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New analysis published
Poor lose, and rich gain from direct tax and benefit changes since May 2010 – without cutting the deficit
New analysis from
Essex University and the LSE analyses the impact of benefit and direct tax
changes since the election in detail. This shows that the
poorest income groups lost the biggest
share of their incomes on
average, and those in the bottom half of incomes lost overall.
-
In contrast
those in the top half of incomes
gained from direct tax cuts, with the exception of most of the top 5 per
cent – although within this 5 percent group those at the very top gained,
because of the cut in the top rate of income tax.
-
In total, the changes have not
contributed to cutting the deficit.
Rather, the savings
from reducing benefits and tax credits have been spent on raising the
tax-free income tax allowance.
-
The
analysis challenges the idea that those with incomes in the top tenth have
lost as great a share of their incomes as those with the lowest incomes
The
full paper can
be downloaded here (pdf)
The
research,
by Paola De Agostini,
John Hills and
Holly Sutherland
suggests that who has gained or lost most as a result of the Coalition’s policy
changes depends critically on when reforms are measured from.
-
Treasury analysis, suggesting
that those at the top have lost proportionately most starts from January
2010 and therefore includes the effects of income tax changes at the top
announced by Labour in 2009 and taking effect in April 2010, before the
election.
-
But if the Coalition’s impacts
are measured comparing the system in 2014-15 with what would have happened
if the system inherited in May 2010, they have more clearly regressive
effect.
-
This resulted from the
combination of: changes to benefits and tax credits making them less
generous for the bottom and middle of the distribution; changes to Council
Tax and benefits from which those in the bottom half lost but the top half
gained; higher personal income tax allowances which meant the largest gains
for those in the middle, but with some income tax increases for the top 5
per cent; and the ‘triple lock’ on state pensions which were most valuable
as a proportion of their incomes for the bottom half.
-
Some
groups were clear losers on average – including lone parent families, large
families, children, and middle-aged people (at the age when many are
parents), while others were gainers, including two-earner couples, and those
in their 50s and early 60s.
Prof Sutherland,
Director of
EUROMOD
at the Institute for Social and
Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex commented: “It is striking
how seemingly technical issues or minor differences in assumptions like which
tax system is taken as the starting point for Coalition reforms, or whether to
assume 100% take-up of benefits have very big implications for what we conclude
about whether the rich or the poor were harder hit.”
Prof Hills, Director of the Centre for Analysis of
Social Exclusion at LSE, commented: “What is most remarkable about these results
is that the overall effect of direct tax and benefit changes under the Coalition
have not contributed to cutting the deficit.
The savings from benefit reforms have been
offset by the cost of raising the tax-free income tax allowance.
But those with incomes in the bottom half have
lost more on average from benefit and tax credit changes than they have gained
from the higher tax allowance.”
Paola De Agostini
is Senior Research Officer at the Institute
for Social and Economic Research
(ISER) at
the University of Essex.
John Hills
is Professor of Social Policy and Director of the
Centre for Analysis of
Social Exclusion (CASE)
at the London School of Economics.
Holly
Sutherland
is Research Professor and Director of
EUROMOD
at the Institute for Social and
Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex. The
paper was prepared
as part of CASE’s
Social Policy in a Cold Climate
programme, which is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Nuffield
Foundation, and with London-specific analysis funded by the Trust for London.
The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of
the funders. The analysis uses the
tax-benefit model, EUROMOD, based at the University of Essex.
News Posted: 16 November 2014 [ Back to the Top]
The Executive Time Use Project
What do CEOs do all day?
Markerplace's Sally Herships interviewed Professor Andrea Prat from Columbia
University, who is one of the principal investigator of STICERD's
Executive Time Use Project.
In the
article from November 10th, Prat points out that CEOs spend most of their
days in meetings. And, he notes, most of the meetings are with employees inside
the company. Contrary to common belief, he says that the more time a CEO spends
in meetings with his or her employees, the better the company does.
The Executive Time Use Project is an international data collection effort to
analyze how corporate leaders in the US, Europe and Asia organiser their working
time. It generates reports that help policy makers understand the behaviour and
the priorities of top corporate leaders.
News Posted: 14 November 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Marketplace
What do CEOs do all day?
Corporate titans, leaders of Fortune 500 companies, wearers of starched white shirts, winners of enormous paychecks and occupiers of corner offices with imposing black desks and gleaming glass views. It's easy to conjure images of CEOs in offices... but what, exactly, is it that they do in there all day?
This article was published by Marketplace on 10th November 2014. Link to full article
Related publications:
Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).
News Posted: 10 November 2014 [ Back to the Top]
New blog post
The cuts in local government funding have had a significant impact on London's most deprived communities
How has the
significant cuts to local authority funding affected front-line services? There
had undoubtedly been enormous strain on services and front-line staff,
with councils have argued that the limits to efficiency have been reached.
