Karel Van den Bosch

The Social Stratification of Social Risks: Class and Responsibility in the 'New' Welfare State

Welfare states are said to have evolved over the course of the past twenty years towards a ‘social investment’ model of welfare, characterised by a focus on equality of opportunity and upward social mobility combined with greater emphasis on individual responsibility. More or less concurrently, under the mantra of ‘individualisation’, scepticism has grown with regard to the relevance of traditional stratification schemes. This paper sets out to ascertain whether social class, i.e. intergenerational background, (still) affects the occurrence of ‘social risks’. Using SILC 2005 data, it considers the impact of social class (of origin) on a relevant selection of social risks: unemployment, ill-health, living in a jobless household, single parenthood, temporary employment, and low-paid employment. The results provide clear evidence of a continuing influence of social class. On this basis, we argue that a one-sided focus on individual responsibility could open the door to new forms of marginalisation. Key words: social risks, social stratification, social class, social investment state, individualisation thesis Word count: 9964 wordsOver the course of the past 20 years, welfare states are said to have evolved towards a ‘social investment’ model of welfare – characterized by a focus on equality of opportunity and upward social mobility along with a greater emphasis on individual responsibility. In view of these policy changes, it is necessary to assess whether traditional stratification cleavages (still) affect the occurrence of ‘social risks’. Using data from the 2005 EU-SILC intergenerational module, we consider the impact of social class (of origin) on a relevant selection of risks: unemployment, ill-health, living in a jobless household, single parenthood and low-paid employment. The results provide clear evidence of a substantial influence of social class. On this basis, we argue that social investment strategies need to take stock of the persistence of traditional stratification cleavages. Otherwise, a one-sided approach may create new forms of exclusion and give way to ‘Matthew effects’.

A comparison of poverty in seven European countries and regions using subjective and relative measures

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.

The Puzzle of Egalitarianism: About the Relationships between Employment, Wage Inequality, Social Expenditures and Poverty

In social policy debates, there are fundamentally different views of links between such key variables as employment, low pay, social transfers and poverty. This paper reviews basic empirical evidence on the validity of these views and the policy prescriptions that follow from them, drawing mainly on cross-country comparative studies. These reveal that clear and striking cross-country correlations prevail, but not, as is often so readily suggested, between low pay (wage compression) and employment performance, or between employment performance and poverty. Instead, results indicate a strong but negative cross-country correlation between the level of social spending and the incidence of poverty, as well as a strong and positive cross-country correlation between the incidence of low pay and the incidence of relative poverty. While the former correlation has become part of the received wisdom in social policy research, the latter is more surprising, as the correlation is not due to a strong link between low pay and poverty at the individual level. In addition, the incidence of low wage employment and social expenditure are also strongly and (negatively) related. We examine these correlations in more depth, particularly the link between the level of social spending and poverty. Since there is such a clear and strong negative link between the level of social expenditure and the level of poverty, it is tempting to think that more social spending offers an easy means of reducing poverty. However, a simple simulation exercise using Luxemburg Income Study data from the mid 90s suggests that putting more money into social transfer systems as they currently exist in the EU would not have a positive outcome on poverty rates in all countries. In the final section of the paper, we briefly summarise the results, and put forward a recommendation for further research.

Poverty and adequacy of social security in Europe: a comparative analysis

The aims of this collective research project in seven countries and regions in the EC, as regards content, were to establish in a comparative way the number of poor households in each country, to identity social groups at high risk of poverty, to assess the adequacy of social security in guaranteeing a minimum income (thus focusing on results, instead of on the means involved), and to distinguish between temporary and longer- term poverty by means of the panel method. The number of poor households varies from 10-40 per cent (more generous standard) or from 6-20 per cent (strictest standard). The number of long-term poor is much lower. Very few households are in absolute poverty. Important factors determining poverty are: unemployment, social status, age, whether single or not, and whether having only one income in the household (in Ireland and Greece also labour incomes that are too low). The impact of social security transfers on poverty is the strongest in the Benelux countries, least and in fact rather low in Catalonia and in Greece. This inadequacy can be explained by two factors: in many cases the amounts of benefits going to the poor are too low; and the redistributive effect of social security is horizontal rather than vertical, i.e. a large part of the benefits is not going to the bottom groups. From a methodological point of view, several poverty lines were tested. The so- called subjective standard is more realistic (also with regards to the equivalence scales) because it is based on the evaluation of a minimum income made by the population itself; but fluctuations complicate comparative analysis of countries over time. The so-called relative or statistical EC-standard is more appropriate for comparative purposes, but the level of the standard is arbitrarily defined (which is also true for the equivalence scale) and this method measures income-inequality rather than poverty. It is advisable to use the statistical method for the future comparative studies. Poverty-lines will always be based on a reasonable convention. grounded in a generous or restrictive notion of poverty.

