The political debate about poverty is entirely dominated by groups calling for more income transfers to the poor. However, now that the scope of our welfare state has reached - or even surpassed - Scandinavian levels, surely this approach has run its course. Award-winning author Kristian Niemietz lays out another approach to dealing with the problem of poverty - one that focuses on addressing the problems caused by government interventions that raise the cost of living. These interventions are enormous in their effect on the poor. As the author points out, the poverty lobbies are more or less silent on these crucial matters. This has not always been the case. In the past, free-trade movements, for example, had been seen as pro-poor movements. Alongside radical market reforms, the author proposes wide-ranging welfare reform to encourage work and remove the penalties on family formation. This would include a form of negative income tax system and the localisation of welfare decisions.
Author(s): Kristian Niemietz
Edition: 1
Publisher: Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
Year: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 250
City: London
Tags: Markets,Poverty,Economics
The author 8
Acknowledgements 9
Foreword by Gisela Stuart 11
Summary 15
List of tables and figures 18
1 One-club golfers – a critique of the poverty industry 25
Anti-poverty lobbies, then and now 25
Wrong priorities in the poverty debate, and why it matters 30
The opposition to low-paid employment 35
The state-centric poverty alleviation strategy: a fair-weather approach 41
2 A new anti-poverty approach 50
Taking on the critics 53
3 Housing 56
House prices on the rise 56
Why are housing costs a problem? 59
What is going wrong? 74
What should be done? 86
childcare 91
Childcare costs on the rise 91
Why does it matter? 93
What is going wrong? 97
What should be done? 99
5 Food 102
Food prices on the rise 102
Why is it a problem? 103
What is going wrong? 104
What should be done? 110
6 energy 117
Energy prices on the rise 117
Why is it a problem? 118
What is going wrong? 124
What should be done? 132
Summary 139
7 Regressive taxation 140
8 Work – supply and demand 146
Work is better than its reputation 146
Workless households: scale and significance 151
Single parenthood: a digression 156
Labour demand 163
Implications for policy 172
9 Welfare 174
Polarised work incentives, polarised employment patterns 175
From resentment to reciprocity 184
A denationalisation of welfare 192
10 conclusions 205
Real incomes are determined by prices and incomes 207
Pro-poor policy – the impact of market reforms 209
Who will benefit? 215
Pro-poor policy – the need for welfare reform 217
References 225
About the IEA 250
