We address a puzzle in welfare economics - the possibility that rational people maybe simultaneously against two apparently conflicting forms of “tyranny”. In fact thetwo types of tyranny can be reconciled but at the possible cost of conflict with otherstandard welfare principles. We examine...

This paper examines the impact of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) on employment retention and advancement. The WFTC, which replaced Family Credit in October 1999, supplemented earnings of low paid workers living in low income families. It was designed to increase the financial incentive...

Recent government pronouncements in the UK and above all the recent Conservative Party (2008) policy document on welfare reform suggest that US welfare reform is increasingly being taken as a model for the UK. What lessons should the UK draw from US experience? The long established means tested...

This paper examines the effects of recent welfare reforms in the US and UK on thewell-being of children in low-income families, looking specifically at the effects onpoverty, family expenditures, and child health and development. The paper finds somecommonalities but also some notable...

In April 2002 Jobcentre Plus started to operate in the UK bringing together theservice of the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. Offering a fullyintegrated benefit claiming and work placement/job-seeking service for peopleof working age this new organisation aims to strengthen the link...

In this paper we provide evidence on how the UK government’s welfarereforms since 1998 have affected the material well-being of children in lowincomefamilies. We examine changes in expenditure patterns and ownership ofdurable goods for low- and higher-income families between the...

Since April 2002 Jobcentre Plus has started to operate nationwide in the UKproviding fully integrated benefit claiming and work placement/job-seekingactivities for people of working age. This new organisation put an explicitwork-focus in the delivery of the benefit system. Along with...

This paper analyses the shifting balance between public sector and privatesector welfare provision in the United Kingdom over the past two decades. Fivesectors – education, health, personal social services, housing, and incomemaintenance and social security – are examined over three time...

This paper examines the distribution of the “social wage” benefits inkind from welfare services, including the National Health Service, stateeducation, social housing, and personal social services. The currentGovernment has put a strong emphasis on improving public servicesand has begun to...

[...]The New York City Social Indicators Survey (SIS)project represents one effort to track the consequences ofpolicy reform and devolution for inequality and well-beingin the largest and most diverse city in the United States.The project uses a telephone survey to collect data from arepeated...