Daniel Larsson

Relative deprivation: a comparative analysis of Britain, Finland and Sweden

Our aim is to analyse both the incidence and distribution of economic hardship in three countries - Finland, Britain and Sweden - using measures of relative deprivation. The study represents a unique endeavour as our comparisons are based not on income data but on direct observations of consumption of goods and services. The method applied has been developed from the consensual poverty approach pioneered by Mack and Lansley (1985). Hence, what we will observe is the inability to consume socially perceived necessities, both goods and activities, because of lack of income. The preliminary results contradict, to a large degree, findings derived from more traditional studies based solely on income data. They also reveal a detailed picture of the way relative deprivation is structured within countries and the differences that prevail between the three countries. The analysis represents a first step in an effort to develop alternative tools when comparing poverty and economic well-being between countries.

In-Work Poverty in a Transitional Labour Market: Sweden, 1988–2003

For a long time in-work poverty was not associated with European welfare states. Recently, the topic has gained relevance as welfare state retrenchment and international competition in globalized economies has put increasing pressures on individuals and families. This book provides explanations as to why in-work poverty is high in certain countries and low in others.

Fear of Crime among the Poor in Britain and Sweden

This paper investigates whether and why the poor are more afraid of crime than are the non-poor in Britain and Sweden. The purpose is to describe and interpret fear of crime as a consequence of poverty, emphasizing contextual and institutional differences. The results show that the poor are more afraid of crime than are the non-poor in both countries. In Britain, the poor are more afraid than are the non-poor as a consequence of their vulnerability in the labour market. In Sweden, no explanation could be found as to why the poor are more afraid. Thus far, it seems that it is the very situation of poverty that is related to fear of crime in Sweden. Furthermore, the results show that in Sweden fear of crime is generally more related to experience of crime, while in Britain fear of crime is generally more related to vulnerability in the labour market.

Exposure to Property Crime as a Consequence of Poverty

This paper investigates whether and why the poor are more exposed to property crime than are the non‐poor, despite the reasonable assumption that poor people lack or have little valuable property that can be stolen. If poor people are more exposed to property crime than those who are not poor, there are needs for explanations. The paper investigates two plausible reasons: the significance of the neighbourhood character and routine activities. The results in the paper indicates that poor people are more exposed to property crimes related to the residence, independent of neighbourhood character and routine activities, while exposure to property crimes related to vehicles depends more on the family situation and age than on poverty per se. When it comes to other kinds of property crime, poor people do not seem to be more exposed than do the nonpoor. That poor people are more exposed to property crime related to their residence, and that there are problem areas explaining why, is worrisome. Those who are poor are often vulnerable to other social problems that tend to exclude them from ordinary living patterns. To find out the relation between poverty and exposure to property crimes related to residence is of importance for crime prevention and probably an important step to prevent those who are poor from being further excluded from society.

The Reaction Towards White Collar Crime: When White Collar Crime Matters

In the present article, we analyze socio-demographic profiles regarding wrongful attitudes toward white-collar crime. This is a well-researched area, however where the vast majority of the studies ...

Sweden: The Impact of Policy and Labour Market Transformation

The discussion of in-work poverty (IWP) can be related to two interlinked perspectives: the policy perspective and the labour market perspective. The policy perspective relates to the ‘making work pay’ and ‘workfare’ agenda. This agenda has emphasized the link between poverty and unemployment and the fight against poverty has been formulated as a fight against unemployment. However, researchers and others (Hong and Wernet, 2007; Meyers and Lee, 2003; Nightingale and Fix, 2004; Dickerson, 1999) have warned and tried to show that these kinds of policies, if not carefully implemented, risk transforming unemployed poor into working poor. If, for example, job growth is provided at the expense of an individual’s possibility to receive public benefits, the risk is that a number of people will exchange poverty based on social welfare payments for the low-paid labour market, thus ending up among the working poor.

Basic human values and white-collar crime: Findings from Europe

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between values and white-collar crime. The analyses draw on pooled survey data covering 14 European countries. The value constructs are derived on the basis of the theory of basic human values and seven value constructs are tested in relation to three types of white-collar crime: tax evasion, insurance fraud and bribery. The results show that a majority of the value constructs are statistically significantly related to white-collar crime in the expected direction. The relationships between values and white-collar crime are particularly clear-cut regarding tax evasion and insurance fraud but more mixed regarding bribery. The value constructs ‘universalism/benevolence’, ‘power/achievement’ and ‘stimulation’ yield consistent results across all three crime types. ‘Universalism/benevolence’ levels are negatively associated, while ‘power/achievement’ and ‘stimulation’ levels are positively associated, with odds of having committed white-collar crime. The results suggest that values are relevant predictors when trying to account for variation in white-collar offending.

Are the self-employed really that poor? Income poverty and living standard among self-employed in Sweden

Small enterprises are often highlighted by politicians as important engines of economic growth and job creation. However, previous research suggests that self-employment might not be equally beneficial for individuals in terms of their income compared to regular employment. Several studies have in fact found that the self-employed may face a substantially higher poverty risk than do regular employees. The aim of the present study is to investigate to what extent income poverty is a good predictor of actual living standards among the self-employed. Is the relationship between income poverty and living standards different for self-employed compared to the regularly employed? To investigate this question we use a unique Swedish survey dataset including regularly employed (n=2,642) as well as self-employed (over-sampled, n=2,483). Income poverty is defined as living in a household with less than 60% of the median household income. Living standards are measured with a deprivation index based on 29 consumption indicators. The results show that even though income poverty is more prevalent among the self-employed than among the regularly employed, no evidence can be found suggesting that the self-employed have a lower standard of living than the regularly employed. Furthermore, when specifically comparing income poor self-employed with income poor regularly employed, we find that the income poor self-employed score significantly lower on the deprivation index even after the compositional characteristics of both groups are taken into account. The conclusion is that poverty measures based on income data underestimate the actual living standard of the self-employed.