Poverty and Deprivation in Europe

* A comprehensive critique of uni-dimensional approaches to poverty and social exclusion based solely on income * Provides an up to date and interdisciplinary perspective on key policy issues * Addresses the use of social indicators at national and EU level in the context of active debate on the best manner to implement such approaches * Examines the implications of EU enlargement for our understanding of poverty and social exclusion * Offers a critical evaluation of the EU's 2020 poverty reduction target Research on poverty in rich countries relies primarily on household income to capture living standards and distinguish those in poverty, and this is also true of official poverty measurement and monitoring. However, awareness of the limitations of income has been heightening interest in the role that non-monetary measures of deprivation can play. This book takes as its starting-point that research on poverty and social exclusion has been undergoing a fundamental shift towards a multidimensional approach; that researchers and policy-makers alike have struggled to develop concepts and indicators that do this approach justice; and that this is highly salient not only within individual countries (including both Britain and the USA) but also for the European Union post-enlargement. The difficulties encountered in applying a multidimensional approach reflect limitations in the information available but also in the conceptual and empirical underpinnings provided by existing research. The central aim of this book is to contribute to the development of those underpinnings and to productive ways of employing non-monetary indicators of deprivation. It will appeal to readers from diverse disciplinary perspectives, especially those concerned with substantive issues and policy implications. In addressing this audience it also provides a non-technical account of recent developments in the rapidly expanding academic literature, serving as a guide to those who wish to explore it in greater depth. The book maps out the current landscape and the best way forward, concluding by offering a critical evaluation of the EU's 2020 poverty reduction target. Readership: Academics and students of economics and social policy. Policy makers, research advisors, central government, local government, and think tanks, and those in organisations with responsibilities for programmes for poverty alleviation.

1: Why Measure Material Deprivation? 2: Non-Monetary Indicators 3: Deprivation and the EU's Social Inclusion Indicators 4: Income Poverty and Deprivation in an Enlarged Europe 5: The Dimensionality of Deprivation in Europe 6: Understanding the Mismatch between Income Poverty and Material Deprivation 7: Comparing Poverty Indicators in an Enlarged EU 8: Economic Vulnerability and Multiple Deprivation: Welfare State and Social Class Variation 9: The Dynamics of Poverty, Deprivation and Economic Vulnerability 10: Europeanization of Inequality and European Reference Groups 11: Material Deprivation, the EU 2020 Poverty Target and the Development of Social indicators