Amanda Fitzgerald
presents findings from a
new report
for the Trust for London into the most deprived communities in London.
Read the blog at LSE British Politics and Policy
News Posted: 23 October 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Disabled people are worth the National Minimum Wage:
Lord Freud's widely-reported recent remark that some disabled people are not ‘worth' the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is not supported by CASE research
By
Abigail McKnight and
Tania Burchardt
Just before the
minimum wage was introduced back in April 1999, disabled people were
disproportionately employed in jobs paying less that the NMW rate: 8.5% of
disabled men compared to 5.3% of non-disabled men, and 20% of disabled women
compared to 13.2% of non-disabled women. This meant that they stood to gain from
significant wage increases – but they were also most at risk of lay-offs, if
employers responded to the introduction of the minimum wage by reducing the
number of their employees.
At the time, there
were a number of calls for disabled people to be made exempt from the NMW for
this reason. But
our research found that both disabled and non-disabled men and
women actually increased their chances of remaining in work over the period that
the NMW was introduced. This was no
doubt due to the buoyant labour market at that time.
We also found no evidence among disabled men or among disabled women that
changes in their chances of remaining in work were significantly lower than for
non-disabled men or non-disabled women respectively.
We concluded that
exempting disabled employees from the NMW would be likely to increase
discrimination against disabled people by giving a clear signal to
employers and others that disabled workers could be treated less favourably.
This is in direct opposition to the Equality Act. The vast majority of disabled
employees earning less than the NMW before it was introduced did not lose their
jobs following its introduction. The introduction of the NMW therefore led to an
increase in the wage of these low-paid disabled employees, and, although it was
not covered in our original research, one would expect that subsequent increases
in the minimum wage have similarly benefitted disabled people in the labour
market.
We suggest that a
much better approach would be to continue to keep disabled employees
under the scope of the NMW legislation, improve the enforcement of the
Equality Act and to support disabled employees with very low intrinsic levels of
productivity through supported employment services. Furthermore policy would be
better targeted at addressing the low levels of skill and education among parts
of the disabled population, which is most often the root cause of low wages and
high rates of non-employment.
In the light of the
recent comments made by Lord Freud that some disabled people are not worth the
National Minimum Wage we would like to suggest that our research findings are
just as relevant today as they were when first produced in 2003. Disabled people
have been major net gainers from the NMW and there is no evidence to support the
case that they should be exempt.
Research paper: Disability and the National Minimum Wage: A Special CASE?
News Posted: 20 October 2014 [ Back to the Top]
New report launched
Hard times, new directions? The impact of local government spending cuts on three deprived neighbourhoods
CASE researchers, with funding from Trust for London, have examined,
through an in-depth case study approach, three London councils’ responses to
the cuts, as well as what those responses have meant for services and
residents of one of the most deprived wards of each borough. The research
focused on services for families with under-fives, young people 16-24 and
older people 65+.
Key findings include:
- Front line services for under-fives and young people have been
impacted in all wards (with the exception of under-fives services in
Camden) but not to the degree we might have expected from the extent
of local government spending cuts.
- Staff reductions were widely reported in these services and
were the principal change in most cases. Those reductions were
being offset as far as possible through paid staff doing more and
through use of volunteers. For this reason more extensive impact to
the front line had to this point been avoided.
- Services for older people had been affected more than services
for under-fives and young people in all three wards. Losses of day
centres, reductions in activities, or higher charges had occurred
across the case studies. Adult Social Care makes up the largest
part of council spending and as councils are obliged to protect
statutory provision discretionary community services are being
substantially impacted.
- In the wards where children’s centre activity provision had been
reduced parents reported worsening behavioural problems. Parents on
low incomes were not able to offset those service reductions by
paying for private services.
- Older residents who had experienced changes in local provision
reported greater boredom. In some cases the changes have created a
barrier to access (e.g. inability to pay higher charges) and leaving
those older residents more isolated. Social ties were being severed
with service losses.
- VCS organisations we spoke with are under increasing pressure,
particularly smaller, locally specific ones. We have to question
the long-term potential of VCS provision supplying the antidote to
council reductions at the local level given the extent of
competition for funding reported. We have noted here the reduction
in all wards of funding to VCS providers of older people’s services
and, importantly, the impact of that on older residents’ lives.
- This work reflects a snapshot at a particular point in time,
just before local elections in 2014 and before a second round of
budget cuts. The situation is likely to get worse. Several of the
service managers we spoke with were unsure of the future of their
job or the service they managed.
A summary is available to
download here (pdf) and the
full
report available here
The report is part of the Social
Policy in a Cold Climate research programme, jointly funded by
Nuffield Foundation,
Joseph Rowntree Foundation and
Trust for London.
