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SUMMARY:The Poor and the Poorest fifty years on - Professor Ian Gazeley (S
 ussex) 
DTSTART:20131114T170000Z
DTEND:20131114T183000Z
UID:TALK48042@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sian Pooley
DESCRIPTION:The 1953/4 expenditure survey is the largest of the twentieth 
 century (12\,911 households) and was based on a two-stage stratified rando
 m sample. It was carried out at an important point when the rationing and 
 controls associated with the Second World War\, and the period of austerit
 y that followed\, were coming to an end\, but before the affluence of the 
 Golden Age had been widely distributed. Thus\, the 1953/4 survey acts as a
  natural benchmark for comparison with earlier and later investigations. I
 n their seminal study\, The Poor and the Poorest (1965)\, Abel-Smith and T
 ownsend used a sample from this survey to investigate the extent and cause
 s of poverty in Britain. Contrary to popular belief at the time\, they fou
 nd that the Welfare State reforms of 1945-51 had not eliminated poverty\, 
 which they claimed was still prevalent among the elderly and in working ho
 useholds with more than four children. Their conclusions were hugely influ
 ential in setting the social policy agenda of the 1960s. The original hous
 ehold returns for this survey are extant and Gazeley and Newell have digit
 ised these as part of an ESRC funded project of Living Standards of Workin
 g Households\, 1904-60 (RES-062-23-2054)…Abel-Smith and Townsend used a 
 25 percent sample of the lowest per capita income groups from this survey 
 for their analysis presented in The Poor and the Poorest (1965). We are ab
 le to re-evaluate their findings on income poverty using the entire sample
  and consider their results in relation to other indicators and measures o
 f poverty. Having access to the full survey for all the income groups enab
 les us to carry out a fuller assessment of the economic circumstances of w
 orking households than was possible in the early 1960s.
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre\, Trinity Hall
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