‘’I feel like I’m in poverty. I don’t do much outside of work other than survive": In-work poverty and multiple employment in the UK

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2022-08-01Keyword
In-work povertyPoverty dynamics research
Low-paid work
Precarious work
Multiple employment
Austerity
Temporalities of poverty
Rights
(c) 2022 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Peer-Reviewed
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This paper argues for the need to reconsider the changing nature of in-work poverty (IWP). In doing so, we present evidence not included in current debates or statistics, of people working in more than one job, yet still experiencing IWP. Using the dynamic theory of poverty and a qualitative approach, we identify various structural constraints that sustain cycles of IWP. This highlights the multi-dimensionalities of poverty, incorporating the temporalities, types and depths of IWP. Our evidence demonstrates how poverty is experienced and individualised and also how it is created and sustained through paid work, rather than being challenged by it.Version
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McBride J and Smith A (2022) "I feel like I’m in poverty. I don’t do much outside of work other than survive": In-work poverty and multiple employment in the UK. Economic and Industrial Democracy. 43(3): 1440-1466.Link to publisher’s version
https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X211016054Type
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