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// University News

15 Jul 2016

Struggling families crave stability in uncertain times, study shows

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Over a third of families (more than 2 million households) in the UK are earning below the minimum income needed for an acceptable living standard.

This is among the key findings of a unique study into the life of families unable to afford a minimum household budget, produced by Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

The Falling Short study takes a new look at life on a low income, starting not from the perspective of poverty and hardship but from a more positive description of what it is to participate in society and meet your needs. Researchers talked in depth to 30 families with incomes lower than the Minimum Income Standard (MIS). MIS is calculated by CRSP and is used to assess what income households require in order to buy the things that the public consider essential for an acceptable standard of living. 

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