Publication
Title
Is poverty reduction in Europe doomed? Conjectures, facts and a cautiously optimistic conclusion
Author
Abstract
There has not been much progress on the poverty front in Europe over recent decades, at least if we take it as a relative phenomenon in affluent societies. There is a lot of pessimism about the possibility of making any real progress at all. Some argue that adequate poverty relief is simply too expensive or that it would put too much of a redistributive burden on the electorally powerful, making it politically difficult, if not infeasible. Another prominent argument is that wage floors and thus out-of-work benefit levels are inexorably under pressure, making poverty relief both harder to achieve and more expensive in budgetary terms. This paper sets out these accounts and focuses on what has been happening to statutory, absolute and effective wage floors in Europe over the past decades. We ask whether progress on the poverty front through pushing up wage floors and subsequently out-of-work benefits is a realistic prospect. We see reasons for optimism.
Language
English
Source (series)
CSB working paper ; 24/03
Publication
Antwerp : Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp , 2024
Volume/pages
41 p.
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Record
Identifier
Creation 25.04.2024
Last edited 26.04.2024
To cite this reference