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Mike Brewer Profile
Mike Brewer

@MikeBrewerEcon

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Interim Chief Executive @resfoundation & Visiting Prof at @LSESocialPolicy . 'Calm, Measured, Withering' (). He/him

England, United Kingdom
Joined May 2012
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Also, 1 in 6 workers in customer facing sectors in the UK get no statutory sick pay at all. Ever.
@paulwaugh
Paul Waugh MP
3 years
. @BorisJohnson just said the UK should be more like Germany, where workers don't have a "habit of going into work when not well" Key comparison: - Statutory sick pay in Germany 50% pay for 84 weeks. - Statutory sick pay in UK is £96.35 per week for 28 weeks.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Very pleased to report that, after 9 years of being Prof Mike and 4.5 months of plain Mr Mike, I'm now Dr Mike. Thank you examiners!
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
And it's official ⬇️⬇️: I am off to the Resolution Foundation in March. I am hugely excited to join their talented team, and to carry on doing research on living standards, tax policy, welfare reform, inequality and other issues affecting low to middle income households. 1/3
@TorstenBell
Torsten Bell
5 years
Big @resfoundation news: I'm very happy indeed to announce that @MikeBrewerEssex has been appointed as our Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Economist. As a leading expert on issues ranging from inequality to Universal Credit he'll fit right in - welcome and congrats Mike
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Think they must mean "for 11 year olds whose parents can afford private tutoring".
@SianGriffiths6
Sian Griffiths
5 years
NEW More grammar school places for bright 11 year olds are among the plans for the Tory party manifesto. Boris Johnson has said he has always been ‘pro’ Story @thesundaytimes @GoodSchoolsUK @AngelaRayner
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Check out this tonight on BBC2 for a detailed look at income and wealth inequality in the UK since the financial crisis
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Very disappointing - and surprising - announcement yesterday by the Government on sick pay. Having proposed in 2019 to extend SSP to those who earn below £120/wk (the lower earnings limit), this has now been ruled out. Short thread 1/4
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
We previously estimated that using an out of date measure of inflation to increase benefits and state pension etc was equivalent to a real cut in benefit spending of about £10bn. The Chancellor's response was £0.5billion rise in a discretionary fund.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
This ⬇️. So thrilled that @MiSoC_Essex has another 5 years of full funding from ESRC, recognising our exciting research programme and our commitment to multi-disciplinary quantitative research with impact. Am proud to lead it and to have such great colleagues.
@iseressex
ISER
5 years
We are delighted that today @ESRC announced £6.2 million new funding programme for our @MiSoC_Essex Research Centre. Congratulations to PI @MikeBrewerEssex & our fantastic research team @UKRI_News @Uni_of_Essex @ResearchEssex @EssexSocSci
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Absolutely (and I was one of them). The implied real cut in the total benefits bill in 2022-23 is worth £10bn. It will be rectified in April 2023 (on current plans), but that's a £10bn real cut in incomes to mostly low-income households (figure includes state pension).
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 months
Great news that Prof Paul Gregg will be chairing a Labour Market Advisory Board for the DWP. Paul is one of Britain's leading labour market economists and has vast policy knowledge (& I feel lucky to have worked with him (sporadically) for over 20 yrs).
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
Ofgem has confirmed price of energy to fall again, but the removal of £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme and rise in daily standing charges means bills this winter will actually rise for low energy users (b/c price cap savings are greatest for high energy users). Thread below.
@resfoundation
Resolution Foundation
1 year
Updated RF analysis on winter energy bills following @ofgem price cap: 35% of English households (7.2 million families) will face higher bills this winter than last, rising to 47% of England’s poorest tenth of households. 13% (2.8 million households) will see bills rise by £100+.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 months
Voted! Now off to work to make sure the next Government knows how to bring shared growth benefitting low-to-middle income households.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Not true.
