Abstract
This paper presents comparative results on poverty in seven countries and regions of the European Community: Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lorraine, Ireland, Catalonia and Greece. The data are obtained from comparable socio-economic surveys in each country. Subjective as well as relative poverty lines are used. The results indicate that the subjective poverty lines are plausible in a comparative context, although the levels of the subjective standards are rather generous. The estimated equivalence scales are much flatter than the one recommended by the OECD. The extent of poverty is much greater in the “peripheral” EC-countries than in the “central” ones. Though similar factors are found to be associated with poverty in all countries, there are also important differences in the characteristics of the poor across countries. The impact of social security transfers on poverty appears to be much smaller in the southern countries Greece and Catalonia, than in the Benelux and Lorraine.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atkinson A (1974) Poverty and income inequality in Britain. In: Wedderburn D (ed) Poverty, inequality and class structure. Cambridge University Press, London.
Buhmann B, Rainwater L, Schmauss G, Smeeding T (1988) Equivalence scales, well-being, inequality and poverty: sensitivity estimates across ten countries using the Luxembourg income study (LIS) database. Rev Income Wealth 33:115–142.
Callan T, Nolan B et al. (1989) Poverty, income and welfare in Ireland. ESRI Research Paper no. 146, Dublin.
Callan T, Nolan B (1991) Concepts of poverty and the poverty line. J Econ Surv 5:243–261.
Cantillon B (1991) Socio-demographic changes and social security. Int Rev Social Security 44:399–426.
Deleeck H (1989) The adequacy of the social security system in Belgium, 1976–1985. J Social Policy 18:91–117.
Deleeck H, Berghman J, Van Heddegem P, Vereycken L (1980) De Sociale Zekerheid tussen Droom en Daad, Theorie, Onderzoek, Beleid. Van Loghum Slaterus, Deventer. Antwerpen.
Deleeck H, Van den Bosch K, De Lathouwer L (1992) Poverty and the adequacy of social security in the EC. A comparative analysis. Avebury, Aldershot.
De Vos K, Garner T (1991) An evaluation of subjective poverty definitions: Comparing results from the United States and The Netherlands. Rev Income Wealth 37:267–285.
Dickes P (1988) L'impact des groupes de revenu sur les mesures de bien-être subjectif. Cah Econ de Nancy 20:49–71.
Duncan G, Gustafson B, Hauser R, Hausman P, Jenkins S, Messinger H, Muffels R, Nolan B, Ray J-C, Rodgers W, Voges W (1991) Poverty and social assistance dynamics in eight countries. Paper for the conference “Poverty and Public Policy”, Paris, 1991.
Eurostat (1990) La pauvreté en chiffres. l'Europe au début des années 80. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
Flik R, Van Praag B (1991) Subjective poverty line definitions. Economist 139:311–329.
Goedhart T, Halberstadt V, Kapteyn A, Van Praag B (1977) The poverty line: Concept and measurement. J Human Resources 12:503–520.
Hagenaars A (1986) The perception of poverty. North-Holland, Amsterdam.
Hagenaars A, Van Praag B (1985) A synthesis of poverty line definitions. Rev Income Wealth 31:139–154.
Haveman R (1990) Poverty statistics in the European Community: assessment and recommendations. In: Teekens R, van Praag B (eds) Analysing poverty in the European Community. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, pp 459–467.
Jeandidier B, Bigotte M-L, Kerger A (1988) La mise en oeuvre, sur le terrain, de la notion de groupe de revenu en Lorraine et au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Cah Econ de Nancy 20:5–36.
Kapteyn A, Kooreman P, Willemse R (1988) Some methodological issues in the implementation of subjective poverty definitions. J Human Resources 23:222–242.
Kapteyn A, Van de Geer S, Van der Stadt H (1985) The impact of changes in income and family composition on subjective measures of well-being. In: David M, Smeeding T (eds) Horizontal equity and the distribution of the Taxburden. NBER and Chicago University Press, Chicago.
Mack J, Lansley S (1985) Poor Britain. Allen and Unwin, London.
Muffels R, Kapteyn A, De Vries A et al. (1990) Poverty in the The Netherlands: report on the Dutch contribution to an international comparative study on poverty and the financial efficacy of the social security system. VUGA, The Hague.
O'Higgins M, Jenkins S (1990) Poverty in Europe: estimates for the numbers in poverty in 1975, 1980, 1985. In: Teekens R, van Praag B (eds) Analysing poverty in the European Community. Office for Offical Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, pp 187–212.
O.E.C.D. (1976) Public expenditure on income maintenance programmes (Studies in Resource Allocation, Nr. 3). OECD, Paris.
O.E.C.D. (1982) The OECD list of social indicators. OECD, Paris.
Rainwater L (1974) What money buys: inequality and the social meaning of income. Basic Books, New York.
Ruggles P (1990) Drawing the line: alternative poverty measures and their implications for public policy. The Urban Institute Press, Washington, DC.
Sawhill I (1988) Poverty in the United States: Why is it so persistent? J Econ Lit 26:1073–1119.
Sen A (1976) Poverty: an ordinal approach to measurement. Econometrica 44:219–231.
Sen A (1983) Poor, relatively speaking. Oxford Econ Papers 35:135–169.
Smeeding T, Rainwater L, O'Higgins M (1989) Poverty, inequality and the distribution of income in an international context: initial research from the Luxembourg income study (LIS). Wheatsheaf, London.
Teekens R, Zaidi A (1990) Relative and absolute poverty in the European Community: Results from family budged surveys. In: Teekens R, van Praag B (eds) Analysing poverty in the European Community. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, pp 213–249.
Teekens R, van Praag B (eds) (1990) Analysing poverty in the European Community. Eurostat News Special Edition. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
Townsend P (1979) Poverty in the UK. Penguin, London.
Van Praag B (1971) The individual welfare function in Belgium: An empirical investigation. Eur Econ Rev 2:227–269.
Van Praag B (1991) Ordinal and cardinal utility: an integration of the two dimensions of the welfare concept. J Econometrics 50:69–89.
Van Praag B, Goedhart Th, Kapteyn A (1980) The poverty line — a pilot survey in Europe. Rev Econ Star 62:461–465.
Van Praag B, Hagenaars A, Van Weeren J (1982) Poverty in Europe. Rev Income Wealth 28:345–359.
Walker R (1987) Consensual approaches to the definition of poverty: towards an alternative methodology. J Social Policy 16:213–226.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Van den Bosch, K., Callan, T., Estivill, J. et al. A comparison of poverty in seven European countries and regions using subjective and relative measures. J Popul Econ 6, 235–259 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00163069
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00163069