News Posted: 16 October 2014 [ Back to the Top]
British Institute of Energy Economics Award
Professor Lord Nicholas Stern awarded the BIEE 10 Year Prize for Outstanding Contribution to British Energy Economics
The British Institute of Energy Economics has awarded a prize for
outstanding contribution to British Energy Economics over the last ten years,
marking both its thirtieth anniversary and its tenth academic conference, both
happening in 2014.
A Prize Committee of energy economists, chaired by Professor Yelena
Kalyuzhnova, received nominations in May. The committee was unanimous in
recommending that
Professor Lord Stern of Brentford should receive the prize. His
2006 Review of the Economics of Climate Change has been the most influential
single piece of energy economics published over the last decade, and had
important implications for government policy and company strategies. The report
is also firmly grounded in the academic literature and has provoked further
research into the questions it addresses. Since the publication of his report,
Lord Stern has been a very active advocate of the necessity to take action on
climate change.
Receiving the award Lord Stern, who is Chair of the Grantham Research
Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE, said “It’s a tremendous
honour to be given this award by the British Institute of Energy Economics. The
Institute has played a leading role in public discussion of issues around energy
and the economics of energy for a very long time. Indeed I think it has defined
in many ways what a serious discussion on those issues should be”.
For further information and for a video of the acceptance speech of Professor
Lord Nicholas Stern please visit the British
Institute of Energy Economics website.
News Posted: 23 September 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Biographical Portrait
Michio Morishima: an economist made in Japan
Professor Janet Hunter has written an insightful
biographical piece on STICERD's
founder Michio Morishima which will be published as part of the series
Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits (volume 9) by Renaissance Books. The
book contains essays from several contributors relating to distinguished
personalities who have been influential in political, economic and cultural
relations between the two countries.
Michio Morishima was a renowned Japanese economist and
mathematician, and according to Professor Hunter, "the closest Japan has yet
come to having a Nobel prizewinner in economics". He was Sir John Hicks
Professor of Economics at the LSE from 1970–88 and became an
Honorary Fellow in 1991. He received honorary degrees from the universities of
Paris (X), Siena and London, as well as emeritus professor status at both Ōsaka
University and LSE. In 1976 he was awarded the Bunka Kunshō (Cultural Order of
Japan).
Earlier this year,
Janet Hunter, who is Saji Professor of Economic History at LSE and
STICERD, was honoured by the Japanese gorvernement with the Order of the Rising
Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon for her contribution to Japanese studies and
promoting Japan-UK understanding.
News Posted: 10 September 2014 [ Back to the Top]
The Economics Times
India has more than its fair share of super-rich and it isn't a good thing
Professor Maitreesh Ghatak, EOPP director, and Professor Debraj Ray from NYU
published their analysis on the question of wealth in India. The country,
poorer than the world average, has %3 of the world's multimillionaires and %17
of the world's population. The authors try to answer the "real question" of
"whether the country has more than its expected share of multimillionaries" by
looking at data on wealth distribution in the world. To read this article click
here.
News Posted: 04 September 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Report Launch:
Facing Debt: Economic Resilience in Newham
On 18th July 2014 the final report was launched from a year long research
project conducted by the London School of Economics for the London Borough of
Newham into the impact of debt and the experience of life on a low income.
The rising cost of living, stagnant wages and welfare reform have placed many
households under increased financial strain. This report, commissioned by the
London Borough of Newham and written independently by Professor Anne Power,
offers a powerful insight into the lives of some of the hardest pressed people
in our country. This research highlights the struggle of both working and
non-working households and explores the relationship between financial
planning and skills and attitudes to credit and debt. The report also provides a
valuable insight into the real impact of welfare reforms and helps to inform
Newham’s ongoing work to strengthen resilience.
A panel discussion was
held with Polly Toynbee (Guardian), Vidhya Alakeson (Resolution Foundation),
Professor Anne Power (LSE) and Sir Robin Wales (Mayor of Newham). The discussion
considered the drivers and solutions to increasing levels of personal debt and
what can be done locally, nationally and within the community to build economic
resilience. The London Borough of Newham also outlined its plans to respond to
the analysis in the report.
The full report is
available here (pdf). An
audio recording of the launch event is also
available.
Watch
an interview with a
Newham resident who took part in the research.
News Posted: 18 July 2014 [ Back to the Top]
The Guardian Newspaper
Maitreesh Ghatak: India needs more than Narendra Modi's trickle-down model
EOPP director, Prof Maitreesh Ghatak, has recently published an article in
the Guardian (July14th 2014) to comment on Narendra Modi's vision of growth and
development. India's PM points to Gujarat as an emblem of
economic success. Prof Ghatak points out that despite impressive growth, the
state lags behind on welfare. He argues that a trickle-down model will not
suffice and that "structural reforms are needed to facilitate growth, make it
broad-based, and improve the efficiency and accountability of anti-poverty
programmes" To read the article click
here.
News Posted: 15 July 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Austin Robinson Prize awarded to STICERD academic
Johannes Spinnewijn
At this year's Royal Economic Society Annual Conference, held in Manchester
7-9 April 2014, Johannes Spinnewijn won the
2013 prize
for his paper
Insurance and Perceptions- How to Screen Optimists and Pessimists. Launched
in 2007, this annual prize is awarded for the best non-solicited paper published
in The Economic Journal by an author who has completed their PhD in the last
five years. The winner is selected by the Editors of the EJ. His presentation is
now available to view on
YouTube.
Oriana Bandiera was the Programme Chair for the 2014 conference, and the main
sessions are available at
http://live.wavecast.co/res-annual-conference/.
News Posted: 07 July 2014 [ Back to the Top]
New Book
John Sutton's ''An Enterprise Map of Mozambique''
Mozambique’s economy has grown rapidly in the first decade
of the millennium. The key economic question is
whether this rate of growth can be sustained. Professor John Sutton
and his team of researchers point out that “achieving this will require a
substantial advance in the country’s industrial sector”.
Sutton’s Enterprise Map Project, funded by the
International Growth Centre (IGC), aims to provide a
standardized descriptive account of the industrial
capabilities of selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the
fifth volume to appear,
following volumes on
Ethiopia (2010),
Ghana (2011),
Tanzania (2012) and
Zambia (2013).
News Posted: 04 July 2014 [Back to the Top]
Housing Plus
Think Tank 6: Supporting tenants into work
Housing Plus is
about social landlords adopting a wider role in communities where they
are based. The bedroom tax, benefit caps and other welfare reforms are having
a dramatic impact on the lives of social housing tenants.
This workshop will
explore why the problem of work now dominates, why public opinion has become
hostile to supporting the unemployed, why social landlords need their tenants to
work, and how they can achieve this. By
bringing together social landlords from all over the country who are trying out
new ideas or are anxious to uncover more good ideas, we hope to uncover some
solutions. Read the
Think Tank summary and programme here and fill out the
registration form here.
News Posted: 03 July 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Order of the Rising Sun Presentation
Janet Hunter honoured at the Japanese Embassy
 The Japanese government honoured Professor Janet Hunter of the London
School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with the Order of
the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon for her contribution to Japanese
studies and promoting Japan-UK understanding at a ceremony at the
Japanese Ambassador to Britain's residence in London on 17 June 2014. Ambassador
Keiichi Hayashi presented the Order, before a toast and a drinks reception
hosted by Toyota and Suntory.
Hunter, who is Saji Professor of Economic History at LSE's Suntory and
Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD),
told The PIE News that she is deeply honoured to receive the
decoration. "It was very unexpected and I'm obviously deeply grateful", she
said. "To feel you have the approval of colleagues, but particularly people in
the country you study, is very, very special.
More pictures
News Posted: 19 June 2014 [ Back to the Top]
STICERD Morishima Lecture
'Capital in the Twenty-First Century' by Thomas Piketty
Date: Monday
16 June 2014
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Peacock Theatre,
Portugal Street
Speakers: Professor Thomas Piketty (PSE)
Chair: Professor Timothy Besley (LSE)
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of
capital? Thomas Piketty’s latest findings from his book
Capital in the Twenty-First Century will transform debate and set the agenda
for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.
Thomas Piketty is a professor of economics at the Paris School of Economics
and an alumnus of LSE.
This event is free and open to all however a ticket is required, only
one ticket per person can be requested. For more information about ticketing and
event details please click HERE
From time to time, there are changes to event details so we strongly
recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing
on the day of the event.
This event will be webcast live on the LSE website on
LSE Live
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEcapital
For any queries see
LSE Events FAQ or contact us at events@lse.ac.uk 0207
955 6043.
Media queries: please contact the Press Office if you would
like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email
LSE.Press.Events@lse.ac.uk.
Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each
event.
News Posted: 16 June 2014 [ Back to the Top]
New appointment
Tim Besley elected President of the International Economic Association
We are delighted to announce that
Tim Besley|, School Professor of
Economics and Political Science, Deputy Head of Department for Research, and
STICERD associate has been elected President of the
International Economic Association|.The
IEA, which was founded in 1950, is a federation of most of the World’s major
economics associations. It is currently holding its 17th World Congress in
Jordan.
Tim will replace Joseph Stiglitz, who is stepping down at the end of his
3-year tenure. Past Presidents of the IEA include Robert Solow, Kenneth
Arrow, Amartya Sen and Tony Atkinson. He is the third UK-based economist
to have been elected President of the IEA, and the second from the LSE
Department of Economics (the first was Tony Atkinson, who was Tooke Professor of
Economic Science and Statistics at the time of his presidency).
News Posted: 13 June 2014 [ Back to the Top]
LSE Connect interview with Prof Oriana Bandiera
What makes us tick?
LSE Connect
interviews Professor Oriana Bandiera, STICERD's director, about her work on
incentives and motivation.