@the_tpa
TaxPayers' Alliance
5 years
The burden of taxes falls disproportionately on those who can least afford it. Lowering taxes would help alleviate the 4m trapped in deep poverty
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
Definitely ⬇️
@JolyonMaugham
Jo Maugham
2 years
So what happened yesterday was, Government chose, by removing the only way they can be stopped, to give what it estimates to be over £1.5bn a year to those mis-declaring their tax. No exaggeration to say: Government's policy announcement deliberately encourages tax dodging.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
If people do get less keen on getting a test (because all it does is mean their friends and family have to self-isolate) then we may need to pay more attention to REACT and the ONS's infection survey to see how bad the 4th wave is.
@chrischirp
Prof. Christina Pagel
3 years
The good news is that recent growth in confirmed cases in England has slowed a lot since last week. The bad news that the north east has not. Plus admissions rising and REACT estimating v rapid growth. Are people seeking testing less?
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
I couldn't see my children today (I'm avoiding them so as not to give them bugs before crucial interviews) so the usual Sunday boardgame afternoon turned into "finally submit my PhD". It's a PhD by Publication, and this will actually be my third "attempt" to get a PhD. (1/2)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Did they put out the UC announcement yesterday because they knew Marcus Rashford was busy? 🤔
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
This is a very powerful way of explaining the state of Britain (although lets not invent "bed poverty" as a term - this is poverty).
@patrickjbutler
Patrick Butler
1 year
My @guardian story: More than 1 million children in UK poverty sleep on the floor or share a bed with parents or siblings because their family cannot afford the "luxury" of replacing a bed, @barnardos study finds.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
Have they seen the taper rate in Universal Credit?
@Tony_Diver
Tony Diver
2 years
The plan would resolve an issue where earnings of between £100k and £125k are effectively taxed at 60%. Treasury is looking at “pinch points” - where tax rules discourage workers earning more.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Really interesting article and thread here. Like @ChrisGiles_ , @EdConwaySky thinks people are overegging the problem of inequality, because levels of inequality are not rising. I have four responses: (1/n)
@EdConwaySky
Ed Conway
5 years
Why are so many people still so convinced inequality is a problem, even when the numbers don't reflect it? Any thoughts gratefully received. My own theories...
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
George Osborne tried this "NLW up offsets UC cuts" in 2015. Wasn't true then and isn't now. Very different sets of recipients. (Not to mention that the UC taper eats up most of any NLW rise for NLW-receiving UC families)
@HugoGye
Hugo Gye
3 years
Many thanks to those pointing out that the rise in NLW does not literally compensate for the end of UC uplift! Point is that this in part an attempt by Sunak to counter the narrative of 'govt has cut income by £1k' and argue that high pay will make up for benefits cut.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
About 400 people or organisations bought my book about #inequality in its first year. As I said then, given that I wrote it while being paid a generous salary, the (small) royalties will be split between Shelter, Gingerbread and the Trussell Trust.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
People are not suffering because of a some temporary issues over a roll out, or because of anything innate to Universal Credit. They are suffering because the countr elected a government in 2015 that promised £12billion a year of welfare cuts, and now here are some of them.
@thetimes
The Times and The Sunday Times
6 years
The Treasury is expected to publish a consultation in the next few weeks about easing the pressure on those suffering as a result of the roll-out
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
More on yesterday's @ONS income statistics. For the first time, they showed median (household) income by age band. Here is change in that since 2007-08 (remember, this is not tracking the same people over time: it's comparing similarly-aged people over time). Quick thread: (1/4)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
Very important issue. SSP provides nothing for the first 3 days, so a worker off sick for a week gets just £43.76 – 11% of the wage someone working F-T on the minimum wage would earn (£390). More from @resfoundation on this: @nyecominetti
@amandaakass
Amanda Akass
1 year
My report for @SkyNews on the 12 million workers at risk of plunging into poverty and debt as a result of the current system of statutory sick pay- produced by @dhaim and filmed by @joshuamasters_ in Margate & @FinnLordJones in Westminster
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
I was very struck by this chart. I started work in the policy world when relative child poverty was at the all-time-highs of the mid-to-late 1990s. Policy choices made a concerted dent in those numbers, and then a different set of policy choices has let them creep back up.
