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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Tag: Persistent poverty

Child Poverty – Scotland

Quarter of children in Scotland in ‘persistent’ poverty, By Reevel Alderson, April 29, 2010, BBC News: “The Scottish government has been urged to change the way it tackles the problem of child poverty. A series of studies it has published reveals poverty may be more serious for many families than had been previously believed. Researchers with Growing Up in Scotland, who tracked the experiences of 8,000 families, said a quarter of children were ‘persistently poor’. They said government measures to deal with the problem needed to be targeted. Eradicating child poverty is a commitment of both the Westminster and Holyrood governments…”

Report: Child Poverty – Northern Ireland

  • Persistent poverty in Northern Ireland ‘twice that of Great Britain’, November 12, 2009, Belfast Telegraph: “The level of persistent poverty in Northern Ireland children is more than double that of those in Great Britain, it was revealed today. High levels of unemployment, disability, lower wages and poor quality part-time jobs were to blame, a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) discovered. A fifth of families in Northern Ireland experienced persistent poverty compared to a tenth in Great Britain in recent years. Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, called for action by the Assembly…”
  • NI has worst child poverty in UK, November 12, 2009, BBC News: “The level of persistent child poverty in Northern Ireland is more than double that of the rest of the United Kingdom, new research has found. The study, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that high levels of unemployment, disability and poor quality part-time jobs were to blame. The charity defines poverty as the experience of a family with an income which is 60% below the UK average…”

Safety Net Programs and Poverty Alleviation

Safety net is fraying for the very poor, By Erik Eckholm, July 4, 2009, New York Times: “Government ‘safety net’ programs like Social Security and food stamps have pulled growing numbers of Americans out of poverty since the mid-1990s. But even before the current recession, these programs were providing less help to the most desperately poor, mainly nonworking families with children, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a private group in Washington…”