Oxfam’s policy team present their vision for the UK’s aid programme to tackle both poverty and inequality. The Shadow Secretary of State for International Development used her first major speech to announce that any future Labour government would instate a dual poverty/inequality mandate for the Department for International Development (DFID). Oxfam has long warned of the risks of growing extreme …
Podcast: Book banter
[buzzsprout episode=’2559250′ player=’true’] Franziska Mager and Deborah Hardoon take to the air waves to share their thoughts on two books that deal with the economy, wealth and inequality. The Great Escape, by Angus Deaton, and Africa: Why Economists Get It Wrong by Morten Jerven.
A human economy for women and men
How can we build an economy that works for everyone? Fenella Porter explains why in order to conceptualise a truly ‘human’ economy we need to look at inequalities of gender as much as inequalities of wealth. If the world turned upside down and we replaced all the women with men, and all the men with women, we still wouldn’t have …
Can a new Index measure whether governments are serious about reducing inequality?
Deborah Hardoon, Deputy Head of Research at Oxfam GB, needs your help with an ambitious new Index on reducing inequality. Tell us what you think in this 5 minute survey As a researcher working on inequality, there are plenty of data and statistics for me to analyse, model and generate ‘killer stats’ from. Of course, there are many data gaps, …
What the iPhone has got to do with inequality
What is the role of the state in fostering innovation and economic growth? Mariana Mazzucato’s book, The Entrepreneurial State, reveals the role of the public sector in risk taking and the development of new technology, and argues that the state should receive more of the rewards. Research Assistant Franziska Mager reviews the book for Oxfam. Why I read it This …
Health, wealth and the great escape out of poverty
Could the history of the last 250 years provide the clues to ending poverty and inequality? Angus Deaton’s book The Great Escape makes a compelling case for improving global well-being by addressing health and wealth. Franziska Mager, Research Assistant, reviews the book as part of our new Book Banter series. Book Banter Are you looking for some inspiring reading? Short …
Taxation conversation over the airways
Based on conversations with those involved, Sue Moore reflects on a recent programme to encourage discussion on how the government spends taxes in Kenya and improve understanding of tax compliance behaviour. Tax is a hot topic for Kenyans with many public conversations around how the government raises and spends this revenue. Kenya’s constitution recognises the right to public participation in …
Employment charters: a potential tool to challenge inequality?
Emily Ball and Ceri Hughes explain employment charters; what they can achieve, their limits and Oxfam GB’s hopes for an employment charter for Greater Manchester. More than half (7.4 million) of the people in poverty in the UK are in working families. Concerted action is required if we are to take on this long-term trend but one way to begin …
One year on from the Panama Papers: how well is the UK tackling tax avoidance?
One year on from the leaking of the Panama Papers, Oli Pearce, Policy Manager at Oxfam GB, explores how well the UK is dealing with tax avoidance. If a week was a long time in Harold Wilson’s politics, then a year in the era of Trump’s tweets is something else. The election of Donald Trump to the American presidency and …
Building a human economy requires more than a quick fix to corporate governance
Alex Maitland explores what business can do to help make a fairer economy that works for everyone. Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to “build an economy that works for everyone, not just the privileged few”. Quite a task given that Britain has become one of the most unequal developed countries in the world. The private sector employs 80% of …