Poverty in Europe

The work draws upon recent research to examine the problem of poverty. In its exploration, Poverty in Europe challenges readers to reach an improved understanding of the problem and to seek improvement. Preface.

List of Tables.

List of Figures.

Introduction: Poverty in Rich Countries.

Part I: Political Arithmetic: Financial Poverty in the European Union:.

1. The Measurement of Poverty: A Cautionary Tale of Comparing France and the United Kingdom.

2. Absolute and Relative Standards.

3. Expenditure versus Income, Households versus Families, and Choice of Equivalent Scale.

4. Differing Judgements and Dominance Criteria.

5. National Studies of Poverty.

Part II: Economics of Poverty and Exclusion:.

6. Unemployment and Exclusion in the Labour Market.

7. Pricing and Exclusion from the Goods Market.

8. Exclusion, Rising Living Standards and the Availability of Products.

9. Household Production, Time and the Take-Up Problem.

Part III: Political Economy of Poverty:.

10. The Political Economy of an Official Poverty Line.

11. Macro-Economic Policy and Poverty.

12. Targeting and Efficiency in Alleviating Poverty.

13. The Limits of Targeting via Means Tests.

14. Towards a European Minimum.

Envoi: Poverty, Policy and Mainstream Economics.

Appendix on Statistical Sources.

A. B. Atkinson is Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford. Poverty in Europe synthesizes the author's exploration of the topic as presented at the twelfth Yrjo Jahnsson Lecture at the University of Helsinki. This three lecture collection confronts the serious questions surrounding the persistence of poverty in rich countries. It covers the topics of financial poverty in the European Union, the economics of poverty and exclusion, and the political economy of poverty.