The welfare cost of means-testing: pensioner participation in income support

Stephen Pudney, Ruth Hancock and Monica Hernandez Alava
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Moisés Elizarrarás Hernández

No 2006-12, ISER Working Paper Series from Institute for Social and Economic Research

Abstract: We estimate parametric and semi-parametric binary choice models of benefit take-up by British pensioners and use a revealed preference argument to infer the cash-equivalent value of disutility arising from stigma or complexity of the claims process. These implicit costs turn out to be relatively small, averaging about £ 3-4 per week across Income Support recipients. Using the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke measure of poverty among pensioners, we find that allowing for implicit claim costs incurred by benefit recipients raises the measured degree of poverty by not more than 13%.

Date: 2006-04-01
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Related works:
Journal Article: The welfare cost of means-testing: pensioner participation in income support (2007)
Working Paper: The Welfare Cost of Means-Testing: Pensioner Participation in Income Support (2003)
Working Paper: The Welfare Cost of Means-Testing: Pensioner Participation in Income Support (2002)
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