Regional pay? The public/private sector pay differential

This paper extends the debate on making public sector wages more responsive to those in the private sector. The way in which the public/private sector wage differential is calculated dramatically alters conclusions and far from there being substantial regional disparity in wages offered to public sector workers, any differences are predominantly concentrated in London and the South East where public sector workers are significantly disadvantaged relative to private sector workers. This has implications for staff recruitment and retention. Such findings question the need for regional market-facing pay but highlight the necessity to revisit the London-weighting offered to public sector workers

Student budgets and widening participation: Comparative experiences of finance in low and higher income undergraduates at a Northern Red Brick University

Drawing on a thematic analysis of longitudinal qualitative data (ntotal = 118), this article takes a “whole student lifecycle” approach to examine how lower and higher income students at an English northern red brick university variously attempted to manage their individual budgets. It explores how students reconcile their income—in the form of loans, grants, and bursaries—with the cost of living. Four arenas of interest are described: planning, budgeting, and managing “the student loan”; disruptions to financial planning; the role of familial support; and strategies of augmenting the budget. In detailing the micro‐level constraints on the individual budgets of lower and higher income undergraduates, the article highlights the importance of non‐repayable grants and bursaries in helping to sustain meaningful participation in higher tariff, more selective, higher education institutions. It also supports an emerging body of literature that suggests that the continuing amendments to the system of funding higher education in England are unlikely to address inequality of access, participation, and outcome

Restructuring UK local government employment relations: pay determination and employee participation in tough times

The Conservative-led coalition government has been committed to shrinking the state and this has had a major impact on local government. This article examines the consequences of austerity measures for staff participation and pay determination in UK local government. Local government has been particularly hard hit by austerity measures and this has encouraged employers to change terms and conditions, review forms of staff participation and cut jobs. The implications for the institutional resilience of systems of employment regulation and employee involvement in the sector are considered

Choice of Tax Base Revisited: Cash Flow vs. Prepayment Approaches to Consumption Taxation

This paper re-examines the issues involved in the design of a direct tax on consumption, an idea that has received a fair degree of acceptance in the transition countries over the past decade (e.g., tax reforms in Croatia and Moldova). First we argue that on the subject of equivalence among a set of taxes, the only meaningful comparison is along the ex-ante concept of equivalence, and not ex-post. The latter as we shall see requires highly implausible, and often arbitrary, choice scenarios. We carry out the analysis in a variety of models starting with the two-period consumption-saving choice under full certainty. However, a good part of the discussion is carried out where the portfolio choice behaviour is embedded in an intertemporal savings model that has been widely discussed in the literature. We then take up more complete (and necessarily more complex) choice situations for examination. Indeed the first of two variations of the above is a model where individuals make work-leisure (for a given skill level) as well as the safe-risky asset choice. The last is of risky human capital choice, where the physical investment is restricted to a single non-risky asset. For the purposes of the paper, the models are very general, and the precise choice context is open to wider interpretations than how they are actually phrased. In spite of our preoccupation with the efficiency aspects, we are interested in other important issues of equity, and those of an administrative nature. But our remarks on the latter fronts are limited to the insight that we directly gain from the analytics

