This overview report provides an assessment of social policy developments under the three...
Europe
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21/01/2013
EU strategy ‘failing to deliver’ on poverty
Anti-poverty campaigners have sharply criticised the European Union's record on tackling poverty. A meeting in Brussels between campaigners and EU decision-makers has heard accounts of how widespread austerity measures are forcing people into poverty – at the same time as driving those already in poverty into deeper and more desperate situations.
A report of the meeting in September 2012, described as 'very intense', has now been published.
Category: Reports -
16/01/2013
14 million at risk of poverty and social exclusion
14 million people in the UK were at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2011, according to a new report from the Office for National Statistics. The report also looks at how the UK compares with other EU countries on a range of poverty indicators, and at recent trends over time.
Category: Reports -
20/12/2012
1 in 6 EU workers are low paid
As many as one in six employees in the European Union – 17 per cent of the total – were low paid in 2010, according to new statistics released by Eurostat. This proportion varied significantly between member states. There were also large differences between men and women, and according to levels of education and types of work contract.
Category: Reports -
10/12/2012
Inequality prompts support for redistribution
Income inequality leads to popular support for redistribution, according to a study that looked at evidence from 33 European countries over the period 2002–2010. It was also found that the actual level of redistribution implemented in a country decreases support for more redistribution.
Category: Reports -
04/12/2012
Inequality drives material deprivation in Europe
Increased levels of income inequality are associated with increased material deprivation, according to a new study of European countries. Researchers used data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) to investigate the key drivers of material deprivation across countries and over time. They focused on the role of growth (or decline) in average income, and the relationship between material deprivation and income inequality.
Category: Reports -
03/12/2012
1 in 4 at risk of poverty or social exclusion in EU
Nearly a quarter of the EU population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2011, according to official statistics released by Eurostat. The figure of 24.2 per cent – equivalent to 119.6 million people – was higher than the 23.4 per cent recorded in 2010, and the 23.5 per cent in 2008.
The risk of poverty or social exclusion is defined as being in at least one of the following three conditions: at risk of poverty, severely materially deprived, or living in households with very low work intensity.Category: News stories -
21/11/2012
Benefit levels fallen across Europe
Benefit levels for working-age people have been falling relative to average living standards in almost every European Union country in recent decades, according to the latest paper from a large-scale research project on poverty and inequality.
The researchers examined trends in minimum income guarantees for able-bodied persons of working age in the EU (together with Norway and three American states). The degree of benefits erosion was measured by three indicators: real benefit trends, benefit trends relative to average wages, and benefit trends relative to median equivalent income.
Category: Reports -
31/10/2012
‘Self-perpetuating’ effects of inequality
Many forms of social disadvantage have a 'perpetual' character, according to the findings of a large-scale European research project. Past inequalities can themselves lead to future inequalities – not only for the individuals concerned but also for their children.
The report examines the key channels of influence and causality through which the social impacts of inequality can arise. It summarises the emerging conclusions from a wide range of individual studies, organised around five areas:
Category: Reports -
24/10/2012
New European aid fund for most deprived
A new fund to help deprived people in the European Union has been proposed by the European Commission. The fund would support schemes in member states providing food to the most deprived people, and clothing and other essential goods (such as shoes, soap and shampoo) to homeless people and materially deprived children.
The Commission envisages a budget of €2.5 billion (about £2 billion) for the fund over the period 2014–2020. Member states would be responsible for paying 15 per cent of the costs of their national programmes, with the remaining 85 per cent coming from the fund.
The proposal now goes to the European Parliament and the European Union's Council of Ministers for approval.
Category: News stories -
24/10/2012
Welfare state ‘needed to tackle European poverty’
The best-performing European countries in terms of social and economic outcomes have one thing in common – a large and active welfare state. That's the emerging policy conclusion of a major EU-funded research project on poverty and inequality.
Category: Reports
