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Cai, Julie (2024): Work Hours Volatility and Child Poverty: The Potential Mitigating Role of Safety Net Programs. In: Social forces, Jg. 102, H. 3, S. 902-925. DOI:10.1093/sf/soad109

Abstract

"Despite established links among persistent unemployment, low wages, and children’s economic well-being, social scientists have yet to document how variability in work hours is linked to child poverty. Our knowledge of the safety net’s heterogeneous responses to work-hour instability is also limited. This is of critical importance for scholars and policymakers. Using nationally representative data collected every 4 months, this paper examines how intra-year work-hour volatility is related to child poverty, measured through both the official poverty measure (OPM) and the supplemental poverty measure (SPM). It further assesses varying degrees of buffering effects of cash, in-kind benefits, and tax transfers on income in the context of work-hour volatility. Results indicate that more than one in four households (26%) facing the greatest volatility lived under the poverty line. Black and Hispanic children, as well as those living with unpartnered single mothers, faced substantially higher variability in household market hours worked. Hispanic children experienced not only greater volatility in their caregivers’ work hours but also higher poverty level, even after taking government programs into account. In-kind benefits are more effective in buffering household income declines resulting from unstable work hours, followed by tax transfers and cash benefits. The effectiveness of near-cash benefits is particularly salient among Black children and children of single mothers. These results provide new evidence to inform policy discussions surrounding the best ways to help socioeconomically disadvantaged families to retain benefits and smooth their income in the face of frequent variation in work hours and, thus, earnings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Villar, Antonio (2024): A note on the measurement of poverty persistence. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 236. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2024.111571

Abstract

"This paper introduces a poverty index that incorporates poverty persistence as an integral part of poverty measurement within a multiperiod framework. Using familiar tools (logarithmic utilities and a utilitarian social welfare function) we obtain a mathematically straightforward poverty index, which can be interpreted as an estimate of the social cost of poverty. This index can be neatly decomposed into incidence, intensity, and inequality, and is additively decomposable by population subgroups. It consists of the log of the geometric mean of individual intertemporal utility losses." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2024 Elsevier) ((en))

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Badelt, Christoph & Karin Heitzmann (2023): Armutsmessung in Zeiten von Vielfachkrisen. In: Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Jg. 49, H. 3, S. 17-48.

Abstract

"In diesem Beitrag zeigen wir, dass die traditionellen Armutsmaße nicht geeignet sind, ein adäquates Bild der sozialen Probleme zu zeichnen, die durch die jüngsten Krisen, vor allem durch die Inflation, verstärkt wurden. Vielmehr müsste ein breiteres Indikatorsystem zur Armutsmessung verwendet werden. Da dieses in der Praxis nur auf Stichprobenbasis dargestellt werden kann, steht die Sozialpolitik vor dem Dilemma, dass ein geeignetes Armutsmaß nicht gleichzeitig als Kriterium für automationsunterstützte Entscheidungen über die Förderung bestimmter Einzelpersonen dienen kann. Genau dies wäre allerdings für eine Sozialpolitik, die Unterstützungen zielgerichtet an Armutsbetroffene richten möchte, notwendig. Auch könnte Treffsicherheit nur in Einzelfallentscheidungen erzielt werden, wie sie in der Sozialarbeit (z. B. im Sozialhilfewesen) gefällt werden. Da es aber aus vielfältigen Gründen problematisch wäre, Sozialpolitik stärker in die Sozialarbeit zu ver-schieben, wird es wichtiger, durch eine präventive Sozialpolitik die Zahl jener Menschen, deren Grundbedarfe durch konventionelle Maßnahmen der (Sozial-)Politik nicht gesichert werden können, möglichst klein zu halten." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Clark, Rob (2023): Within, Between, and Beyond: A New Approach to Examining World Income Inequality. In: Social forces, Jg. 102, H. 2, S. 403-429. DOI:10.1093/sf/soad051

