Routes Out of Poverty: A research review

Although many people remain poor for some time, there is considerable movement into and out of poverty. Consequently, the number of people affected by poverty is much greater than the number experiencing it at any one point in time. However, most income mobility takes place over a relatively short scale and there is considerable persistence in poverty among some groups of people. Those most at risk of persistent poverty are children, older people, lone parents, social housing tenants, adults with no educational qualifications and workless households. Policy-makers are increasingly interested in the ways in which people escape from poverty. This study by the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York reviewed existing evidence on this topic