top of page
Kate Summers headshot high res.jpg

ABOUT ME

I am a social policy researcher based in the Methodology Department at the London School of Economics. In my work I focus on social security ('benefits') policy and aspects of economic inequality. At the centre of my work I want to understand how economic resources are distributed, the role that policy plays, and the effects of this. I mean this both in a material sense - people's living standards. But also in a symbolic sense - what it feels like and means to be 'poor' or 'rich' in the UK today, and how this relates to work and home life. 

I also think about how to improve research methods. I use qualitative methods (including interviews and focus groups) and place an increasingly strong emphasis on participation in my work, meaning research participants are partners, leaders, or experts in the research process.

bottom of page