Social policy in Britain and the USA is less effective than in Germany at alleviating the inter-generational transmission of social and economic disadvantages, according to a new paper from the German Institute for Economic Research.
The paper tests the hypothesis that the extent of inter-generational income mobility, and the relative risk of poverty, differ according to factors in the three countries such as welfare state regime, family role patterns and social policy design.
The number of Americans in poverty rose slightly last year to 46.5 million, according to US Census data, despite a stock market recovery. The figure edged up from 46.2 million in 2011, leaving the national poverty rate unchanged at 15 per cent.
The next generation of Americans faces a lower level of inter-generational earnings mobility than their immediate predecessors, according to a paper from the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn. At the same time those on the very highest incomes will be better placed to ensure their privileges are passed on to their children.
Governments in Europe and the US need to re-examine the effectiveness of tax and benefit systems in redistributing income among the working-age population, says a research paper from the OECD in Paris. Redistribution measures have in the past cut income inequalities by more in Europe than in the US: but governments on both sides of the Atlantic need to look closely at how well these measures function over the whole economic cycle.
Inequality in the United States is greater today than at almost any time in the last century, according to a new report. It points out that gaps in income and wealth also run deeper in the USA than those in virtually any other democratic and developed economy. The report sketches recent trends, and sets out radical policy solutions.
Despite using a 40-year old absolute standard, child poverty in the US has increased dramatically from 14% to 22% as Salvatore Babones reports here.
Reforms to the education and tax/benefit systems in the US could help to reduce income inequality and relative poverty, according to a working paper from the OECD in Paris. The paper highlights the fact that inequality and poverty in the US are among the highest for developed countries, and have also increased substantially in recent decades.
Policies under the previous Labour governments 'meaningfully improved' children's opportunities in the UK, says a report summarising research into family life in the UK and USA. It warns that the USA, by contrast, is a 'cautionary tale' for free marketers who would remove the social supports from low-income mothers and their children.
The research project was a collaboration between Manchester and Harvard Universities between 2006 and 2012. It studied changes in social cohesion and social capital in the UK and USA, linking the themes of economic inequality, instability and social mobility in family life.
The US population has worse health than comparable 'rich' countries, according to a new report. Overall poverty and child poverty are especially plausible explanations, it says, for the 'pervasive US health disadvantage' across multiple causes of illness, unhealthy behaviours, and mortality during the first three or possibly four decades of life.
Child poverty rates in the USA are high by both historical and international standards, according to a journal article by academics from New York University. The article summarises the best available information on definitions and trends in child poverty, the impact on children’s health and development, and policy responses.