@imran_1
Imran
4 years
Today's new analysis from @resfoundation @MikeBrewerEcon et al warns that we're on the path to child poverty soaring to 33.7% of children- but keeping the lifeline of the £20 Universal credit rise would help to staunch this, limiting the rise to 31.4%
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
@ChrisGiles_ I think I would call it a design flaw as it doesn't seem well targeted at the sort of firms and employees who are struggling the most now. Seems fine for professional firms, salaried employees, but not for core hospitality and leisure workers.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
I'm probably a bit of a soft touch, but, of all the Osborne welfare cuts, this one was by far the best targeted at hitting the vulnerable. Poverty risks were a lot higher for families with 3+ kids (than those with 1-2) *** before *** they were hit by this benefit cut.
@patrickjbutler
Patrick Butler
5 years
My @Guardian story: Two-child benefit limit has “devastating” impact on family life of the poorest, study finds
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
You can pre-order "What Do We Know And What Should We Do About Inequality" from Amazon . It's a concise guide to the state of economic inequalities in the UK, their causes, & how to reduce them. It was funded by @MiSoC_Essex , so royalties will go to charity
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
Random #inequality facts. According to tax data, the richest 0.1% in 2009 (the least equal year) had a larger share of UK national income than did the richest 1% in 1979 (the most equal year). And the richest 1% in 2009 had more than the richest 10% in 1979.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Our overnight analysis is here ⬇️. Typical incomes to fall 4% in 2022-23 in real-terms, or 6% for poorest, with absolute poverty set to rise by over a million individuals. Astonishing figures.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
13 months ago, I was a full-time academic. This afternoon, I have written some analysis under the title "Super Deductions to the Rescue". How the mighty have fallen...
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
I have been thinking today about Professor John Hills, who has passed away (1/3)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 months
New job alert - no, not me, I just got one; I mean you, or someone you know. Vacancy in our research team. £32 - £41k, Central London. Past experience not required. Pre-application workshop available for underrepresented groups & those new to the sector.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
This is verging on a sub-tweet, but cutting NI, a tax not paid by those out-of-work, on low earnings or retired is not a good way to offset an energy price rise with biggest impacts on low-income households (but it would massively over-compensate the highest earners!) (1/2)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Really pleased to announce that @resfoundation is a part of a new ESRC-funded research centre, "Connecting Generations", led by Prof Jane Falkingham at Uni Southampton with partners at universities of Stirling, St Andrews and Oxford and ONS. (1/2)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 months
We at @resfoundation are today welcoming applications to join our (paid) Research Associates programme. This offers part-time or temporary opportunities for those with research or policy expertise to contribute to important economic policy debates. (1/n)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Yes! This ⬇️⬇️⬇️. We give employment rights to people to help offset the power imbalance between (low paid) worker and firm. But the rights are useless if they aren't enforced
@resfoundation
Resolution Foundation
5 years
The success of the minimum wage has been built on higher pay for workers and firms not being undercut by those who don't pay it. But our new report shows that deterrents to minimum wage dodging in terms of detection rates and penalties are far too weak
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
He was always a commanding example of an academic devoted to making the world a better place way (in an evidence-based way) long before "impact" became quasi-institutionalised. He was a huge inspiration to me, and I am profoundly grateful to him for all our interactions. (3/3)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 months
This chart has (rightly) been used a lot as evidence for why the two child limit needs to go. But it also shows that 1 in 4 children in families with fewer than 3 children are in relative poverty, precisely zero of which would be lifted out of poverty were the 2CL abolished.
@resfoundation
Resolution Foundation
2 months
Around two-in-five large families were in poverty in 2016-17, before the two-child limit on benefit support was introduced. That proportion is set to rise to more than half by the end of this parliament. Our report from January discusses the impact:
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
Am in the IFS basement with Profs Hills, Jenkins and Sutherland plus top nerds from HMT, DWP, ResFound, IFS. If the laptop explodes then there goes the UK's entire ability to analyse tax and benefit reforms and trends in inequality.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
A few more thoughts on the principles dealing with high energy prices, and specifically on whether governments should try to target the energy price directly, or give income to compensate. Warning: may contain the odd bit of economics (1/8)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
Good piece by Paul Waugh here, where his recommendation is in line with what we have argued: all working-age benefits should rise in line with earnings (and get rid of the ratchet effect of the triple lock). V hard to see how we'll ever get shared prosperity otherwise.
