Poverty Dynamics in Europe: From What to Why

This working paper analyses poverty dynamics in the European Union. It has been prepared by Maria Vaalavuo, PhD, of the Social Analysis unit of Directorate General of Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission.

This working paper looks at poverty dynamics in Europe. Analysing poverty dynamics, i.e. incorporating time dimension to the analysis, helps to better understand the characteristics and various facets of poverty. In addition to looking at persistent poverty, it is important to look at the probability of exiting and entering poverty in different groups of the population and at poverty trajectories of the poor. This working paper presents empirical evidence on various issues related to poverty dynamics based on EU-SILC longitudinal data spanning from 2008 to 2012.

The paper is divided into five parts. The first part focuses on the time dimension in poverty research. The second part reviews recent literature on poverty dynamics. Some essential concepts and methodology for longitudinal analysis are discussed in part three. Empirical evidence from 28 European countries (26 EU countries, Norway and Iceland) is presented in the fourth part. The fifth part concludes with discussion on policy implications and suggestions for further development of the data and analysis related to the topic.

European Commission: DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: Working Paper, No.3, 2015: Poverty Dynamics in Europe: From What to Why http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=14834&langId=en

European Commission: DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: European platform against poverty and social exclusion http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=961

European Commission: DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion: Employment and social analysis http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=113&langId=en

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