Abstract

"World income inequality is comprised of uneven development between states and unequal distribution within states. Recent work shows that the “between-country” component still accounts for a majority of the total, but that attention is shifting to the “within-country” portion, which is growing in both absolute and relative terms. What is less appreciated, though, is that the way income is distributed within countries also plays an indirect role in how income differences are recognized between them. When a nation’s income distribution is highly unequal, its mean income is substantially larger than the income of its average person, thereby masking a depreciation in living standards for those residing in the middle. The practical effect of this distortion is that poor, unequal countries seem wealthier than they really are when using mean incomes to represent country averages, as is typically done. I address this shortcoming in prior work by estimating between-country inequality using median incomes. My analysis covers the 1990–2017 period for 123 countries that represent over 90 percent of the world’s population. According to Theil’s T, I find that (a) inequality in median incomes is almost 15 percent higher than inequality in mean incomes, and that (b) median incomes are converging about 7.5 percent more slowly than mean incomes. This translates to a higher level of world income inequality, which is likewise converging at a slower rate. Overall, I find that the direct and indirect effects of national inequality are now responsible for about half of the world’s income inequality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Helbig, Marcel (2023): Hinter den Fassaden: Zur Ungleichverteilung von Armut, Reichtum, Bildung und Ethnie in den deutschen Städten. (WZB discussion paper P / Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Forschungsgruppe der Präsidentin P 2023-003), Berlin, 210 S.

Abstract

"Wie ungleich sind Deutschlands Städte? Wo leben die Armen, wo die Wohlhabenden und wo die Akademiker? Diese Fragen beantwortet die vorliegende Studie sowohl im Querschnitt für die 153 größten deutschen Städte als auch in der zeitlichen Entwicklung. Im Gegensatz zu früheren Studien kann hier nicht nur auf Daten der Kommunalstatistik (101 Städte), sondern erstmals auch auf räumlich vergleichbare Daten der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) für ganz Deutschland zurückgegriffen werden. Mit den Daten der BA ist es zudem erstmals möglich, soziale Ungleichheiten in deutschen Städten nicht nur anhand von Armutslagen (SGB II-Statistik), sondern auch anhand der Verteilung von hoher Bildung und hohen Einkommen zu analysieren. Die Daten der Kommunalstatistik liegen für die Jahre 2005 bis 2021 vor, die Daten der BA für die Jahre 2013 bis 2022." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Siddique, Abu Bakkar (2023): Job market polarization and American poverty. In: Journal for labour market research, Jg. 57. DOI:10.1186/s12651-023-00356-5

Abstract

"The article posits that the puzzles of stagnating poverty rates amidst high growth and declining unemployment in the United States can be substantially explained by polarized job markets characterized by job quality and job distribution. In recent decades, there has been an increased number of poor-quality jobs and an unequal distribution of jobs in the developed world, particularly in the United States. I have calculated measures of uneven job distribution indices that account for the distribution of jobs across households. A higher value of the uneven job distribution indices implies that there are relatively large numbers of households with multiple employed people and households with no employed people. Similarly, poor-quality jobs are those jobs that do not offer full-time work. Two-way fixed-effect models estimate that higher uneven job distribution across households worsens aggregated poverty at the state level. Similarly, good-quality jobs help households escape poverty, whereas poor-quality jobs do not. This paper suggests that eradicating poverty requires the government to direct labor market policies to be tailored more toward distributing jobs from individuals to households and altering bad jobs into good jobs, rather than merely creating more jobs in the economy. This paper contributes by elaborating on relations of employment and poverty, addressing employment quality and distribution, and providing empirical evidence." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Sowula, Jakub, Franziska Gehrig, Lyle A. Scruggs, Martin Seeleib-Kaiser & Gabriela Ramalho Tafoya (2023): The end of welfare states as we know them? A multidimensional perspective. In: Social Policy and Administration online erschienen am 20.12.2023. DOI:10.1111/spol.12990