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing: Waves 0-10, 1998-2023

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.&nbsp;The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) is a longitudinal survey of ageing and quality of life among older people that explores the dynamic relationships between health and functioning, social networks and participation, and economic position as people plan for, move into and progress beyond retirement. The main objectives of ELSA are to: construct waves of accessible and well-documented panel data; provide these data in a convenient and timely fashion to the scientific and policy research community; describe health trajectories, disability and healthy life expectancy in a representative sample of the English population aged 50 and over; examine the relationship between economic position and health; investigate the determinants of economic position in older age; describe the timing of retirement and post-retirement labour market activity; and understand the relationships between social support, household structure and the transfer of assets. Further information may be found on the ELSA project website, the or&nbsp;Natcen Social Research: ELSA web pages. Health conditions research with ELSA - June 2021 The ELSA Data team have found some issues with historical data measuring health conditions. If you are intending to do any analysis looking at the following health conditions, then please contact [email protected] for advice on how you should approach your analysis. The affected conditions are: eye conditions (glaucoma; diabetic eye disease; macular degeneration; cataract), CVD conditions (high blood pressure; angina; heart attack; Congestive Heart Failure; heart murmur; abnormal heart rhythm; diabetes; stroke; high cholesterol; other heart trouble) and chronic health conditions (chronic lung disease; asthma; arthritis; osteoporosis; cancer; Parkinson's Disease; emotional, nervous or psychiatric problems; Alzheimer's Disease; dementia; malignant blood disorder; multiple sclerosis or motor neurone disease). For information on obtaining data from ELSA that are not held at the UKDS, see the ELSA&nbsp;Genetic data access&nbsp;and&nbsp;Accessing ELSA data&nbsp;webpages. Harmonized dataset: Users of the Harmonized dataset who prefer to use the Stata version will need access to Stata MP software, as the version G3 file contains 11,779 variables (the limit for the standard Stata 'Intercooled' version is 2,047). ELSA COVID-19 study: A separate ad-hoc study conducted with ELSA respondents, measuring the socio-economic effects/psychological impact of the lockdown on the aged 50+ population of England, is also available under SN 8688, English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 Study. ELSA Waves 9 and 10 data updated releases: For the 41st edition (August 2024), Wave 10 EUL and pension grid datasets have been redeposited, with additional variables made available to researchers. The Core EUL dataset now also contains survey weights. The datasets replace the preliminary versions originally made available in January 2024. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Derived Variable (DV) and Financial DV datasets from Wave 10 have also been deposited, with additional documentation and data dictionaries for each dataset, and the corresponding IFS files for Wave 9 revised.For the 42nd edition (September 2024), the Wave 9 pension grid dataset has been updated to include additional derived variables relating to pension provider (demppen), pension type (ddbdc), and pension scheme membership status (dcurpen).&nbsp; A corresponding data dictionary has been added.For the 43rd edition (September 2024), the data files for Wave 9 and Wave 10 have been updated to include a variable previously omitted. The Wave 10 data dictionaries has been updated accordingly. The Wave 10 Technical Report has also been added, and the Interviewer Data User Guide has been updated to cover Waves 1-10.&nbsp;Wave 10 Health data&nbsp;Users should note that in Wave 10, the health section of the ELSA questionnaire&nbsp;has been revised and all respondents were asked anew about their health conditions, rather than following the prior approach of asking those who had taken part in the past waves&nbsp;to confirm previously recorded conditions. Due to this reason, the health conditions feed-forward data will not be archived, as was done in previous waves.&nbsp; Main Topics:For a full table of topics and questions covered across all the ELSA waves, see the all waves user guide in the documentation. Standard Measures used in ELSA: Rose Angina Questionnaire: Rose, G. and Blackburn, H. (1986) Cardiovascular survey methods, World Health Organization MonographEdinburgh Claudication Questionnaire: Leng, G. and Fowkes, F. (1992) 'The Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire: an improved version of the WHO/Rose Questionnaire for use in epidemiological surveys', Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 45, pp.1101-1109MRC Respiratory Questionnaire: Fletcher, C. et al. (1978) The natural history of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, Oxford: Oxford University PressCES-D Depression Scale (8-item): Rasloff, L.S. (1977) 'The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population', Applied Psychological Measurement, 1(3), pp.270-278General Health Questionnaire (12-item): Goldberg, D.P. Manual of the General Health Questionnaire, Windsor: NFER-Nelson, 1978CASP-19: Hyde, M. et al. (2003) 'A measure of quality of life in early old age: the theory, development and properties of a needs satisfaction model [CASP-19]', Ageing and Mental Health, 7, pp.186-194Ryff Scale of Psychological Wellbeing: Ryff, C.D. (1989) 'Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological wellbeing', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, pp.1069-1081, and Ryff, C.D. and Keyes, C.L. (1995) 'The structure of psychological wellbeing revisited', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), pp.719-727</ul

