in Britain, Sweden, and Denmark?, Working Paper 2011-68, Centre for Comparative Welfare Studies (Aalborg University)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
An article examined the European Union's official measure of poverty (the percentage of the population in households with net disposable incomes less than 60 per cent of the median). This measure was open to criticism, and in particular it underestimated poverty in the newer member states. Some possible additional measures of poverty were reviewed, two of which – one based on deprivation and the other on low income and deprivation – were found to have merit. But some groups in extreme poverty were still likely to be excluded from the statistics, including homeless people.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw and Emese Mayhew, 'Understanding extreme poverty in the European Union', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 4
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper examined the relationship between income poverty and material deprivation in 25 European countries (24 European Union member states plus Norway). It sought to identify the most important factors that determined the risk of being income-poor and/or materially deprived.
Source: Alessio Fusco, Anne-Catherine Guio, and Eric Marlier, Income Poverty and Material Deprivation in European Countries, Working Paper 2011/04, Centre for Population, Poverty and Public Policy Studies (CEPS/INSTEAD)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan