14 May 2019 - British society victim of extreme inequalities, study reveals
Britain risks heading to US levels of inequality, warns top economist
Richard Partington, Economics correspondent (The Guardian, 14/05/2019)
Rising inequality in Britain risks putting the country on the same path as the US to become one of the most unequal nations on earth, according to a Nobel-prize winning economist.
Sir Angus Deaton is leading a landmark review of inequality in the UK amid fears that the country is at a tipping point due to a decade of stagnant pay growth for British workers. The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, which is working with Deaton on the study, said the British-born economist would “point to the risk of the UK following the US” which has extreme inequality levels in pay, wealth and health.
Speaking to the Guardian at the launch of the study, he said: “There’s a real question about whether democratic capitalism is working, when it’s only working for part of the population.
'Growing inequality threatens democracy'
Sean Coughlan and David Brown (BBC News, 14/05/2019)
The think tank warns of runaway incomes for high earners but rises in "deaths of despair", such as from addiction and suicide, among the poorest.
It warns of risks to "centre-ground" politics from stagnating pay and divides in health and education.
The report says such widening gaps are "making a mockery of democracy".
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), one of the country's leading research institutes, is launching what it says is the UK's biggest analysis of inequality.
Britain Risks ‘Crisis of Capitalism’ Due to Rising Inequality
Jill Ward (Bloomberg, 14/05/2019)
Britain risks following the U.S. in terms of declining life expectancy and stagnant wages for the less-educated portion of the population if the causes of inequality go unchecked, according to a report.
The research, published Tuesday, forms the first part of a review into inequality chaired by Nobel Laureate Angus Deaton, which will ultimately provide a set of policy proposals to tackle inequality in Britain.
The findings are bound to fuel the debate over wealth disparities in the U.K., an issue that both Prime Minister Theresa May and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn have pledged to redress after years of austerity and meager income growth.
'Deaths of despair' rising among middle-aged Britons, report warns
Victoria Ward (The Telegraph, 14/05/2019)
Deaths from suicide, drug and alcohol overdoses are rising among middle-aged Britons, the Institute of Fiscal Studies has warned as it launches a major five-year study into social inequality.
The think tank said the increase in such fatalities, dubbed “deaths of despair”, may be linked to a process of "cumulative disadvantage for less-educated people".
Such deaths, which include drink-related liver disease, among 45-54-year-olds in England continued to rise between 1993 and 2017.