Professor
Oriana Bandiera designs field experiments to evaluate how individual behaviour
is shaped by monetary incentives and social relationships. She explains the
ideas behind her work and its implications. To read her interview please click
here.
News Posted: 12 June 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Special Seminar in Political Economy
David Baron (Stanford): 'Elections and Durable Governments in Parliamentary Democracies'
We are pleased to announce that Professor David Baron from Stanford
University will present a special seminar at STICERD on his latest paper
'Elections and Durable Governments in Parliamentary Democracies'
Date: Monday
9 June 2014
Time: 4pm-5:30pm
Venue: 32 Lincoln's Inn
Fields, STICERD, Third Floor, room 3.05
No reservations are required but spaces are limited.
For enquiries please contact Gisela Lafico
g.lafico@lse.ac.uk.
News Posted: 09 June 2014 [ Back to the Top]
LSE and BBC Radio 4 Public Debate
Housing: where will we all live?
Date: Monday 9 June 2014
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue:
Old Theatre, Old Building
Speakers: Professor Paul Cheshire, Rachel
Fisher and others to be announced
Chair: Mark Easton
The governor of the Bank of England recently warned that the overheated
housing market represents the "biggest risk" to the country’s long-term
recovery.
Mark Carney said rising property prices and the subsequent
increase in large-value mortgages, could lead to a "debt overhang" capable of
destabilising the economy. He spoke of "deep, deep structural problems" in the
market, with demand for homes outstripping supply. In his native Canada, there
are half as many people yet twice as many houses are built there every year as
in the UK. On average over the past four years fewer market houses have been
built than at any time since WW2.
BBC Home Affairs editor Mark Easton asks this expert panel, including LSE’s
Paul Cheshire and Rachel Fisher of the National Housing Federation, why this
country has failed to build enough affordable homes and looks at what can be
done to solve our housing crisis.
The recording will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 11 June at 20.02
BST.
Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #wheretolive
This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration
required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For any queries see
LSE Events FAQ or contact us at events@lse.ac.uk 0207
955 6043.
Media queries: please contact the Press Office if you would
like to request a press seat or have a media query about this event, email
LSE.Press.Events@lse.ac.uk.
Please note that press seats are usually allocated at least 24 hours before each
event.
From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly
recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing
on the day of the event
News Posted: 09 June 2014 [ Back to the Top]
STICERD to host PEUK Workshop
ESRC Sponsored 2014 Public Economics UK Workshop
We are pleased to announce that the next PEUK Workshop will take place on Friday 30th of May 2014, at STICERD. It is co-organised by the University of Warwick, HMRC and LSE.
Sponsored by the ESRC through CAGE and STICERD - Public Economics Programme (PEP), this workshop will include a mix of academics, HMRC employees, and PhD students, with the goal of providing a space for open discussion about current issues in taxation that can be useful for both policymakers and researchers.
It will run over four hours from 10:15am. To see the programme click here.
For more information please contact Dr Miguel Almunia m.almunia@warwick.ac.uk or Prof Henrik Kleven h.j.kleven@lse.ac.uk
Workshop organisers:
- Miguel Almunia (University of Warwick)
- Frank Cowell (LSE)
- Henrik Kleven (LSE)
- Fahad Sarwar (HMRC)
- Kimberley Scharf (University of Warwick)
News Posted: 20 May 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Japanese Honour for Janet Hunter
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon
In April
Janet Hunter, Saji Professor of Economic History, former Acting Director and Deputy Director
of STICERD, was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays
with Neck Ribbon in recognition of her significant contribution to
deepening and developing Japanese Studies and promoting mutual understanding
between Japan and the United Kingdom.
Further
information here
The Orders of the Rising Sun, established in 1875 by the Emperor Meiji, were
Japan's first awards. Professor Ian Nish, a member of the Japanese Studies
Programme, and Emeritus Professor of International History, was also awarded
this honour in 1991.
News Posted: 29 April 2014 [ Back to the Top]
The Huffington Post
When Given the Opportunity, Extreme Poor Take Destiny Into Their Own Hands
Work by STICERD's Oriana Bandiera and Robin Burgess together with colleagues at BRAC has been referred to in a recent
article by Tilman Ehrbeck in the
Huffington Post. He refers to a presentation by Robin at the Reaching the
Poorest Global Learning Event in Paris in February, where he presented their work,
"Can Basic Entrepreneurship Transform the Economic Lives of the Poor?" which
highlights the success of graduation programmes which have been piloted across
various regions and succeeded in transforming the occupational choices of the
targeted poor.
News Posted: 24 April 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Article by Maitreesh Ghatak in Outlook India
''A Look In The Mirror''
Maitreesh Ghatak and Sanchari Roy hold Gujarat up against other states to see
if it grew more in the Modi decade than in the preceding 20 years. The article
will be published in the forthcoming Oulook India Magazine on March 31st. The
online version can be found
here.
