Has Labour made work pay?

Since 1997, the Labour Government has instigate a series of reforms aimed at helping to make work pay more than not working, and to make work pay enough to help families avoid poverty. This report is the first to provide an overview of all such policies since 1997, and to provide an impartial analysis of the evidence of the Government's success to date.

The report examines the key outcomes targeted by ѭake work pay' policies, showing trends in the proportion of parents in employment, and the number of children in households where no adult is in paid work. It reviews studies which estimate the contribution that government policies made to these changes. And it provides new evidence on the impact of changes to personal taxes, tax credits and benefits on measures of financial work incentives. The authors also anticipate where this policy agenda might take the Government in the future.

Errata

The following errors have been found in the publication:

Table 5, p33

Change in median effective marginal tax rates for "Individuals in couples with children whose partner does not work" should be +6.4

Change in mean effective marginal tax rates for "Individuals in couples with children whose partner does work" should be +4.3