We pursue an economic approach to analysing poverty. This requires a focus onthe variables that individuals can influence, such as forming or dissolving aunion or having children. We argue that this indirect approach to modellingpoverty is the right way to bring economic tools to bear on the...

In this paper we provide evidence on how the UK government’s welfarereforms since 1998 have affected the material well-being of children in lowincomefamilies. We examine changes in expenditure patterns and ownership ofdurable goods for low- and higher-income families between the...

Families with disabled children are susceptible to poverty because low incomeis compounded by high costs. Combing caring with employment is extremelydifficult, so families are heavily reliant upon benefits. But do disability benefitsprovide financial security for families who are susceptible to...

This paper analyses the work of the Nobel Prize winning economist ProfessorAmartya Sen from the perspective of human rights. It assesses the ways inwhich Sen’s research agenda has deepened and expanded human rightsdiscourse in the disciplines of ethics and economics, and examines how hiswork...

Despite prolonged economic growth, poverty has become a more notable andnoted feature of Chinese society. The paper examines three phases ofdevelopment since the foundation of the People’s Republic: the central planningera (1949 –1978); the pro-urban growth model (1978 – 1999); and more...

In July 2000, the Taipei City Government launched an anti-poverty program,Taipei Family Development Accounts, which drew heavily on Sherraden’sasset-based welfare theory, and was to provide matched savings accounts forlow-income families in the City. This paper presents the “income to...

This paper argues that our understanding of income and poverty dynamicsbenefits from taking a life cycle perspective. A person’s age and familycircumstances – the factors that shape their life cycle – affect the likelihood ofexperiencing key life events, such as partnership formation,...

Both educational attainment and school quality are typically lower indisadvantaged areas than others and much recent policy attention has beenfocused on each. This paper looks at the quality problem, exploring therelationships between disadvantaged contexts, what schools do, and the qualityof...

Why is social exclusion a problem? What about ‘voluntary’ social exclusion –when an individual chooses to exclude him or herself from the wider society?Brain Barry has addressed these questions in a recent CASE book, arguing thatsocial exclusion, voluntary or involuntary, offends against...

This paper investigates the overlap between work and labour market status andidentifies those groups at risks of poverty and social exclusion in the labourmarket. A particular attention is devoted to the working poor and precariousworkers. This analysis is undertaken using the Kyrgyz Poverty...