@paulwaugh
Paul Waugh MP
1 year
. @George_Osborne 's 'triple lock' restored the vital link between pensions and earnings that was axed by Thatcher. Is it now time to link working-age benefits to wages too? Tonight's #WaughOnPolitics is in your inbox
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
Apparently in some disciplines, they let people get to the end of *** the slide *** before interrupting. Imagine that, economists? (Sorry; heavy dose of sarcasm here. The way some Econ people behave at seminars behave was one of the biggest shocks I had coming into academia)
@MarthaOlney
Martha Olney 🏳️‍🌈
6 years
Some of us like to hear the speaker’s entire sentence, not have it interrupted partway through. Raise your f-ing hand and wait to be recognized before blurting out your question. #EconMannersAWOL
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
I picked up the April copy of the Royal Economic Society newsletter. I do hope no wavering female economists read it. There are 5 main articles, 4 written by men & one co-authored by 2 men and 1 woman. There are 2 obituaries of male economists, written by men. (1/3)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
Come work for @resfoundation : we have a vacancy for an Research and Policy Analyst / Economist. £35,000 - £45,000 p.a., depending on experience.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
This is true because 1) the very rich are, er, very rich and pay a lot of tax and 2) we keep cutting income tax for the lowest paid by boosting the personal allowance. Lots of other taxes are paid by less well off.
@FraserNelson
Fraser Nelson
6 years
The best-paid 1% now contribute 28% of income tax collected: a record high. Never have the lower-paid 50% been asked for a smaller share of income tax (~10%). Hounding the wealthy makes everyone poorer. The "existing economic system" is redistributing more wealth than ever.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
There are, of course, many issues with this. Let's start with: The living wage is supposed to be set at level where govt thinks businesses can afford it without it threatening jobs. UC is there to provide targeted top up to those with extra needs (kids, high rents). (1/2)
@PaulBrandITV
Paul Brand
3 years
Prime Minister argues that instead of the govt topping up wages with universal credit, businesses should be paying more. It’s not for tax payers to “subsidise” low wages. Pretty bold attack on business all round, which is told to pay more and employ fewer immigrants @BBCr4today
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 months
New IFS sums today on the two child limit are broadly in line with ours from earlier this year And this was a very telling chart from our work - larger families are more deprived not just on statistical measures of poverty but on real outcomes too.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
Really pleased to announce that @NuffieldFound are helping us reduce barriers to using tax-benefit microsimulation in policy work, breaking down existing (near) monopoly, & democratising policy debates. We'll be announcing how you can get involved in early 2019.
@NuffieldFound
Nuffield Foundation
6 years
Opening the black box: towards a transparent and widely-used tax-benefit model for the UK Find out more about the Nuffield-funded research project being led by @MikeBrewerEssex @iseressex >
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
7 months
In a new blog post, @LalithaTry and I argue that raising the living standards of all means the UK must implement an agenda focussed not just on growth but also on measures for predistribution and redistribution.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Just back from being jabbed. I am sure this is normal, but it was quite an emotional moment. Perhaps it was the contrast between the calm, orderly vaccination process and the messiness and confusion of much of the past 13 months. (1/3)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
Or make this winter a little less awful in the health service? Or make a dent in asylum backlogs? Or start returning ODI spend towards 0.7% GDP? Or countless other options.
@alexwickham
Alex Wickham
1 year
News >> UK government borrowing came in below official forecasts in the first four months of the fiscal year, providing potential room for Jeremy Hunt to cut taxes… Via Andrew Atkinson @PhilAldrick >>
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 months
My contribution to the Deaton review is published today as an Open Access article - if you want to know EVERYTHING (it's quite long...) there is to know about income and wealth inequality (pre-2020), then bookmark this now.
