scholarly journals THE CONCEPT OF BASIC INCOME IN THE BRITISH POLITIAL CONTEXT

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 96-103
Author(s):  
Yuri Kvashnin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Social Transformations ◽  
Technological Unemployment ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Number Of Parties

The article explores the current debate on basic income in the UK. The growing interest in this concept, which implies the introduction of unconditional and equal for all regular cash payments, is caused by problems common to Western European countries, i.e. an increase in income inequality, the risk of technological unemployment, as well as the need to take urgent measures to support the population at times of pandemic. In the British context, however, ideological and political factors play a significant role, such as a rich intellectual tradition of developing universal approaches to social security and the desire of a number of parties, both national and regional, to use this increasingly popular concept for their own political purposes. It is concluded that in the medium term, the UK's transition to basic income is unlikely, but the very discussion on its introduction can serve as a catalyst for serious social transformations.

scholarly journals In-work Universal Credit: Claimant Experiences of Conditionality Mismatches and Counterproductive Benefit Sanctions

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
SHARON WRIGHT ◽  
PETER DWYER
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Job Search ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Benefit Sanctions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Universal Credit is the UK’s globally innovative social security reform that replaces six means tested benefits with one monthly payment for working age claimants - combining social security and tax credit systems. Universal Credit expands welfare conditionality via mandatory job search conditions to enhance ‘progression’ amongst working claimants by requiring extra working hours or multiple jobs. This exposes low paid workers to tough benefit sanctions for non-compliance, which could remove essential income indefinitely or for fixed periods of up to three years. Our unique contribution is to establish how this new regime is experienced at micro level by in-work claimants over time. We present findings from Qualitative Longitudinal Research (141 interviews with 58 claimants, 2014-17), to demonstrate how UC impacts on in-work recipients and how conditionality produces a new coerced worker-claimant model of social support. We identify a series of welfare conditionality mismatches and conclude that conditionality for in-work claimants is largely counterproductive. This implies a redesign of the UK system and serves as an international warning to potential policy emulators.

scholarly journals The contribution of changes to tax and social security to stalled life expectancy trends in Scotland: a modelling study

2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-214770
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Richardson ◽  
Martin Taulbut ◽  
Mark Robinson ◽  
Andrew Pulford ◽  
Gerry McCartney
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Group Sex ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Social Security Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Welfare Reforms ◽  
Detrimental Impact

BackgroundLife expectancy (LE) improvements have stalled, and UK tax and welfare ‘reforms’ have been proposed as a cause. We estimated the effects of tax and welfare reforms from 2010/2011 to 2021/2022 on LE and inequalities in LE in Scotland.MethodsWe applied a published estimate of the cumulative income impact of the reforms to the households within Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles. We estimated the impact on LE by applying a rate ratio for the impact of income on mortality rates (by age group, sex and SIMD quintile) and calculating the difference between inflation-only changes in benefits and the reforms.ResultsWe estimated that changes to household income resulting from the reforms would result in an additional 1041 (+3.7%) female deaths and 1013 (+3.8%) male deaths. These deaths represent an estimated reduction of female LE from 81.6 years to 81.2 years (−20 weeks), and male LE from 77.6 years to 77.2 years (−23 weeks). Cuts to benefits and tax credits were modelled to have the most detrimental impact on LE, and these were estimated to be most severe in the most deprived areas. The modelled impact on inequalities in LE was widening of the gap between the most and least deprived 20% of areas by a further 21 weeks for females and 23 weeks for males.InterpretationThis study provides further evidence that austerity, in the form of cuts to social security benefits, is likely to be an important cause of stalled LE across the UK.

The Second Marriage of Justice and Efficiency

1990 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe van Parijs
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Postwar Period ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
The Welfare State

ABSTRACTNo major reform of the welfare state has a chance of going through unless one can make a plausible case as to both its ‘ethical value’ and its ‘economic.value’, that is, that it would have a positive effect in terms of both justice and efficiency. In this essay, this rough conjecture is first presented, and its plausibility probed, on the background of some stylised facts about the rise of modern welfare states in the postwar period. Next, the focus is shifted to the current debate on the introduction of a basic income, a completely unconditional grant paid ex ante to all citizens. It is argued that if basic income is to have a chance of meeting the strong twofold condition stipulated in the conjecture, some major changes are required in the way one usually thinks about justice and efficiency in connection with social policy. But once these changes are made, as they arguably must be, the chance that basic income may be able to meet the challenge is greatly enhanced.

The UK and EMU: Choosing the Regime

2002 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 54-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Barrell
Keyword(s):  
Euro Area ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Fiscal Regimes ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Uk

The UK has to make a decision on membership of EMU in the next two years. The monetary and fiscal regimes in the Euro Area and in the UK do not differ greatly. However, we argue that membership of EMU will increase the stability of the economy and the credibility of the policy framework, and hence will enhance the prospects for growth and higher incomes and employment. There appear to be no major problems associated with joining EMU at around 1.50 euros to the pound, although there are risks to the UK if the euro appreciates against the dollar after we have entered. However, the costs associated with this risk have to be offset against the probability of the significant output gains that could come from EMU membership in the medium term.

Features of accounting for wages and insurance premiums in agricultural organizations on the example of an enterprise in the Republic of Mordovia

2020 ◽  
pp. 32-38
Author(s):  
Yulia Myrksina
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
Social Transformations ◽  
Insurance Premiums ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Republic

Russian society is currently going through a difficult period of economic and social transformations. This requires tremendous efforts in all spheres of public life, namely in the field of legal support for reforms, the creation of legislation that meets the new socio-economic conditions and allows for the effective protection of citizens’ rights. Social security of the population of the Russian Federation is one of the most urgent tasks in our country, among which the problem of pension provision is in the first place.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document