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Being and becoming: social exclusion and the onset of disability
- Author:
- BURCHARDT Tania
- Publisher:
- ESRC Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion. London School of Economics
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 73p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
It is well known that many disabled people are out of work and living in poverty. But little is understood about the process of becoming disabled: who is most at risk, how it affects their income, and the impact on the rest of the family. This study, seeks to unpick the relationship between the onset of disability and social exclusion for people of working age. People in the poorest fifth of the income distribution are two-and-a-half times more likely to become disabled during a year than those in the top fifth. There is a steep gradient in risk of onset according to other indicators of disadvantage, for example educational qualifications or occupational group. This means the average fall in income associated with becoming disabled is less than might be expected, because many are already on a low income. For people not initially in employment, greater benefit entitlement can result in a small overall increase in income: an average of £17 per week for couples (2003 prices). Someone becoming disabled also affects other members of the household. In single-earner couples, even where it is not the earner who becomes disabled, one in five leave employment. In some cases this is to take on new caring responsibilities