@TheIFS
Institute for Fiscal Studies
3 months
Wealth has grown rapidly compared to income, disadvantaging younger generations and threatening social mobility. Read Pascale Bourquin, @MikeBrewerEcon and Tom Wernham’s article on trends in income and wealth inequalities:
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
I like this visualisation! (Am less enamoured with the level of wealth inequality)
@ONS
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
3 years
Wealth is unevenly distributed between individuals in Great Britain. The wealthiest 10% hold around half of all wealth, primarily in the form of private pensions and property
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
People say that keeping unemployment benefits low helps us have a flexible, dynamic economy. But the UK has an insecure & undynamic labour market, with some of the weakest protection against unemp't across the OECD. New work shows how to solve that.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Removing the minimum income floor in #UniversalCredit means self-employed can apply and get the full amount (if they have zero income). The weekly rates are not high, but are the same as those who have been laid off.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
Today, I am reminded of the coalition government's first fiscal event. Osborne said those with broadest shoulders bearing largest burden etc etc. IFS analysis (where I was at the time) showed opposite. Clegg called it "distorted nonsense". I have the newspaper framed on my wall.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Sick pay has been a big weakness in the safety net in the pandemic. It has been linked to low compliance with self-isolation and test and trace and, during the first wave of Covid-19, care homes paying sick pay were less likely to have seen Covid-19 cases among residents (2/4)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
(For my academic followers) I am seeing adverts for 12-month "post-docs". I can't see how ppl wd want these jobs other than when forced to take them thro' financial necessity. What can a researcher achieve in a year, esp if they spend part the time looking for the next job?
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
Still an awful idea as it does nothing for those who will become unemployed through 2021-22. Obviously depends on when JRS phased out and when restrictions lifted but OBR forecast 800,000 more unemployed still to come. The economic crisis is far from over.
@christopherhope
Christopher Hope📝
4 years
In this weekend’s Sunday Telegraph Rishi Sunak doubles one-off payment offer for universal credit claimants to £1,000 to avoid £20 a week uplift
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
Yet another inequality in power and status exposed by coronavirus: low-paid workers are the most fearful of catching coronavirus, and the least likely to feel able to speak out. BBC coverage of new @resfoundation report.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Two very complementary pieces of work out today: the IFS (and others) giving us the big picture on earnings inequality, and the Living Wage Foundation with a look at one of the manifestations of inequality: insecurity around shifts.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
1997: applied unsuccessfully for job at IFS. Contemplated accepting a PhD scholarship, but was seduced by a salary and went to HM Treasury. 1999: given a 2nd chance and seconded from HMT to IFS. 2001: became IFS employee 2011: moved to Uni of Essex and became IFS Research Fellow
@TheIFS
Institute for Fiscal Studies
5 years
The IFS turns fifty today. We’d like to thank our staff and supporters over the years. Special thanks to the @ESRC and our narrators @MyStephanomics and @EvanHD . Find out more and celebrate with us: #IFSat50
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
Flash results from latest survey: a third of new UC claimants report income to be at least 40% lower in January 2021 than pre-pandemic, one-in-five are behind on essential bills, and three-in-ten families are more in debt than they were in Feb 2020.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
A quick reminder that waiting until April 2023 to uprate benefits and the state pension properly is lopping about £10 billion off household incomes this year.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
A good year for the University of Essex. A Queen's Anniversary Prize winner for its social science research with impact, and now THE University of the Year for its sector-leading approach to treating all staff fairly. Two reasons that I am delighted to be in my 8th year there!
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
Clear evidence that it's the lower paid, and those in atypical work, that are harder hit by the coronavirus labour market shock. (Based on new survey of 6,000 working-age adults). Great work by @lauracgardiner and @hcslaughter_
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
9 years
A comment on @AdamPerkinsPhD use of my work to claim that welfare reforms mean 14,000 more babies in workless hhs.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
Am pleased to be doing this, thinking about how the Scottish government should respond to the UK government's mini budget where taxes are devolved
@UofGGovRel
UofG Government Relations
2 years
Deputy First Minister @JohnSwinney has announced @UofGVC will join fellow economists Prof Frances Ruane & @MikeBrewerEcon for a new expert panel providing advice to @scotgov as part of the Emergency Budget Review (EBR). Read more on the expert panel here👇
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
So easy to underestimate how much work goes into this. Well done my departmental colleagues!