News Posted: 31 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
LSE Housing and Communities launch new report for HAILO
Work and Welfare Reform: Impacts in the South West 2014
Welfare reforms will prompt many social housing tenants to make fundamental changes around their choice of jobs, housing, and how they manage their money day to day. LSE Housing and Communities has been asked by nine housing associations in the South West of England to understand these changes from a tenant’s point of view.
This is the baseline report of a longitudinal survey commissioned by the South West Housing Association Influence and Leadership Organisation (HAILO). The study aims to monitor the emerging consequences of benefit changes on working age social housing residents as these reforms progress by following 200 social housing tenants across the South West over an extended period of time.
Read the full report here.
News Posted: 25 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
STICERD, Asia Research Centre and Department of Economics Public Lecture
'Why Abenomics Matters: Abenomics and the Japanese economy'
Tuesday 25th March 2014, 6.30pm to 8.00pm, Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House,
LSE
Speaker: Motoshige Itoh
Chair: Oriana Bandiera
Japan is highly unusual in having experienced serious deflation in recent
years, and Japan’s experience may be regarded as providing a good case study for
other industrial countries suffering from inadequate capital investment and what
has been termed secular stagnation. This lecture explains the nature
of Abenomics introduced by Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, since
taking office in December 2012, discussing in particular the impact of
aggressive monetary policy and the implications of its growth strategy. The
lecture will also touch on issues of fiscal consolidation and social security
reform in Japan, which is the most rapidly ageing society in the world.
Professor Motoshige Itoh is a Professor of the Graduate
School of Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo. He is the
President of the National Institute for Research Advancement, and a member of
the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. A graduate of the University of
Tokyo, his academic field of specialisation is International Economics.
Professor Itoh is closely involved in policy decision-making processes in the
Japanese government and writes several columns for newspapers and magazines.
Professor Oriana Bandiera is Director of STICERD and
Professor of Economics at LSE.
Additional Information
This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is
on a first come, first served basis. Please direct any queries to
arc@lse.ac.uk|
or call 020 7955 7615.
News Posted: 25 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Book Launch, 27 March 2014
Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries: Thirty Countries' Experiences
An audio recording of the launch event can be
found here
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Increasing inequalities across some of the richest countries in the world
are not inevitable according to findings from an international research
project, which included a team of researchers from LSE.
Published in two volumes, launched at LSE on 27 March 2014, the research
shows that public policy plays a key role in shaping national inequalities
even within a highly globalized set of rich countries. Information on
inequality trends was gathered across 30 countries over the last 30 years.
Evidence of tax reforms across many of the countries reveals a trend towards
lowering marginal tax rates for high earners, reductions in taxes on capital
and capital income and removal or reductions in inheritance tax. This has
been coupled with a reduction in the effectiveness of welfare states in
ameliorating background inequality pressures.
This
is despite attitudinal data which reveals that people in these countries
expressed a dislike for inequality in their societies and believed that
governments should do more to redistribute income or increase spending on
programmes to enhance opportunity.
The
research also found that increases in inequalities have been accompanied by
falling political participation with fewer people voting in political
elections or actively engaging in politics, with much greater falls
occurring among the least advantaged members of societies than the more
privileged.
Dr
Abigail McKnight, Senior Research Fellow at the
Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion|
(CASE) at LSE, said: “Concern has been growing about increases in
concentration of income and wealth among a small group of people and the
relationship between this group and an emerging privileged political
elite. This new evidence on inequality trends, political participation and
evolving public policy is a concern for all democracies. The danger is that
disenfranchised groups are left open to being drawn in by emerging minority
political parties expressing narrow populist views
“In
the UK we found that, over the period, voter turnout in UK general elections
fell. The gap between voters in the Professional social class and those in
the Unskilled social class widened from 10 percentage points in 1992 to 25
percentage points in 2005 with a similar gap found in the 2010 general
election.”
Within the group of countries studied there were examples of stable income
inequality, including Belgium and Southern European countries. Even though
the general trend was upwards, the timing of increases was variable and in
some countries there were even periods where inequality fell.
The
central and eastern European countries – transforming from Soviet-led
economies to free market economies – tended to experience large increases
in inequality but some navigated the path better than others. This partly
reflects the diverse nature of this group of countries and the role of
public policy. These countries appear to have polarised into a relatively
high inequality grouping (including Latvia, Bulgaria and Lithuania) and a
relatively low inequality grouping (including Slovenia, Slovakia and the
Czech Republic).
The
research also examined evidence on the impact of inequality on a wide
variety of social, cultural and political factors. Some previous research
has suggested that inequality is associated with a range of ‘social
ills’. Here the evidence was more mixed and while some areas seem to show a
clear relationship with inequality – for example, political engagement,
attitudes, some types of crime and imprisonment – this was not evident in
others, for example, marriage and divorce, economic stress, life expectancy,
overall crime rates. Individuals’ outcomes were often found to be more
strongly influenced by wider social change, such as family configuration,
and technological advances, such as health and crime, and policy played an
important role in weakening the link between inequality, opportunity and
outcomes. What did emerge was that in a number of areas income inequality
cast a shadow by increasing social gradients (the gaps between the least and
most advantaged) in, for example, political engagement, health and social
mobility.