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 Study, Waves 1-2, 2020

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) Covid-19 study can be seen as a follow-up study based on the sample of the regular ELSA study (held under SN 5050). ELSA was launched in 2002 with the primary objective of exploring ageing in England through the operationalisation of a longitudinal design, where repeated measures are taken over time from the same sample of study participants, composed of people aged 50 or above. After the beginning of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at the end of 2019, its classification as global pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March 2020 and the gradual escalation of protective measures in the UK, culminating with the enforcement of a nation-wide lockdown in late March, the ELSA research team identified the need to carry out a new ad-hoc study that measures the socio-economic effects/psychological impact of the lockdown on the aged 50+ population of England. Further information can be found on the ELSA COVID-19 Study webpage. Acknowledgment statement: The ELSA COVID-19 Substudy was funded through the Economic and Social Research Council via the UK Research and Innovation Covid-19 Rapid Response call. Funding has also been received from the National Institute of Aging in the US, and a consortium of UK government departments coordinated by the National Institute for Health Research. Latest edition information For the third edition (February 2022), revised data files for Waves 1 and 2, with corrected serial numbers (variable idauniq), were deposited. The documentation remains unchanged.Special Licence version of the ELSA COVID-19 studyAdditional variables covering interview week are available under SN 8918, subject to stringent Special Licence access conditions. Users should check whether the standard End User Licence version (this study, SN 8688), is sufficient for their needs before making an application for the Special Licence version. Health conditions research with ELSA - June 2021 The ELSA Data team have found some issues with historical data measuring health conditions. If you are intending to do any analysis looking at the following health conditions, then please contact [email protected] for advice on how you should approach your analysis. The affected conditions are: eye conditions (glaucoma; diabetic eye disease; macular degeneration; cataract), CVD conditions (high blood pressure; angina; heart attack; Congestive Heart Failure; heart murmur; abnormal heart rhythm; diabetes; stroke; high cholesterol; other heart trouble) and chronic health conditions (chronic lung disease; asthma; arthritis; osteoporosis; cancer; Parkinson's Disease; emotional, nervous or psychiatric problems; Alzheimer's Disease; dementia; malignant blood disorder; multiple sclerosis or motor neurone disease).Main Topics:Topics covered in the ELSA COVID-19 study include: Demographics Mental health Financial security Covid-19-related health Employment and work Financial situation Volunteering and care Physical health and health behaviours Social connection isolation and technological inclusion Income, pensions and retirement For a full table of topics and questions covered across all the ELSA waves, see the all-waves user guide in the main study (SN 5050) documentation.</p

English Longitudinal Study of Ageing COVID-19 Study, Waves 1-2, 2020: Special Licence Access