@iseressex
ISER
6 years
Out *today* !! New data release from our world-leading Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study - so now rich data available on 1000s UK households from 1991-2017 - download from @UKDataService @ESRC @usociety @CLOSER_UK @ResearchEssex
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Quick note on the interaction between NI thresholds and #UniversalCredit . The Chancellor said that the higher NI threshold was worth about £330 in a full year. If you are getting UC, then you lose 55% of that to a reduced UC award. (1/2)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
@sarahoconnor_ They were running free outside! There is definitely data (not at RF!) showing how children used to be outside more, and roam further from home.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Want to be part of the @resfoundation team producing these Budget analyses? Now you can! (or at least: "now you can apply!") We are looking for an economist or a research & policy analyst to join us; £35-£45k. Pls RT. (and it's not compulsory to do the annual overnighter) (1/2)
@TorstenBell
Torsten Bell
3 years
Very proud of the @resfoundation team producing a detailed, chart packed analysis of yesterday's much bigger than expected Budget in a matter of hours - so the public debate is informed before the news circus moves on
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
A rise in the national living wage to £9.50 would be very welcome, given that low earners have been the hardest hit by the crisis, both in terms of job loss and reduced earnings, and through the direct health consequences of Covid-19. Thread (1/8)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Closing paragraph of Sir Angus Deaton's speech at tonight's launch of the @NuffieldFound funded @TheIFS review on inequalities. This is a powerful criticism of how our economy functions, coming from a Nobel prize winning economist.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
The most concerning point about SSP is that 2 million earning less than £120/wk are entitled to no support when sick or self-isolating. This includes 1 in 6 workers in customer-facing sectors. (3/4)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Credit to @resfoundation for pushing this issue, to ONS and Richard Tonkin for listening, and also to @MiSoC_Essex funded work by @LSESocialPolicy 's Stephen Jenkins who carefully compared UK tax data with household survey data. Impact! 💥
@TorstenBell
Torsten Bell
5 years
Today the myth of falling inequality dies a death, thanks to great work @ONS on ensuring their income data better captures the very highest income households
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Delighted that UKMOD is available now from @iseressex . Freely-available, tax and benefit model for the UK (including versions for Scotland and NI; Wales and England to follow next year), as funded by @NuffieldFound as a spin-off from @EUROMOD_ . Free training available too!
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
1 year
There is one piece in the magazine authored by a woman, and it's on, I kid you not, sexual harassment in economics. It's easy to point out that #economics has a gender issue, but I mean, this is quite something. Here's hoping the next issue is entirely female-authored? (3/3)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
In 1997, I was offered a scholarship to do a PhD, but turned it down in favour of a job with a salary. In 2002, I started a part-time PhD, but it turned out that part-time work, part-time study and full-time father of twins <12 months doesn't work. So here is try #3 (2/2)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
@Gilesyb @resfoundation For those at the bottom, it's because lots of the one-off payments are not due to be repeated (worth over £1,000!). For others, it's due to another year of high inflation and earnings being unlikely to keep pace.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
This is really important ⬇️. The key indicator is "receiving free school meals", which is a marker of low family income. So the Sel Cmte report is really about "white children growing up in poverty". And there are so many reasons why children in poverty do poorly at school.
