scholarly journals Paying for Children: The State's Changing Role and Income Adequacy

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
DONALD HIRSCH
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Additional Cost ◽  
Present System ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
Income Adequacy ◽  
Spending Patterns ◽  
Working Families ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Families With Children

AbstractIn a number of countries, the state has become more closely involved in helping low-income families with children to make ends meet – including those with low earnings as well as out-of-work families. The adequacy of such support can be assessed against benchmarks measuring the additional cost of a child in households that maintain spending at a level sufficient to participate adequately in society. A socially defined minimum income standard provides an empirically based benchmark, which allows more meaningful measurement of adequacy than measures based on relative income or actual spending patterns.Using evidence from the Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom, this paper considers the extent to which the UK state covers the additional cost of having children for non-working and low-earning families respectively. It finds that the present system has come close to covering this cost for some low-income families, but has started to withdraw from this position. The paper concludes by considering advantages and pitfalls for countries of adopting targeted forms of support for children focused on income adequacy. Such support can help working as well as non-working families escape poverty, but also makes them heavily dependent on state transfers to make ends meet.

scholarly journals Improvement of the targeted social support of low-income families with children: Vologda Pilot Project

POPULATION ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-121
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav Bobkov
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
Lump Sum ◽  
Subsistence Minimum ◽  
Regional Budget ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Families With Children ◽  
Guaranteed Minimum Income

The article deals with the theoretical, methodical and practical principles of forming a new model of targeted social support of low-income families with children on the basis of guaranteed minimum income. Approbation of the new approaches to targeted social support of low-income families with children was implemented in Vologda oblast. The target representative sample was 70 families. It has been found out that after the targeted social support under the current legislation (lump-sum payments excluded), basic income in these families averaged 35.3 per cent of the differentiated equivalent subsistence minimum, thus being evidence of the inefficient state social assistance. The author has substantiated introducing additional monthly targeted social payments to parents besides the set regular payments (additional family poverty benefit) that will enable families to improve their economic sustainability. He substantiated a number of threshold values of the guaranteed minimum income that would ensure current consumption ranging from the cost food basket up to the size of the differentiated equivalent living standards of families, depending on the financial capacity of the regional budget. The guaranteed minimum income of low-income families with children averaged 54.6 per cent of the regional differentiated equivalent subsistence minimum. There have been developed methodical recommendations for identifying untapped socio-economic potential of families as a source of raising income from employment, as well as criteria for removal of families from the recipients of targeted social assistance in the form of cash benefits. Proposals on correcting the current legislation on the state social support have been formulated.

scholarly journals Insecure Families and Low-Paying Labour Markets: Comments on the British Experience

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
HARTLEY DEAN ◽  
AMBREEN SHAH
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
Working Families ◽  
British Experience ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Middle Class Families ◽  
Improve Access

There has been a raft of policy changes in the UK that are intended to help low-income families engage with the labour market. Drawing in part upon the findings of a small-scale qualitative study of the experiences of low-income working families, this article infers that the secular trend to working parenthood may, as matters stand, be experienced rather differently by secure middle-class families than by poor families. It may be that the former will benefit from policies to improve access to formal childcare, career breaks and time off when needed. The latter are more likely to remain dependent on informal childcare from other family members or friends and receive minimal concessions granted by reluctant employers. While benefits such as working families tax credit will help to secure the material needs of low-income working families, low-paid employment will remain no less precarious and it is possible that the insecurity experienced by low-income working families will increase.

After a decade of austerity, does the UK have an income safety net worth its name?

2020 ◽  
pp. 211-226
Author(s):  
Donald Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Safety Net ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
Strong Case ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Families With Children

This chapter explores the evolution of the level of benefits entitlement of different UK families and whether these are enough to meet minimum needs. It uses the Minimum Income Standard, a family-specific budget derived by iterative group discussions between people from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, supplemented by selective inputs from nutrition, domestic, and transportation experts. Since 2010, safety net benefits have declined but pensioners' entitlements are much closer to what they need (just over 90 per cent). This ties into the widespread perception that pensioners have been protected from the worst effects of austerity. On average, families with children get slightly over half and singles without children only a third. The chapter concludes that although the UK's safety net benefits have never maintained a systematic link with need, they have recently become less adequate and more arbitrary. It provides a strong case for strengthening the link between basic household needs and government safety net benefits.

Patterns of Multiple Instability among Low-Income Families with Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoonsook Ha ◽  
Margaret M. C. Thomas ◽  
Thomas Byrne ◽  
Daniel P. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Families With Children

scholarly journals Housing hardship and energy insecurity among native-born and immigrant low-income families with children in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Hernández ◽  
Yang Jiang ◽  
Daniel Carrión ◽  
Douglas Phillips ◽  
Yumiko Aratani
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Families With Children

scholarly journals Saving and asset accumulation among low-income families with children in IDAs

2006 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Grinstein-Weiss ◽  
Kristen Wagner ◽  
Fred M. Ssewamala
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Asset Accumulation ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Families With Children

scholarly journals Is the Healthy Start scheme associated with increased food expenditure in low-income families with young children in the United Kingdom?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie Parnham ◽  
Christopher Millett ◽  
Kiara Chang ◽  
Anthony A Laverty ◽  
Stephanie von Hinke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Infant Formula ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthy Start ◽  
Food Purchases ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Total Food ◽  
Food Expenditure ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Uk

ABSTRACTIntroductionHealthy Start is a food assistance programme in the United Kingdom (UK) which aims to enable low-income families on welfare benefits to access a healthier diet through the provision of food vouchers. Healthy Start was launched in 2006 but remains under-evaluated. This study aims to determine whether participation in the Healthy Start scheme is associated with differences in food expenditure in a nationally representative sample of households in the UK.MethodsCross-sectional analyses of the Living Costs and Food Survey dataset (2010-2017). All households with a child (0-3 years) or pregnant woman were included in the analysis (n=4,869). Multivariable quantile regression compared the expenditure and quantity of fruit and vegetables (FV), infant formula and total food purchases. Four exposure groups were defined based on eligibility, participation and income (Healthy Start Participating, Eligible Non-participating, Nearly Eligible low-income and Ineligible high-income households).ResultsOf 876 eligible households, 54% participated in Healthy Start. No significant differences were found in FV or total food purchases between participating and eligible non-participating households, but infant formula purchases were lower in Healthy Start participating households. Ineligible higher-income households had higher purchases of FV.ConclusionThis study did not find evidence of an association between Healthy Start participation and FV expenditure. Moreover, inequalities in FV purchasing persist in the UK. Higher participation and increased voucher value may be needed to improve programme performance and counteract the harmful effects of poverty on diet.

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