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Low Income Households: Casualties of the Boom, Casualties of the Bust?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2011

Grahame Whitfield  and
Chris Dearden
Grahame Whitfield
Affiliation:
At the time the research was conducted: Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University. At the time of publication: Joseph Rowntree Foundation – this article is written in a personal capacity E-mail: grahame.whitfield@talktalk.net
Chris Dearden
Affiliation:
Formerly Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University
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Abstract

This article reflects on research undertaken with low income households over a 12 month period following the ‘credit crunch’, a period characterised by rapid change to the financial landscape in the UK. It argues that people living on persistent low incomes were casualties of the economic ‘boom’ as they did not benefit from economic growth and of the ‘bust’ in that they most keenly felt the impact of the recession and the reaction of financial institutions to the new financial landscape. It concludes by arguing that, reflecting on the complexity of people's lives, addressing indebtedness requires a multi-faceted approach.

Keywords

Povertydebtcreditover-indebtednessunemployment
Type
Themed Section on Household Finances under Pressure: What is the Role of Social Policy?
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 81 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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