@Samfr
Sam Freedman
3 years
(NB: I now always use "low-income" rather than "working class" as a v large number of families who aren't, say, using free school meals, identify as working class. Not a useful descriptor.)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
The Spring Statement just gets better and better
@adamcorlett
Adam Corlett
3 years
So it turns out the plan to cut the basic rate of income tax in 2024 will cost £6bn, while the plan to freeze the starting point for income tax and NICs in 2024 and 2025 will raise £6bn. Taken together, this is a transfer from poor to rich, leaving most people worse off
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
4. Levels matter, not rate of change. The UK has a high level of inequality, and every year this persists is another year that (if you believe the research) worsens social mobility, causes deaths of despair, makes us less healthy, less trusting, etc. (5/n)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
Indeed. And also see the pandemic, where the IT system didn't allow for a 6 month rise in WTC rates from Apr-Sep 2021, so the government just sent WTC recipients one-off payments.
@danbloom1
Dan Bloom
2 years
NEW: IFS and Res Foundation both slap down Rishi Sunak's 'Computer Says No' excuse to cut benefits for millions IFS chief Paul Johnson tells me: "That doesn’t seem to be any kind of reason for saying ‘we will do nothing because we can’t do everything’"
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
Heading in to a 6.5 hour meeting assessing outline funding proposals on <5 hours sleep after working on RF's overnight analysis. Send thoughts, prayers, sugary food, caffeine.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
That's one reason why I work in a multidisciplinary department @iseressex and lead a great multidisciplinary research centre @MiSoC_Essex . We study our society with social sciences (and lots of data).
@econromesh
Romesh Vaitilingam
6 years
Economics benefits from the insights of other subjects; it is time to emulate Enlightenment thinkers & stop separating the social sciences, #EconomicsNobel @JeanTirole @TSEinfo @FT
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 months
Lots of wonk focus today on whether the costings in today’s Conservative Party manifesto do indeed add up. But lets also remember the bigger picture. Short thread below. 1/7
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
If you want to deal with a cost of living crisis caused by surging energy prices, need to a) tackle the problem at source or b) provide a solution targeted on the hardest-hit households. (2/2)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
Thread on new, preliminary paper on what is happening to distribution of income in UK through the coronavirus crisis. Brilliant work from my co-author @IvaTasseva using UKMOD @EUROMOD_ @CeMPAEssex @iseressex (1/12)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 months
I'd forgotten this! In 2020, Chancellor Sunak grudgingly announced the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, and complained (correctly) that the self-employed enjoyed an unwarranted tax break over employees. This manifesto's proposals would make that tax gap worse.
@stephenkb
Stephen Bush
4 months
Quite a journey from 2020 “and of course, after this, we will have more taxes on the self-employed” to “no NICs for the self-employed”.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 years
"Yes". Should be a quick session! (I am not appearing, btw)
@CommonsWorkPen
Work & Pensions Committee
4 years
🚨 Should the Government keep the £20 increase to #UniversalCredit and #WorkingTaxCredit ? 📅 Tomorrow we’re hearing from policy experts and support organisations on whether it should be extended. ➡️ Read more:
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
Definitely worth reading this piece! Am feeling a little got-at because I recently wrote a book with lots of Ginis in it! Here are some reactions: 1. I agree with almost all that Case and Deaton say, and I am delighted to be part of the Deaton review of Inequality at IFS. 1/n
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
4 months
New @resfoundation report out today on the state of social security, by @Alex__Clegg on where 14 years of reforms have left us and what challenges await the next Government. Thread below.
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
3 years
These stories about MPs' second jobs are a helpful guide to understanding the top tail of the hourly wage distribution 👀
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 years
@TorstenBell "£2bn a year (by 2026-27) of foregone tax revenue" worth of abuse
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
6 years
Obviously I do this research malarkey because I love it, but recognition is always nice #TuesdayMotivation @ResearchEssex @iseressex
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
5 years
wow what a great session this morning on #inequality and the very rich with @MiSoC_Essex @TheIFS @Summers_AD @KarenRowlingson and @carysroberts . Am v grateful to them all for speaking. Quick aside on what I learned today about capital gains (1/n)
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@MikeBrewerEcon
Mike Brewer
2 months
Yes, this.
@davewalker
Dave Walker
2 months
Drawing: Possible causes of your problems. I've been appalled at the scenes we've witnessed over the last few days. It's utterly unacceptable that people should have to live in fear because of the colour of their skin. [Polite comments only, please.]
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