Professor Peter Kemp from the University of York and co-author of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded research review “Routes Out of Poverty” gave a clear and concise summary of the review.
Peter explained that, after an increase in poverty during the 1980s and 1990s, changes in the tax / benefit package since 1999 have lifted large number of families with children and pensioners out of poverty.
Much research around poverty has been static, focussing on who is poor and why, but recent research has begun to look at movement into and out of poverty. The research review looked at routes out of poverty.
Key conclusions include:
Moving into and out of poverty
There is considerable movement into and out of poverty over time
But people do not move very far up or down the income range
A minority of people are poor for long periods of time
The people most likely to be persistently poor are children, lone parents and pensioners
The people most likely to exit poverty are:
Couples without children
Couples with children that have other adults living with them
The people least likely to exit poverty are:
Lone parents
Pensioners
What are the routes out of poverty?
Lone parents:
Moving into work
Re-partnering
Re-partnering and moving into work
Increased income from benefits or maintenance
Couples with children:
Moving into work
Increased earnings
Recovery from poor mental health
Pensioners:
Increased non-state pensions or income from savings
Increased benefit income
Improved mental or physical health
Is work the surest route out of poverty?
People living in workless households are more likely to be poor than people in work
Paid work is the most common route out of poverty
But paid work is not a guaranteed route out of poverty
There is a ‘low pay, no pay’ cycle
For some people, paid work is not a realistic option
Peter concluded his talk by making clear that there are many routes out of poverty: Employment; Housing changes; Changes in Pension and Benefit Income and Improvements in Health. Paid employment is the most common route out of poverty – but other routes are also important and it is important to talk about long-term routes out of poverty as well as short-term ones