Reeves, Aaron, Fransham, Mark, Stewart, Kitty et al. (1 more author) (2022) Does capping social security harm health? A natural experiment in the UK. Social Policy and Administration. pp. 345-359. ISSN 1467-9515
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the mental health effects of lowering the UK's benefit cap in 2016. This policy limits the total amount a household with no-one in full-time employment can receive in social security. We treat the reduction in the cap as a natural policy experiment, comparing those at risk of being capped and those who were not, and examining the risk of experiencing poor mental health both before and after the cap was lowered. Drawing on data from ~900,000 individuals, we find that the prevalence of depression or anxiety among those at risk of being capped increased by 2.6 percentage points (95% confidence interval: 1.33–3.88) compared with those at a low risk of being capped. Capping social security may increase the risk of mental ill health and could have the unintended consequence of pushing out-of-work people even further away from the labour market.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Social Policy and Social Work (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 31 May 2024 14:00 |
Last Modified: | 18 Nov 2024 00:39 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12768 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/spol.12768 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:213019 |
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Description: Soc Policy Adm - 2021 - Reeves - Does capping social security harm health A natural experiment in the UK
Licence: CC-BY 2.5