Contents

pp iii-iv

List of tables and figures

pp v-vi

Notes on contributors

pp vii-viii

Foreword

pp ix-x

A note on terminology

pp xi-xii

Introduction

pp 1-14

Section 1 - Setting the scene: a rising tide no longer lifts all boats

pp 15-16

1.1 - A lost decade, not a burst bubble: the declining living standards of middle-class households in the US and Britain

pp 17-30

1.2 - Rising incomes and modest inequality: the high-employment route

pp 31-44

Section 2 - Policy lessons: creating quality work, raising incomes and building greater economic security

pp 45-46

Creating quality work

pp 47-48

2.1 - Improving job quality in low-paid jobs: care workers in the US

pp 49-60

2.2 - Employment change and economic vulnerability in the US

pp 61-72

Raising incomes

pp 73-74

2.3 - New evidence and new directions for promoting labour market advancement for low and modest earners

pp 75-86

2.4 - Boosting the pay packets of low‑to middle-income families

pp 87-102

Strengthening economic security

pp 103-104

2.5 - Strategies to expand the affordable private rental stock

pp 105-116

2.6 - Insulating middle-income households from economic insecurity: why savings matter, and how we can increase them

pp 117-128

Section 3 - Looking ahead: a cautionary tale

pp 129-130

3.1 - The path to post-recession prosperity

pp 131-142

3.2 - How US politics is undermining the American Dream, and what it means for the UK

pp 143-154

3.3 - Conclusion: learning the lessons

pp 155-164

Index

pp 165-169