The
project
‘Growing Inequalities’ Impacts’|
(GINI) was funded through the EU FP7 research programme (February 2010 –
July 2013) . The London School of Economics was one of six core
country partners (Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, UK) led by
Wiemer Salverda at the University of Amsterdam. This study involved over 200
researchers and analysed data for 30 countries (all 27 EU countries except
Malta and Cyprus plus Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea and the US) covering a
period of over 30 years. The project produced country reports covering all
30 countries, around 100 discussion papers, policy papers, reviews and
reports, all of which contributed to the two OUP volumes.
Changing Inequalities in Rich Countries: Analytical and Comparative
Perspectives| Editors: Wiemer
Salverda, Brian Nolan, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail McKnight, István
György Tóth and Herman van de Werfhorst, Oxford University Press
Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries: Thirty
Countries' Experiences|
Editors: Brian Nolan, Wiemer Salverda, Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx, Abigail
McKnight, István György Tóth and Herman van de Werfhorst, Oxford University
Press
To mark the launch, Oxford University Press have agreed
to offer a 30% discount on book sales at the event or ordered online
(details
here).
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News Posted: 19 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Book Launch
All that is Solid: The Great Housing Disaster by Danny Dorling
Tuesday 18th
March 2014, 6.30-8.00pm
A ground-breaking examination of the UK’s
dangerous relationship with the housing market, and how easily it could, will,
come crashing down
From “generation rent” to rising homelessness, the
government’s Help to Buy scheme to the proposed “mansion
tax”, and negative equity to the recent sell-off of a London
council house for £3million, housing is the one issue that
affects us all.
Housing was at the heart of the
financial collapse, and in this ground-breaking new book,
Danny Dorling argues that housing is the defining
issue of our times.
Tracing how we got to our
current crisis and how housing has come to reflect class and
wealth in Britain, All That Is Solid radically
shows that the solution to our problems - rising
homelessness, a generation priced out of home ownership - is
not, as is widely assumed, building more homes. Inequality,
he argues, is what we really need to overcome.
Danny
Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor in Geography at the
University of Oxford, will launch his new book All that
is Solid: The Great Housing Disaster in a joint LSE
Housing and Communities and CASE event at LSE on Tuesday 18th
March (6.30-8.00pm) in TW1.G.01, Ground Floor,
Tower One, Clements Passage,
London WC2A 2AZ. This event is free but
booking is essential. To request a seat for this
event, please email
lsehousingandcommunities@lse.ac.uk
or telephone 020 7955 6330.
“Dorling is
that rare university professor: expert, politically engaged
and able to explain simply why his subject matters. He
describes modern Britain as the most unequal society since
Dickens's times, and picks apart the orthodoxies that allow
such
unfairness.”
Martin Wainwright, the Guardian
Danny
Dorling: All that is Solid: The Great Housing Disaster
London: Allen Lane
Hardback £20.00 ISBN 9781846147159
E-book also available
Published on 27th February 2014
To order this book please see:
www.penguin.co.uk |
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News Posted: 18 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Article by Maitreesh Ghatak
Modinomics: do Narendra Modi's economic claims add up?
Maitreesh Ghatak and Sanchari Roy comment on the economic record of Narendra
Modi, the BJP prime ministerial candiate in the forthcoming Indian elections in
the
Guardian Comment is Free online. A further article by Maitreesh can be found
in
The Economic Times.
News Posted: 14 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Wall Street Journal
Do CEOs of Family-Owned Businesses Work Less?
What's the difference between a family firm and a regular business? According to one new study, an empty corner office.
Professors at Harvard Business School, the London School of Economics and Columbia University's business school examined the schedules of 356 chief executives in India and found that family CEOs worked 8% fewer hours than managers without genetic ties to their companies. The researchers found similar disparities in Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the U.S.
This article was published by The Wall Street Journal on 4 March 2014.
Link to full article
Related publications:
Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).
News Posted: 05 March 2014 [ Back to the Top]
CASE Book Launch
An Equal Start? Providing Quality Early Education and Care for Disadvantaged Children
Wednesday 19th February 2014 4.30pm - 6.00pm followed by an informal reception
London School of Economics, Room 1.04. 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3PH
( Map and directions)
Presentations from the editors Ludovica Gambaro and Kitty Stewart. Jane Waldfogel will join via video link.
Discussants:
- Vidhya Alakeson, Resolution Foundation
- Leon Feinstein, Early Intervention Foundation.
