Fahmy, Eldin and Dorling, Danny and Rigby, Jan and Wheeler, Ben and Ballas, Dimitris and Thomas, Bethan and Gordon, Dave and Lupton, Ruth (2008) Poverty, Wealth and Place in Britain, 1968-2005. Radical Statistics, 97. pp. 10-29. ISSN 0268-6376

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Abstract

This paper examines long-term trends in the geography of poverty and wealth in Britain since 1968. To date, analysis of long-term trends in the spatial distribution of poverty in Britain have been frustrated by an absence of consistency in definitions, data sources and measures, as well as by changes over time in census and administrative geography. The research described here was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in order to further understanding of spatial inequalities in wealth and poverty in Britain since the 1960s (see Dorling et al., 2007). In particular, it draws upon a series of nationally representative poverty surveys conducted in 1968, 1983, 1990, and 1999 in order to derive methodologically consistent measures of ‘breadline poverty’ and ‘core poverty’. These results are then applied to UK Census data using longitudinally consistent boundary data (census tracts) in order to explore the changing geography of poverty in Britain. In comparison with poverty, much less is known about the geography of wealth in Britain, and establishing its distribution is essential for a more thorough understanding of the dynamics of social inequality in Britain. This study represents the first attempt to operationalise such a measure in order to produce longitudinally consistent small area measures of ‘asset wealth’ based on housing wealth data, and ‘exclusive wealth’ based upon analysis of Family Expenditure Survey data. These analyses suggest that not only is poverty widespread in Britain today, but that both poverty and wealth have become increasingly spatially concentrated since 1968. Rich and poor households are increasingly clustering together in different areas, and the ‘average’ group of households which are neither rich nor poor has gradually diminished in size during this period. As a result, poor, rich and ‘average’ households became progressively less likely to live next door to one another between 1971 and 2001.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Britain; poverty; long-term; geography of wealth; social inequality;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography
Item ID:	12209
Identification Number:	https://www.radstats.org.uk/journal/
Depositing User:	Jan Rigby
Date Deposited:	22 Jan 2020 16:39
Journal or Publication Title:	Radical Statistics
Publisher:	Radical Statistics Group
Refereed:	Yes
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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