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing&nbsp;(ELSA) study is a longitudinal survey of ageing and quality of life among older people that explores the dynamic relationships between health and functioning, social networks and participation, and economic position as people plan for, move into and progress beyond retirement. The main objectives of ELSA are to: construct waves of accessible and well-documented panel data; provide these data in a convenient and timely fashion to the scientific and policy research community; describe health trajectories, disability and healthy life expectancy in a representative sample of the English population aged 50 and over; examine the relationship between economic position and health; nvestigate the determinants of economic position in older age; describe the timing of retirement and post-retirement labour market activity; and understand the relationships between social support, household structure and the transfer of assets. Further information may be found on the ELSA project website, the Institute for Fiscal Studies: ELSA webpages; and the NatCen Social Research: ELSA webpages. Health conditions research with ELSA - June 2021 The ELSA Data team have found some issues with historical data measuring health conditions. If you are intending to do any analysis looking at the following health conditions, then please contact the ELSA Data team at NatCen on&nbsp;[email protected]&nbsp;for advice on how you should approach your analysis. The affected conditions are: eye conditions (glaucoma; diabetic eye disease; macular degeneration; cataract), CVD conditions (high blood pressure; angina; heart attack; Congestive Heart Failure; heart murmur; abnormal heart rhythm; diabetes; stroke; high cholesterol; other heart trouble) and chronic health conditions (chronic lung disease; asthma; arthritis; osteoporosis; cancer; Parkinson's Disease; emotional, nervous or psychiatric problems; Alzheimer's Disease; dementia; malignant blood disorder; multiple sclerosis or motor neurone disease). Special Licence Data: Special Licence Access versions of ELSA have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence (see 'Access' section below).&nbsp;Users are advised to obtain the latest edition of SN 5050 (the End User Licence version) before making an application for Special Licence data, to see whether that is suitable for their needs. A separate application must be made for each Special Licence study.&nbsp;Special Licence Access versions of ELSA include: Primary data from Wave 8 onwards (SN 8346) includes all the variables in the EUL primary dataset (SN 5050) as well as year and month of birth, consolidated ethnicity and country of birth, marital status, and more detailed medical history variables. Wave 8 Pension Age Data (SN 8375) includes all the variables in the EUL pension age data (SN 5050) as well as year and age reached state pension age variables. Wave 8 Sexual Self-Completion Data (SN 8376) includes sensitive variables from the sexual self-completion questionnaire. Wave 3 (2007) Harmonized Life History (SN 8831) includes retrospective information on previous histories, specifically, detailed data on previous partnership, children, residential, health, and work histories. Detailed geographical identifier files for Waves 1-8 which are grouped by identifier held under SN 8429 (Local Authority District Pre-2009 Boundaries), SN 8439 (Local Authority District Post-2009 Boundaries), SN 8430 (Local Authority Type Pre-2009 Boundaries), SN 8441 (Local Authority Type Post-2009 Boundaries), SN 8431 (Quintile Index of Multiple Deprivation Score), SN 8432 (Quintile Population Density for Postcode Sectors), SN 8433 (Census 2001 Rural-Urban Indicators), SN 8437 (Census 2011 Rural-Urban Indicators). Where boundary changes have occurred, the geographic identifier has been split into two separate studies to reduce the risk of disclosure. Users are also only allowed one version of each identifier: either SN 8429 (Local Authority District Pre-2009 Boundaries) or SN 8439 (Local Authority District Post-2009 Boundaries) either SN 8430 (Local Authority Type Pre-2009 Boundaries) or SN 8441(Local Authority Type Post-2009 Boundaries) either SN 8433 (Census 2001 Rural-Urban Indicators) or SN 8437 (Census 2011 Rural-Urban Indicators) ELSA Wave 6 and Wave 8 Self-Completion Questionnaires included an open-ended question where respondents could add any other comments they may wish to note down. These responses have been transcribed and anonymised. Researchers can request access to these transcribed responses for research purposes by contacting the ELSA Data Team at NatCen.The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) Covid-19 study can be seen as a follow-up study based on the sample of the regular ELSA study (held under SN 5050). ELSA was launched in 2002 with the primary objective of exploring ageing in England through the operationalisation of a longitudinal design, where repeated measures are taken over time from the same sample of study participants, composed of people aged 50 or above. After the beginning of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at the end of 2019, its classification as global pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March 2020 and the gradual escalation of protective measures in the UK, culminating with the enforcement of a nation-wide lockdown in late March, the ELSA research team identified the need to carry out a new ad-hoc study that measures the socio-economic effects/psychological impact of the lockdown on the aged 50+ population of England.Acknowledgment statement:The ELSA COVID-19 Substudy was funded through the Economic and Social Research Council via the UK Research and Innovation Covid-19 Rapid Response call. Funding has also been received from the National Institute of Aging in the US, and a consortium of UK government departments coordinated by the National Institute for Health Research.Further information can be found on the&nbsp;ELSA COVID-19 Study&nbsp;webpage.ELSA COVID-19&nbsp;study: End User Licence and Special Licence data The main data and documentation for the ELSA COVID-19&nbsp;study are available under SN 8688, subject to standard End User Licence conditions. This study (SN 8918) contains only interview week variables, which are subject to stringent Special Licence conditions. Users should obtain SN 8688 and check whether it is suitable for their needs before considering an application for this study (SN 8918). Main Topics: Interview week variables for the ELSA COVID-19 study (the main End User Licence study is held under SN 8688).</p