Peter Saunders

Expertise: Social policy issues, welfare reform, nanny state, tax reform, poverty

Peter is currently living in England but has continued his association by becoming a CIS Senior Fellow. He was the Centre’s Director of Social Policy from 2002 until 2008. His work at the CIS has focused mainly on issues of poverty, social inequality and welfare reform. His most recent works are Remoralising the Welfare State (2013) and When Prophecy Fails (2011).  Peter’s first CIS publication was Social Foundations of a Free Society (2001).  Other publications include A Self-Reliant Australia (2003) and Australia’s Welfare Habit: And how to kick it (2004) and The Government Giveth and the Government Taketh Away (2007), edited Taxploitation. The Case for Income Tax Reform (2006).

Before joining the CIS Peter was Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex in England and Research Manager at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (2000-02). He published major works on topics including meritocracy, contemporary capitalism, privatisation and home ownership.

www.petersaunders.org.uk

• Latest from Peter Saunders

A Whiff of Compassion? The Attack on Mutual Obligation
Peter SaundersJune 10, 2008IA96

Mutual obligation requires people receiving welfare benefits to undertake a prescribed activity or forfeit some...

What are Low Ability Workers To Do When Unskilled Jobs Disappear? Part 2
Peter SaundersFebruary 14, 2008IA93

Part 2: Expanding Low-skilled Employment One reason working-age welfare dependency remains high is that the...

What are Low Ability Workers To Do When Unskilled Jobs Disappear? Part 1
Peter SaundersDecember 6, 2007IA91

Part 1: Why More Education and Training Isn’t the Answer Employers are reporting shortages of...

The Government Giveth and the Government Taketh Away: Tax Welfare Churning and the Case for Welfare State Opt-Outs
Peter SaundersMay 14, 2007PM74

Australians are more prosperous than ever before, so the number of people needing government assistance...

Reinventing New Zealand’s Welfare State
Peter SaundersMarch 27, 2007IA85

Government in New Zealand keeps expanding. The main driver has been the inexorable increase in...

A Welfare State for Those Who Want One, Opts-outs for Those Who Don’t
Peter SaundersJanuary 30, 2007IA79

This paper looks at how the long-term growth of government spending, and the erosion of...

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