Chapter 4: Wealth, poverty and welfare

Chapter 4: Wealth, poverty and welfare

1. Wealth and income

   • Reasons for change
     • Change over time
       • Unequal distribution
         • Wealth
           • =what you own
         • Income
           • =flow of case into household
       • slight decline in % owned by richest
       • slight growth in equality
     • Globalisation
     • Capitalism
     • Entrepreneurial talents
     • Government policy
     • Lone-parent families
     • Job Insecurity

2. Defining and measuring poverty

   • Social exclusion
     • sees poverty in broadest sense
     • Exclusion from leisure, health, education, etc.
   • Absolute poverty
     • Based on minimum living standards
     • Budget standard measure
   • Relative poverty
     • Consensual - based on research
     • Based on accepted standards of living
     • Relative income measure

3. Extent and causes of poverty

   • Extent
     • Total poverty in uk
     • how to measure who is in poverty:
       • household or economic status
       • % of total poor or risk of being poor
   • High-risk groups
     • low paid
     • older people
     • unemployed
     • women
     • children
     • lone-parent families
     • ethnic minorities
     • sick or disabled

4. Existence and persistence of poverty

   • Dependency explanations
     • individual- personal faults
     • culture - culture of poverty
     • Underclass - behaviour of distinct social class
   • exclusion explanations
     • labour market - poorely paid work
     • marxist - outcome of capitalism
     • citizenship - groups are stigmatized and excluded

5. Welfare provision

   • Welfare state
     • types of regime:
       • Liberal
       • Corporatist
       • social democratic
   • Who should receive benefits?
     • Universal vs selective
   • Who should provide benefits?
     • State vs mixed economy
   • Who benefits?
     • Tax + welfare services redistribute from rich to poor but
     • mainly across individual's lifetime

6. Competeing aproaches

   • Third way
     • mix of private and state provision
     • Approach of late modernity & new labour
   • Marxism
     • Welfare state is victory for workers
     • Welfare state also controls workers
   • New right
     • welfare state causes problems
     • abandon welfare state
   • Social democracy
     • traditional approach
     • underpins ' cradle to grave' welfare state