Chair:
- Howard Glennerster, Emeritus Professor, LSE
This presentation marks the launch of the book 'An Equal Start? Providing Quality Early Education and Care for Disadvantaged Children', published by Policy Press, edited by Ludovica Gambaro, Kitty Stewart and Jane Waldfogel. The book examines how the UK and seven other OECD countries manage the provision of early education and care, and focuses in particular on the way that funding and regulation mechanisms operate to ensure that disadvantaged children access high quality provision. The study looks at countries where the private and voluntary sectors are involved in delivery of early education and care and asks whether experience elsewhere offers potential lessons for the UK. The countries included are: Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, and the US.
This work was part of a larger project generously funded by the Nuffield Foundation and carried out in conjunction with Daycare Trust (now Family and Childcare Trust)
To book a place please click here
News Posted: 19 February 2014 [ Back to the Top]
GINI project
Publication of research findings
Changing Inequalities and
Societal Impacts in Rich
Countries
Edited by Wiemer Salverda,
Brian Nolan,
Daniele Checchi, Ive Marx,
Abigail McKnight, István György
Tóth, and Herman G. van de
Werfhorst
The GINI project reached its
conclusion
following three and a half years
of collaborative research into
changing inequalities in 30
countries. The project looks at
the long-term impacts of
inequalities on social,
political, cultural and economic
aspects of life Two
volumes based on the findings
have just been published by
Oxford University Press. Details
of the launch event to follow
soon. Further information can be
found on the The
GINI website
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Volume one:
Changing Inequalities in
Rich Countries: Analytical
and Comparative Perspectives
This volume investigates
inequality trends in income,
wealth, education, and the
labour market, providing
detailed information on
inequality experiences
across 30 countries
examining trends over 30
years. The research
combines statistically
sophisticated comparative
analysis with evidence from
individual countries'
experiences to examine the
relationship between changes
in inequality and societal,
cultural and political
outcomes. This is followed
by an assessment of the
policy response across
countries.
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News Posted: 12 February 2014 [Back to the Top]
LSE and Trafford Hall Housing Plus Think Tank:
Welfare Reform and Tenants' Experiences
Monday 3rd
– Tuesday 4th
March 2014
Trafford Hall, near Chester
Housing Plus is about social landlords adopting a wider role in
communities where they are based. The bedroom tax, benefit caps and other
welfare reforms are having a dramatic impact on the lives of social housing
tenants, particularly those under 60. Landlords face big challenges in
helping their tenants and collecting rents which pay for housing services.
This is the second special Think Tank for social housing tenants and it
is important for tenant voices to be heard, and their experiences are
shared. We want to gather real evidence from the ground and share it widely. We
are interested in discovering who are the most vulnerable and worst affected
tenants, whether there is more that can be done, whether landlords are
developing better access routes and more support for tenants as a result of the
pressures of welfare reform, and also whether welfare reform is being properly
connected to work and job opportunities.
Download
(pdf)
The
full event programme
News Posted: 07 February 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Harvard Business School: Working Knowledge
Family CEOs Spend Less Time at Work
Two years ago, the World Management Survey on organizational leadership reported that firms led by family CEOs (managers related to the family owning the business) are often managed badly, particularly those where a first-born son has inherited the role of CEO from the previous leader.
Now comes additional research showing that on average, family CEOs also work significantly fewer hours per week than other (nonfamily affiliated) CEOs. It's an important finding because longer working hours are associated with higher firm productivity and growth, says Raffaella Sadun, an assistant professor in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School who studies the curious relationship between managerial incentives and motivation.
This article was published by Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on 27 January 2014.
Link to full article
Related publications:
Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).
News Posted: 27 January 2014 [ Back to the Top]
Social Policy in a Cold Climate Event -
Education Policy, Equity and Social Mobility - last few places available to book
Date: Thursday 23rd January 2014, 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Venue: London School of Economics, Old Building room OLD3.21
Suggested Twitter hashtag #EdSocMob The programme is
available here
All major political parties are now committed to reducing educational inequalities. What can they really hope to achieve, and how? To what extent will closing educational attainment gaps in schools contribute to greater social mobility in the future?
This event will present findings from three important research studies by leading education economists and sociologists, followed by comments from policy-makers and practitioners and a debate from the floor. The event is free and open to all, early booking is recommended.
Speakers:
- Geoff Whitty (Institute of Education) and Jake Anders
(Institute of Education)
(How) did New Labour narrow the achievement and participation gap?
- Claire Crawford (Institute for Fiscal Studies)
Socio-economic gaps in HE participation and outcomes
- Jo Blanden (University of Surrey) and Lindsey Macmillan (Institute of Education)
Education and Intergenerational Mobility: Help or Hindrance?
Respondents:
- Tessa Stone, The Brightside Trust
- Sir Alan Steer, Retired secondary head and government adviser 2004-10
- Graeme Cooke, IPPR
This event is now fully booked.
Presentations and papers from this event are available here
News Posted: 23 January 2014 [ Back to the Top]
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