Multiple deprivation and persistent poverty in the European Union

Abstract

The literature on social exclusion has focused attention on the processes leading to exposure to multiple disadvantage. Despite the influence this perspective has had on both academic and policy discussions, conceptual analysis has remained imprecise and empirical evidence modest. We have made use of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) in order to examine the extent to which persistent income poverty results in multiple deprivation. Our analysis shows that only a modest proportion of the persistently poor can be characterized as being exposed to such deprivation. While persistent poverty and multiple deprivation combine to produce extremely high levels of economic strain, there is no evidence that they interact in a significant fashion. We argue that understanding deprivation is not facilitated by focusing on a cleavage between a multiply deprived minority and a comfortable majority, and we consider the policy implications of this argument.

Les approches en terme d'exclusion sociale ont attiré l'attention sur les processus conduisant à des risques des désavantages cumulatifs. Malgré l'influence qu'a eu cette approche tant dans les débats académiques que politiques, l'analyse conceptuelle est restée imprécise et les preuves empiriques modestes. Nous avons utilisé le panel européen des ménages afin d'examiner dans quelle mesure la pauvreté monétaire persistante est le résultat de privations multiples. Notre analyse montre qu'un nombre relativement peu élevé de personnes en situation de pauvreté peut être caractérisé comme ayant été exposé à de telles privations.

De plus, tandis que la pauvreté persistante et les privations multiples s'additionnent pour produire des situations économiques extrêmement critiques, il n'y a pas de preuve qu'ils interagissent de manière significative. Nous argumentons que la compréhension de la privation n'est pas facilitée en se centrant sur le clivage entre une minorité ayant des privations multiples et une large majorité. Nous développons les implications politiques de cet argument.

Keywords

Deprivation persistent poverty social exclusion

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