National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS)

The launch of the fourth wave of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS; available here) on 8 September saw a high degree of engagement and lively discussion during the day.

After eight years, NIDS can begin to tell a story of the key changes in people’s lives. It tracks employment, inequality, health and wealth,as well as the effects of social spending such as education and grants. In this way, it builds a critical information base for evidence-based policy-making.

To illustrate the policy value of such a rich dataset, a number of researchers were asked to analyse the panel findings from the four Waves. They examined some of the pressing social challenges in the country from unemployment to inequality, from chronic poverty to the distribution of wealth, and from education to health. The research has also developed an index to measure social cohesion. This document summarises some of those findings.

A short video of example findings that can be drawn from the National Income Dynamics panel up to the end of Wave 4 can be viewed here.