Publisher Description

This book is about inequality, how the State affects distribution through its spending programmes and through taxation, and what the public thinks of these three issues. It describes and analyses one of the biggest social changes in Britain since the Second World War: the dramatic widening of the income distribution since the end of the 1970s, the growth of poverty, and the factors that have driven them. And it examines how government social spending and the taxesthat pay for it affect this distribution, and why they take the forms they do. Each part of the discussion is set in the context of public attitudes as revealed by the rigorous and long-running BritishSocial Attitudes survey, and of Britain's position by comparison with other countries.Against this background, the book analyses changes in policy since New Labour came to government in 1997, discusses the impacts of these changes, and looks at the constraints and pressures on future policies, before concluding with a discussion of the dilemmas facing policy-makers as they try to meet competing aims in reducing poverty and inequality, growing demands on social spending,and the constraints and opportunities created by public attitudes.

Author Biography

John Hills is Director of CASE and Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics. He was Co-Director of the LSE's Welfare State Programme, and has worked as an economist and advisor in governental and non-governmental institutions in the UK and internationally.

Table of Contents

1: IntroductionPart 1: Income inequality and poverty in Britain2: Income inequality in the UK: extent and trends3: Poverty, deprivation, and exclusion4: Why has the income distribution changed?5: Income dynamics and social mobilityPart 2: The impact of policy6: Social spending and the boundaries between public and private sectors7: Tax and welfare8: Distribution and redistributionPart 3: Where do we go from here?9: New Labour, welfare, and distribution10: Constraints and pressures11: Conclusions: The spending pit or the tax pendulum?

Review

For all its charts and its quantitative exposition of trends in spending and income distribution - which alone would make it valuable - this is also an intensely political book, because it is about collective choice. Its central question deserves pondering by everyone concerned either to raise money from the public or to spend it. Public John Hills, an LSE professor who also sits on the influential Turner commission on pensions, assembles a plethora of evidence to show that we face pressing question about how much we want the state to do to tackle poverty and social division. The Observer

Promotional

Inequality, how the state affects distribution through its spending programs and through taxation, and what the public thinks of these three issues

Long Description

This book is about inequality, how the State affects distribution through its spending programmes and through taxation, and what the public thinks of these three issues. It describes and analyses one of the biggest social changes in Britain since the Second World War: the dramatic widening of the income distribution since the end of the 1970s, the growth of poverty, and the factors that have driven them. And it examines how government social spending and the taxes
that pay for it affect this distribution, and why they take the forms they do. Each part of the discussion is set in the context of public attitudes as revealed by the rigorous and long-running British Social Attitudes survey, and of Britain's position by comparison with other
countries.Against this background, the book analyses changes in policy since New Labour came to government in 1997, discusses the impacts of these changes, and looks at the constraints and pressures on future policies, before concluding with a discussion of the dilemmas facing policy-makers as they try to meet competing aims in reducing poverty and inequality, growing demands on social spending, and the constraints and opportunities created by public attitudes.

Review Text

1. Introduction Part 1: Income inequality and poverty in Britain 2. Income inequality in the UK: extent and trends 3. Poverty, deprivation, and exclusion 4. Why has the income distribution changed? 5. Income dynamics and social mobility Part 2: The impact of policy 6. Social spending and the boundaries between public and private sectors 7. Tax and welfare 8. Distribution and redistribution Part 3: Where do we go from here? 9. New Labour, welfare, and distribution 10. Constraints and pressures 11. Conclusions: The spending pit or the tax pendulum?

Review Quote

John Hills, an LSE professor who also sits on the influential Turner commission on pensions, assembles a plethora of evidence to show that we face pressing question about how much we want the state to do to tackle poverty and social division.

Feature

Based on the latest authoritative research from the LSE group, the book presents hard evidence on a high profile and controversial area of government policy.
Covers key issues in the debate about domestic policy and politics in the UK, focusing on some of the most important contemporary social issues
Accessible to a wide range of readers.
Extensive graphs and tables provide a comprehensive source of information on inequality, poverty, government spending, and taxation, and on public attitudes towards the issues covered.
Each chapter concludes with a summary and a guide to further reading and information sources.

Details