Towards cross-country comparable reference budgets in Europe : first results of a concerted effort

In Europe, reference budgets are increasingly recognised as a helpful tool for policy making and monitoring. If developed in a cross-country comparable way, reference budgets could, in addition, prove to be useful for cross-national learning and contextualising the EU social indicators. However, current reference budgets are not comparable across countries. In this article we report on the first results of a concerted effort to construct comparable reference budgets for adequate social participation in Antwerp, Athens, Barcelona, Budapest, Helsinki and Milan. We start from a single theoretical and methodological framework and carefully track differences in institutional settings, climate, culture, and the availability and prices of goods and services that justify crosscountry variations in the contents and levels of reference budgets. Results indicate that adequate social participation requires access to different goods and services in the six cities, but that, at the same time, the needs to be fulfilled are rather similar, such that the variation in the level of reference budgets is less than what would be expected on the basis of differences in median household incomes. Results also show that constructing comparable reference budgets requires substantial and intensive coordination. We suggest directions in which our approach to their construction could be improved.

How Do Exit Rates from Social Assistance Benefit in Belgium Vary with Individual and Local Agency Characteristics

Abstract The administration of social assistance benefits is devolved to local agencies in Belgium, which raises questions about how much variation in spell lengths of benefit receipt is associated with differences across agencies. We address this issue by analysing the monthly hazard of benefit exit using administrative record data for 14,270 individuals in 574 welfare agencies. Our random-effects model allows for differences in both the observed and unobserved characteristics of beneficiaries and of local agencies. There are large differences in median benefit duration for individuals serviced by different welfare agencies: the range is from two months to more than 24 months. We find strong associations between beneficiary characteristics (sex, age, foreign nationality, citizenship acquisition, work history and being a student) and spell length. The estimates show higher odds of exiting social assistance receipt in bigger municipalities and in agencies which provide more generous supplementary assistance, and also strong evidence of shorter episodes in agencies where active labour market programme participation rates are higher.

Poverty and social security transfers: results for seven countries and regions in the EC

This paper presents comparative results on poverty and social security in seven countries and regions of the European Community (E.C.). The countries and regions are Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lorraine (region of France), Ireland, Catalonia (region of Spain) and Greece. We compare the incidence of poverty across countries, as well as the distribution of poverty across social and economic categories of the population within these countries. In addition, the impact of social security transfers on poverty is examined.

Exit from and re‐entry into social assistance benefit in Belgium among people with migration background and the native‐born

Whereas several studies have examined the timing of exit from social assistance, little is known about the exit destinations after social assistance and whether these entail different risks of re-entry into social assistance. Using administrative data, we studied 13,552 people with various migration backgrounds who entered social assistance in Belgium in 2004 or 2005. We tracked their social assistance spell(s) and the income source(s) after exit on a quarterly basis over 4 years, using random-effects hazard models. We found that one-third of the beneficiaries exited from first-spells to work, whereas 14% left to active labour market programmes (ALMPs) and 16% to social insurance benefits. About a third re-entered social assistance, in particular after short work exits. Participation in ALMPs and social insurance benefit receipt was less common among beneficiaries with migration background compared with native-born and these exits led less frequently to re-entry than did exits to paid employment.

Separation: Consequences for Wealth in Later Life

Over the course of their lives, a substantial minority of elderly European men and women have experienced the dissolution of one or more partner relationships through divorce or the ending of cohabitation. So far, most research into the economic consequences of (marital) separation has been based on panel data and consequently focuses on the short or middle term for the current generations of respondents in their “adult” years. This chapter makes a start at improving existing knowledge by studying the economic consequences of (marital) separation, looking at this issue “from the other way around”. Using retrospective SHARELIFE-data, we explore how wealth in later life – measured in terms of home-ownership and the possession of other financial assets – is influenced by the relationship trajectories of European men and women. Given the complexity of the issue at hand, in this chapter we focus on the first marital separation. As for the variation between European countries in terms of the institutional arrangements influencing the short and long-term consequences of (marital) separation, we furthermore sketch the contours of a conceptual framework that can be used for a more in-depth study.