<p>Until 1988 the Government produced a series of statistics, known as 'Low Income Families' (LIF), every two years. The figures showed the numbers of people receiving supplementary benefit (SB) and the numbers not receiving SB but with incomes either below their SB line or up to 140 per cent of that line. The figures produced in 1988 (DHSS, 1988a) updated the series to the year 1985, which is the latest year for which such figures have until now been available.</p>
Authors
Paul Johnson
Director
Paul has been the Director of the IFS since 2011. He is also currently visiting professor in the Department of Economics at University College London.
Steven Webb
Journal article details
- ISSN
- Print: 0143-5671 Online: 1475-5890
- Issue
- November 1990
Suggested citation
Johnson, P and Webb, S. (1990). 'Low income families 1979-87' (1990)
More from IFS
Understand this issue
Council funding is a numbers game in which everybody is losing
comment
"Local government finance is a mess that has been years in the making, but good luck trying to solve it." Paul Johnson writes for the Times.
13 May 2024
Empty defence spending promises are a shot in the dark
comment
"The government’s announcement was misleading and opaque and does nobody any favours." Paul Johnson writes for the Times.
29 April 2024
Public investment: what you need to know
explainer
Everything you wanted to know about UK public investment but were too afraid to ask – including analysis of Labour and Conservative plans.
25 April 2024
Policy analysis
The past and future of UK health spending
report
How has health spending changed over the past seven decades? How does the UK compare to other countries? What is the outlook for health spending?
14 May 2024
NHS spending has risen less quickly than was planned at the last election, despite the pandemic and record waiting lists
press release
Despite a pandemic, record waiting lists and growing rates of ill health, real-terms health spending has risen less quickly than was planned.
14 May 2024
Recent trends in and the outlook for health-related benefits
report
Recipients of and spending on health-related benefits have risen rapidly since the start of the pandemic, posing a serious challenge for policymakers.
19 April 2024
Academic research
The employment and distributional impacts of nationwide minimum wage changes
journal article
We assess the impact of the change in the UK’s minimum wage between 2016 and 2019 on wages, earnings, employment and household incomes.
10 April 2024
Willingness to pay for improved public education and public healthcare systems: the role of income mobility prospects
journal article
These findings are based on more than 19,000 observations from the third round of the Life in Transition Survey.
14 March 2024
Unfunded mandates and taxation
journal article
In mid-2006, the Chinese central government increased the salaries and pensions of civil servants in its coastal areas but a funded mandate in others.
14 March 2024