A Decade of Changing Pattern of Poverty in Great Britain

It has been noted in the literature that failure to meet the target set by government for reducing the headcount ratio of child poverty in Britain is partly due to the success of government policy in generating economic growth. Apart from missing the argument that absolute poverty is not a meaningful idea, this apology for the failure of government to meet poverty targets also misses wider problems embedded in recent trends in household income distribution. For example, inequality measures that are sensitive to the distribution of income amongst the poor suggest that the experience of those who have failed to benefit from government policy and remained poor has worsened. Also, households containing no children have been neglected.