scholarly journals Exponential Income Distribution and Evolution of Unemployment Compensation in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Tao
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Lower Bound ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Exponential Distribution ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Unemployment Compensation ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Real Market ◽  
Available Technology

We show that an exponential income distribution will emerge spontaneously in a peer-to-peer economic network that shares the publicly available technology. Based on this finding, we identify the exponential income distribution as the benchmark structure of the well-functioning market economy. However, a real market economy may deviate from the well-functioning market economy. We show that the deviation is partly reflected as the invalidity of exponential distribution in describing the super-low income class that involves unemployment. In this regard, we find, theoretically, that the lower-bound u of exponential income distribution has a linear relationship with (per capita) unemployment compensation. In this paper, we test this relationship for the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2015. Our empirical investigation confirms that the income structure of low and middle classes (about 90% of populations) in the United Kingdom exactly obeys exponential distribution, in which the lower-bound u is exactly in line with the evolution of unemployment compensation.

Income distribution and income dynamics in the United Kingdom

2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 599-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayasri Dutta ◽  
J. A. Sefton ◽  
M. R. WEALE
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Income Dynamics ◽  
The United Kingdom

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.

scholarly journals Entitlements, Capabilities, and Crisis in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54
Author(s):  
Christopher Hartworth ◽  
Carol Richards ◽  
Ian Convery
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Social Welfare Programs ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
Causes Of Poverty

This paper examines whether Amartya Sen’s entitlements and capabilities concepts can be transferred in their application from low-income countries to high-income countries, specifically Cumbria, Northern England. Originally used to understand the causes of famine, these concepts have previously been used in several different geographical contexts to broadly understand poverty and inequality but almost entirely in low-income countries. This paper applies these concepts to a United Kingdom context in an attempt to understand the causes of poverty and inequality among people experiencing “livelihood crisis.” The research uses data from two nongovernmental social welfare projects to examine the causes of crisis and the remedial effects of the intervention. Our findings indicate that these concepts can help to explain how people find themselves in crisis in Cumbria. On a broader level, they can also be used to explain poverty, inequality, and disadvantage in communities in the United Kingdom. The authors put forward that entitlements and capabilities provide a useful framework to advance the policy and political debate on the causes of poverty by providing a straightforward language and broad application. Entitlement and capabilities can also assist social welfare programs in framing their aims and objectives and through improved understanding about the causes of inequality, will be better able to support people out of disadvantage by strengthening entitlements and building capabilities, without the necessity of large-scale investment.

Contribution of child maintenance to lone mothers’ income in five countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mia Hakovirta ◽  
Merita Jokela
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Income Quintile ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Lone Mothers ◽  
Social Transfers ◽  
Child Maintenance

This study uses the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) data from 2013 to study (1) the contribution of child maintenance to the income packages of lone mothers, (2) the proportion of lone mothers receiving child maintenance and the level of child maintenance for those receiving it and (3) the extent to which child maintenance is helping families who may need it the most (those at the low end of the income distribution), compared with families with moderate or higher incomes. Our analysis covers data from five countries: Finland, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. Our results show that in all countries except the United Kingdom, labour income is an important source of income for lone mothers and less than 40 percent of income comes from social transfers. Child maintenance contributes significantly to the income of lone mothers, particularly in Spain, followed by the United States and Germany. We find the highest coverage of child maintenance receipt in Finland. In the other countries, only one-third of lone mother households receive child maintenance. The median amounts of maintenance are the lowest in the United Kingdom and Finland, but there is great variation in the level of child maintenance within countries. The comparison of the quintile groups reveals that in the United States, the lone mothers in lowest income quintile do not seem to benefit as much from child maintenance compared with the highest income quintiles, whereas in Finland, Germany and Spain, more lone mothers in the low-income quintiles receive maintenance. However, amounts are quite equal across income quintiles.

scholarly journals The Healthy Start scheme and its association with food expenditure in low-income families in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Parnham ◽  
C Millett ◽  
K Chang ◽  
S von Hinke ◽  
J Pearson-Stuttard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Infant Formula ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Healthy Start ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Food Purchasing ◽  
Food Purchases ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background The Healthy Start programme is a statutory benefit-in-kind in the United Kingdom (UK) which aims to enable low-income families to purchase fruit, vegetables, cow's milk and infant formula through the provision of vouchers. The scheme was introduced in 2006, however, the effect on food purchasing in participating households has not been evaluated within an eligible population. This study aimed to determine whether participation in the Healthy Start (HS) scheme is associated with differences in food purchasing in a representative sample of households in the United Kingdom. Methods Cross-sectional analysis 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 was used to compare the expenditure and quantity of fruit and vegetable, infant formula and total food purchases between Healthy Start participating, eligible non-participating, nearly-eligible and ineligible households. Results 54% (n = 475) of eligible households participated in Healthy Start. After accounting for covariates, no significant difference was found in the quantity or expenditure of fruit and vegetable purchases between Healthy Start participating and non-participating households. Fruit and vegetable expenditure (£/week) was found to be higher in nearly eligible (β1.60; 95% CI 0.79, 2.41) and ineligible households (β2.56; 95% CI 1.77, 3.35) compared to Healthy Start eligible households. Conclusions The present study did not demonstrate significant differences in the fruit and vegetable expenditure of HS participating and non-participating households. The analysis demonstrates that inequalities in fruit and vegetable purchasing persists in the UK. Improved participation and increased voucher value may be needed to promote well-being and counteract the harmful effect of poverty on fruit and vegetables purchasing. Key messages The study found no evidence of different food purchases between Healthy Start participating and non-participating households. Increased voucher value may be needed to counteract food-price inflation. The paper reflected persistent socioeconomic inequalities in the UK, indicating the Healthy Start scheme does not sufficiently counteract the harmful effects of poverty on food purchasing.

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