Alumni Association
Dr. Christina Pantazis (University of Bristol)
28 March 2012
Project Title: State-of-the-Art Measurement of Poverty and Social Exclusion: Comparison of UK and Japan Seminar
Japanese Lead Scientist: Dr. Aya Abe, Director of the Department of Empirical Social Security Research at the National Insitute of Population and Social Security Research, Tokyo
UK Counterpart: Dr. Christina Pantazis, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol
Seminar Project Held January 2012
Description of Project
Despite their relative wealth,
poverty, inequality and social exclusion are major issues of concern for both
the UK and Japan. The main objective of
the collaborative seminar project was to advance the theory and practice of
poverty and social exclusion measurement from a comparative UK/Japanese
perspective. The event held in Japan in
January 2012, involving a research workshop and two large public seminars, brought
together some of the leading researchers in the UK and Japan as well as younger
academics to:
· review the ‘state of the art’ of poverty and
social exclusion measurement in each country;
· discuss and compare the evidence from recent
surveys; and
· consider their implications for public and
social policies.
Politicians, policy-makers and practitioners working in
the public, private and voluntary sectors, as well as activists, journalists,
and members of the general public attended the public events held in Tokyo and
Kyoto.
Departments and
Institutions Involved
The project was a collaboration between Christina Pantazis
and Professor David Gordon from the Townsend Centre for International Poverty
Research at the University of Bristol, England and Dr Aya Abe, Director of the
Department of Empirical Social Security Research at the National Institute of
Population and Social Security Research, Tokyo, Japan.
How the
Collaboration Started
The collaboration consolidates an existing working relationship
between the partners. Dr Aya Abe is an
international advisory board member on a major research project into Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK. The project, led by Professor Gordon and
involving Christina Pantazis and others, aims to provide the most
detailed assessment of the experience of poverty and social exclusion among the
UK population following the recession and subsequent financial crisis (http://www.poverty.ac.uk).
Amount of money awarded
£30,000 in total
How participants are benefitting from the scheme
The event facilitated an exchange
of knowledge about comparative approaches on the theory and practice of poverty
and social exclusion measurement. It contributed to improved understandings of
public policy responses to the pressing issues of poverty, inequality and
social exclusion in each country and what lessons, if any, could be learned.
What have been the collaborative developments since the project started?
The project consolidated existing
collaborations and also created new working relationships. Several of the participants are collaborating
on research which will further comparative UK/Japanese understandings of
poverty, inequality and social exclusion. This includes research on the necessities of life, the minimum income
needed to avoid poverty and social exclusion, the extent of inequality, the
role of parenting in poverty alleviation, and child poverty and social
security.
In March 2012, Professor Uazuhasi from the Department of Social Work at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan and his research team visited Bristol, York and London as part of the project ‘The Development of A Welfare-Education Programme enhancing "Competency" of Children in Poverty’. They met a number of child welfare organisations and with several of the seminar participants and other academics working in the field of child poverty and welfare.
