Household Spending in Britain What can it Teach us About Poverty?

Much of the recent policy debate surrounding poverty in Britain focuses on income as a measure of living standards. This report considers one alternative to income for measuring poverty that has been largely overlooked in the mainstream poverty debate in the UK-namely household expenditure. Economic theory suggests that household expenditure is an important measure of financial well-being. Using 30 years of data from household surveys, this report investigates how using spending, rather than income, as a measure of well-being alters our view of who is poor. The study examines the spending levels of the lowest-income households and additionally analyzes whether low-income pensioners' spending on basic and non-basic items increased as a result of the large increases in entitlements to means-tested benefits since 1999.Goodman, Alissa is the author of 'Household Spending in Britain What can it Teach us About Poverty?', published 2006 under ISBN 9781861348548 and ISBN 1861348541.