Tag Archives: economic downturn

The Coalition, benefit cuts, and income inequality

Posted on November 8, 2012 by

This is a piece that first appeared in One Society‘s ‘half-term report’ on the Coalition Government and inequality (references and footnotes available in the full report). The whole (short!) edited volume is also worth a read, containing articles by Kate … Continue reading →

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Why more equal societies have more stable economies

Posted on July 24, 2012 by

In this guest post, the writer/researcher and author of ‘The Cost of Inequality’ Stewart Lansley looks at the link between equality and economic stability – building on Rob de Vries’ earlier two posts on the blog. According to current economic orthodoxy, … Continue reading →

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Stretching the Food Dollar During the Great Recession

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

American families pinched by the recession that began in 2007 made cuts in their budgets on purchases ranging from cars to television to new homes. Less visible, but no less important, many families changed their food purchasing habits. Research by … Continue reading →

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Riots, demonstrations and welfare cuts

Posted on May 29, 2012 by

Some people just aren’t bothered by welfare cuts. If the cuts don’t affect you personally, and you only discuss them in terms of abstract principles and ‘dependency culture’, then the cuts are distant; the stuff of politicians’ rhetoric and newspaper … Continue reading →

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An Emotional Rollercoaster: Trends in Subjective Wellbeing During the Economic Downturn

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

Since 2008 Gallup has polled a random sample of 1,000 Americans daily (link here) about their subjective well-being. The data provide a rich basis for examining the short-run effects of the economic recession on self-reported happiness, life evaluation, and stress. … Continue reading →

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The mysterious non-claiming unemployed

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

Throughout the financial crisis there’s been a puzzle gnawing at me, which seems critically important – yet has been barely mentioned. It’s glaringly obvious when looking at the BBC news reports after every release of the unemployment figures, the latest … Continue reading →

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Unemployment Disparities in Three Pictures

Posted on February 5, 2012 by

Any way you look at it, the unemployment numbers released this week are good news for American workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the economy added 243,000 new jobs (at least after applying seasonal adjustments), and the official … Continue reading →

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What Does it Mean to be Poor?

Posted on September 15, 2011 by

Dismal news. As was widely reported this week, the official poverty rate climbed again in 2010 to 15.1 percent – the highest level since 1994. The already inflated 2009 rate was 14.3 percent of individuals. The report also revealed that … Continue reading →

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It Starts with the Bank and Ends in the ER

Posted on August 20, 2011 by

How do economic downturns affect population health? In several groundbreaking papers Chris Ruhm showed that some health outcomes actually improved during the recessions of the previous three decades: people smoked and drank less, they stayed off the roads leading to … Continue reading →

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Crime and the Economic Downturn

Posted on July 21, 2011 by

Here are some headlines from 2008: “Keeping Wary Eye on Crime as Economy Sinks” – New York Times (October 9) “Economic downturn hits U.S. police with double whammy” – Reuters (October 21) “Will Recession Make Cities Dangerous Again?” – ABC … Continue reading →

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