This paper explores the effects of high and low skilled immigration to a hostcountry with unionized low skilled labor and an unemployment insurancescheme. It is shown that the consequences for the labor market and the welfareof natives depend crucially on the host country's production structure....

This paper analyses the shifting balance between public sector and privatesector welfare provision in the United Kingdom over the past two decades. Fivesectors – education, health, personal social services, housing, and incomemaintenance and social security – are examined over three time...

There is robust field data showing that a frequent and successful way of looking fora job is via the intermediation of friends and relatives. Here we want to explore thisexperimentally. Participants first play a simple public good game with two interactionpartners ("friends"), and share whatever...

This paper examines the impact of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) on employment retention and advancement. The WFTC, which replaced Family Credit in October 1999, supplemented earnings of low paid workers living in low income families. It was designed to increase the financial incentive...

The determinants of government responsiveness to its citizens is a key issue in politicaleconomy. Here, we develop a model based on the solution of political agency problems.Having a more informed and politically active electorate strengthens incentives for governmentsto be responsive. This...

At the end of 2008, the Government set in motion a Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England chaired by Sir Michael Marmot. It is to report in December 2009. As part of its work, it set up various Task Groups to collect evidence and suggest policy options. The Task Group on Social...

Using data from several large scale longitudinal surveys, this paper investigates the relationship between older women‟s families histories and their personal incomes in later life in the UK, US and West Germany, By comparing three countries with very different welfare regimes, we seek to gain...

This paper examines the relationship between the family and work histories of olderwomen in the UK and their individual incomes in later life, using retrospective datafrom the first fifteen waves of the British Household Panel Survey. The associationsbetween women’s family histories and their...

Recent government pronouncements in the UK and above all the recent Conservative Party (2008) policy document on welfare reform suggest that US welfare reform is increasingly being taken as a model for the UK. What lessons should the UK draw from US experience? The long established means tested...

‘Work-life balance’ generally refers to how people may combine paid employmentwith family responsibilities. The UK government’s attempts to promote work-lifebalance are connected to wider concerns to maximise labour-force participation andinclude policies on tax credits, child care and...