This article explores how the UK welfare benefit system subsidise or penalise couples for living together as partners. A couple is said to face a 'partnership bonus' ('penalty') if they can receive more (less) benefits when living as partners than when living separately. Using data on existing...

We develop a political economy model of income taxation and public spending, in which we pay special attention to the composition of the latter. The significant economic unit is taken to be the household. Each household is made of two agents, positively sorted by wage, who engage in the...