Offering a comparative perspective, this book examines working poverty - those in work who are still classified as 'poor'. It argues that the growth in numbers of working poor in Europe is due to the transition from a Keynesian Welfare State to a 'post-fordist' model of production.
There has been a rapid global expansion of academic and policy attention focusing on in-work poverty, acknowledging that across the world a large number of the poor are ‘working poor’. Taking a global and multi-disciplinary perspective, this Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of current research at the intersection between work and poverty.
Engaging systematically with severe forms of poverty in Europe, this important book stimulates academic, public and policy debate by shedding light on aspects of deprivation and exclusion of people in absolute poverty in affluent societies. It examines issues such as access to health care, housing and nutrition, poverty related shame, and violence. The book investigates different policy and civic responses to extreme poverty, ranging from food donations to penalisation and “social cleansing” of highly visible poor and how it is related to concerns of ethics, justice and human dignity.
Offering a comparative perspective, this book examines working poverty - those in work who are still classified as 'poor'. It argues that the growth in numbers of working poor in Europe is due to the transition from a Keynesian Welfare State to a 'post-fordist' model of production.
For more than a decade, organizations such as the IMF, OECD, and the ILO have issued concerns about the trend of increased inequality in rich welfare states, while influential thinkers and think tanks have come to agree on at least one central point: globalization and technological progress have exacerbated the existing inequities in social market economies. Across Europe, despite high social spending and work-related welfare reforms, poverty remains a largely intractable problem for policymakers and the persistent reality for citizens.In Decent Incomes for All, the authors shed new light on recent poverty trends in the European Union and the corresponding responses by European welfare states. They analyze the effect of social and fiscal policies before, during, and after the recent economic crisis and study the impact of alternative policy packages on poverty and inequality. The book also explores how social investment and local initiatives of social innovation can contribute to tackling poverty, while recognizing that there are indeed structural constraints on the increase of the social floor and difficult trade-offs involved in reconciling work and poverty reduction. Differences across countries are, however, stark, which suggests that there are lessons to be learned and policy changes to be applied, if the political will exists.
This thought-provoking book provides an in-depth analysis of the working poor phenomenon and its causes across welfare regimes, and identifies the most efficient policy mixes and best practices that could be utilized to resolve this problem. Eric Crettaz argues that 'the working poor' is too broad a category to be used for meaningful academic or policy discussion, and that a distinction must be made between different categories of poor workers. He illustrates how different welfare regimes generate different forms of working poverty via in-depth case studies of various OECD countries over the past decade, underpinned by a theoretical and conceptual framework. Using meta-analyses of evaluations of social policy tools, the author addresses the key question of what constitutes the most efficient policies to deal with the problem of working poverty. Fighting Working Poverty in Post-industrial Economies will prove an enlightening and stimulating read for academics, researchers and students across various disciplines including sociology, economics and political science. In addition, policymakers and other stakeholders seeking innovative solutions to the potentially growing problem of working poverty will find this book to be an invaluable point of reference.
We are at a point in history where economic inequalities are more widespread each day. The situation of extreme poverty experienced by the majority of the populations in developing countries ("Third World" countries) often coincides with an absence of democracy and the violation of the most fundamental rights. But in so-called "First World" countries a non-negligible proportion of inhabitants also live in impoverished conditions (albeit mainly "relative" poverty) and are denied their rights. The European situation, which this publication aims to analyse, is painful: the entire continent is afflicted by increasing poverty and consequently by the erosion of living conditions and social conflicts.The economic and financial crisis has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, and created job insecurity for many still working. Economic insecurity raises social tensions, aggravating xenophobia, for instance. Yet the economic and financial crisis could present a good opportunity to rethink the economic and social system as a whole. Indeed, poverty in modern societies has never been purely a question of lack of wealth. It is therefore urgent today to devise a new discourse on poverty. In pursuit of this goal, the Council of Europe is following up this publication in the framework of the project "Human rights of people experiencing poverty", co-financed by the European Commission.
This book investigates the paradox of rich countries of Western Europe, who have high levels of poverty whilst proclaiming its eradication as one of the primary social and economic goals. It looks at how policies often do not achieve their goals, why countries need mechanisms to reduce wage inequality and why they choose to provide universal benefits instead of systems of selective benefits targeted at the poor. Along with cross-countries comparisons, the volume also presents analysis of the minimum income in France, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, and Greece.
The book provides important findings on the link between institutions and in-work poverty. The volume makes a significant contribution to this strand of literature as evidence on cross-country differences is scarce. The combination of case studies and comparative quantitative investigations is an interesting approach. Annekatrin Niebuhr, Papers in Regional Science This data-rich book explores the causes of in-work poverty in Europe. . . The balanced provision of theoretical insights and strong empirical support will prove useful to poverty scholars and policymakers alike. Contemporary Sociology A book on in-work poverty could not be timelier. . . At a time when many of the working poor are likely to become the non-working poor this book is a must-read. Zoë Irving, Journal of Social Policy This volume represents a valuable contribution to debates on welfare states, public policy, poverty and social exclusion. It is an empirically rich and analytically robust comparative collection, highlighting the variations between and contradictions of in-work poverty across Europe. Patricia Kennett, University of Bristol, UK For a long time in-work poverty was not associated with European welfare states. Recently, the topic has gained relevance as welfare state retrenchment and international competition in globalized economies has put increasing pressures on individuals and families. This book provides explanations as to why in-work poverty is high in certain countries and low in others. Much of the present concern about the working poor has to do with recent changes in labour market policies in Europe. However, this book is not primarily about low pay. Instead, it questions whether gainful employment is sufficient to earn a living both for oneself and for one s family members. There are, however, great differences between European countries. This book argues that the incidence and structure of the working poor cannot be understood without a thorough understanding of each country s institutional context. This includes the system of wage-setting, the level of decommodification provided by the social security system and the structure of families and households. Combining cross-country studies with in-depth analyses from a national perspective, the book reveals that in-work poverty in Europe is a diverse, multi-faceted phenomenon occurring in equally diverse institutional, economic and socio-demographic settings. With its rich detail and conclusions, this genuinely comparative study will be of interest to academics and researchers of labour and welfare economics, social policy and European studies as well as to policy advisers.