Savings & debt· Wealth On borrowed time? Dealing with household debt in an era of stagnant incomes 23 December 2012 by Matthew Whittaker On borrowed time? examines how and why household debt grew in the pre-crisis years, before turning to study the current scale and distribution of exposure to debt across households. Finally, the report looks at the link between household debt and prospects for economic growth, setting out a range of broad policy considerations that will frame our … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances Resolution Foundation analysis of the 2012 Autumn Statement 7 December 2012 by Matthew Whittaker In this note we look in more detail at the distributional impact of this welfare cut, in combination with the decision to increase the personal tax allowance by a further £235 in April 2013 and the announcement that the higher rate threshold would increase by 1 per cent a year from April 2014. Having considered … Continued READ MORE
Work· Social security Conditions Uncertain 5 October 2012 by Matthew Whittaker and Matthew Pennycook Conditions Uncertain finds that almost 1.2 million low-paid workers entitled to support under Universal Credit will have to look for extra work or face the risk of having payments withdrawn. The report reveals for the first time how many working people are likely to be affected by a new regime which will require the lowest-paid … Continued READ MORE
Work Low Pay Britain 2012 29 September 2012 by Matthew Whittaker and Matthew Pennycook One in five British workers – just over five million employees – are low-paid as the national minimum wage falls in real terms for the third consecutive year. Low Pay Britain 2012 shows that the nation’s share of low-paid work has grown steadily over the past 30 years to 21 per cent – one of the highest … Continued READ MORE
Social security Shrinking Support: what Universal Credit indexation means for living standards 11 September 2012 by Matthew Whittaker In Budget 2010, the Chancellor announced that the uprating of benefits, tax credits and public service pensions would, from April 2011, be made with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or Rossi Index. Because CPI tends to give a lower measure of inflation than the other two … Continued READ MORE
Social security Creditworthy: Assessing the impact of tax credits in the last decade and considering what this means for Universal Credit 27 June 2012 by Paul Gregg and Alex Hurrell and Matthew Whittaker Creditworthy assesses the direct and indirect impacts of tax credits, finding that there is no evidence that tax credits hold down low wages. The analysis discredits the assumption that tax credits, available to low and middle income families, enable employers to pay lower wages. Tax credits reach around six million families, providing substantial support for … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances Detailed post-2012 Budget analysis 25 March 2012 by Matthew Whittaker Detailed analysis of the 2012 Budget by the Resolution Foundation. It includes: the impact of the main upcoming changes to tax, tax credits and benefits compares the impact of changes to the personal tax allowance and tax credits the impact on four different families. READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty Squeezed Britain 26 January 2012 by Matthew Whittaker and Jess Bailey Squeezed Britain reveals what life is really like for families who are in work but on a low to middle income. Facing a new tax credits squeeze on top of a continued fall in real wages and a growing chance of a lifetime in renting, this group’s household finances are increasingly precarious. READ MORE
Tax 2012 Personal Allowance Tax Changes 27 December 2011 by Matthew Whittaker The income tax personal allowance is set to increase to £8,105 in April 2012, rather than the £7,900 it would have been if increased in line with September’s RPI. But small changes across tax credits mean losses for many low to middle income households. Read our analysis of the changes to the personal allowance and … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Growth Painful Separation 28 October 2011 by Jess Bailey and Joe Coward and Matthew Whittaker Workers are gaining less of the proceeds from economic growth right across the OECD. Painful Separation examines the relationship between economic growth and wages for workers on middle (median) wages over the last 30 years in 10 major OECD countries. READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty Missing Out 25 July 2011 by Matthew Whittaker Workers in the bottom half of the earnings distribution have seen their fortunes decline significantly in the last thirty years. In the Resolution Foundation’s second report to the Commission on Living Standards Matthew Whittaker and Lee Savage explore who is receiving the fruits of growth and who is Missing Out. READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances Budget 2011: the impact on low-to-middle earners 26 April 2011 by Matthew Whittaker Changes in Budget 2011 will have a significant impact on low-to-middle earners. This briefing note does four things: Outlines the pre-announced tax and benefit changes taking force from April 2011; provides an assessment of the new measures announced in Budget 2011;lLooks at prospects for real wage growth under the macroeconomic forecasts set out in the … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty Locating the middle 22 December 2010 by Matthew Whittaker There has been a lot of recent debate about what is middle income – but the range of ‘middles’ that can be derived from earnings and income data is potentially confusing. This briefing note attempts to provide some clarity, by detailing the relative merits and drawbacks of different approaches and sets out how a wide … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty Squeezed Britain: low-to-middle earners audit 2010 25 November 2010 by Matthew Whittaker At the heart of the Foundation’s mission is the identification and analysis of challenges faced by households that find it difficult to flourish in the market economy, while consistently falling on the wrong side of eligibility for state support. Squeezed Britain represents our annual in-depth study of these issues. Original analyses of a number of large-scale … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances 2010 Emergency Budget and low earners 29 June 2010 by Matthew Whittaker We acknowledged that the emergency Budget published on 22 June was only ever going to provide part of the story: the details of where spending cuts will fall will not be made clear until the publication of the Spending Review on 20 October. Nevertheless, by setting out the Government’s proposed consolidation path, along with the … Continued READ MORE
Public finances What’s the Damage? A low earner impact assessment of deficit reduction options 18 June 2010 by Matthew Whittaker As the government embarks on cutting the public sector deficit, this report considers the options available and the impact they could have on the UK’s 7.2 million low earning households. READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public finances Analysis of the 2009 pre-budget report 11 December 2009 by Matthew Whittaker This analysis reflects on policy measures set out in the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) 2009 from the perspective of low earners. The PBR acknowledges that any economic recovery in the UK remains a fragile one. It therefore retains the focus of both PBR 2008 and Budget 2009 in providing targeted and time-limited support for those suffering … Continued READ MORE