Abstract

"This article highlights the limitations of unidimensional analyses in the comparative welfare state literature and emphasises the need for a more holistic, multidimensional approach incorporating social spending, welfare state outputs and outcomes. To illustrate the utility of a multidimensional approach, we examine the long‐term welfare state trajectories of Sweden and Germany, prototypical social‐democratic and conservative welfare states, respectively, and compare them against the baseline of Europe's prototypical liberal welfare state, the United Kingdom. The social spending (expenditure) and output (generosity) allowed us to identify significant changes in the Swedish welfare state (i.e., retrenchment). The outcome dimension alerts us to a policy drift in the German Welfare State, as relatively stable public spending and welfare generosity until the first half of the 2000s were nonetheless associated with sharply increased inequality and poverty. Overall, our findings suggest that a holistic, multidimensional approach is necessary to fully understand the complexities of welfare state change and continuity, as focusing solely on one dimension can lead to analytical misjudgments. The sharp rise in inequality and poverty across countries raises doubts about whether policymakers and researchers rely too much on outdated assumptions of normality that fail to meet the welfare state realities of today." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Becker, Irene, Tanja Schmidt & Verena Tobsch (2022): Wohlstand, Armut und Reichtum neu ermittelt. Materielle Teilhabe aus mehrdimensionaler Perspektive : Bericht zum ersten Modul des Projekts "Materielle Teilhabe im Lebensverlauf". (Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. Study 472), Düsseldorf, 120 S.

Abstract

"Die vorliegende Arbeit entwickelt die Messung von Wohlstandsverteilungen in zweifacher Hinsicht weiter: Einkommen und Vermögen werden integrativ betrachtet; zudem wird mit der zusätzlichen Einbeziehung von Konsum und Sparen ein fundiertes Schichtungskonzept materieller Teilhabe für Deutschland entwickelt. Die Analysen führen zu einer mäßigen Modifizierung der gängigen Armuts- und Reichtumsgrenze. Seit 2000 hat die auf dieser Basis ermittelte Armutsquote deutlich zugenommen, wobei sich drastische Unterschiede nach Teilgruppen der Bevölkerung zeigen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Dauderstädt, Michael (2022): Coronabedingte Ungleichheit und Armut in Deutschland: Überschätzt oder unterschätzt? In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Jg. 102, H. 1, S. 64-66. DOI:10.1007/s10273-022-3096-5

Abstract

"Anfang November 2021 veröffentlichten sowohl das europäische statistische Amt Eurostat als auch das deutsche Destatis die Ergebnisse der Haushaltsbefragung 2020 zu Einkommen und Lebensbedingungen (EU-SILC: Survey of Income and Living Conditions). Die Ergebnisse für Deutschland waren auf den ersten Blick schockierend: Die Ungleichheit, gemessen mit der Quintilsquote (S80/ S20-Quote), also das Verhältnis des Einkommens des reichsten Fünftels der Bevölkerung zu dem des ärmsten Fünftels, stieg von 4,89 auf 6,47. Die Armutsrisikoquote, die den Anteil der Bevölkerung mit einem Einkommen von weniger als 60 % des mittleren Einkommens angibt, kletterte von 17,4 % auf 24,0 %. Das wären über 5 Mio. zusätzlich von Armut(srisiken) betroffene Menschen in Deutschland. Tatsächlich dürfte die Entwicklung weit weniger dramatisch sein; denn Destatis hat 2020 sein Erhebungsverfahren verändert, weswegen die Werte für 2020 mit den Vorjahren nicht vergleichbar sind. Das lässt aber die Fragen offen, wie sich die Einkommensverteilung in Deutschland tatsächlich verändert hat und ob das alte oder das neue Erhebungsverfahren ein realistischeres Bild der deutschen Verhältnisse liefert. Wenden wir uns zuerst der Veränderung in der Pandemie zu." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag)

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Fusco, Alessio & Philippe Van Kerm (2022): Measuring Poverty Persistence. (LISER working papers 2022,02), Esch-sur-Alzette, 14 S.

Abstract

"This chapter reviews the literature on the measurement of poverty persistence. The review has two parts. We first cover the literature on poverty persistence indicators which develops “principled”, descriptive summary measures. We then review the econometric literature which teases out the determinants of poverty persistence. Finally, we describe the challenges and limitations the literature on poverty persistence face." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Goedemé, Tim, Benoit Decerf & Karel Van den Bosch (2022): A new poverty indicator for Europe: The extended headcount ratio. In: Journal of European Social Policy, Jg. 32, H. 3, S. 287-301. DOI:10.1177/09589287221080414

Abstract

"The methodology currently used to measure poverty in the European Union faces some important limitations. Capturing key aspects of poverty is done using a dashboard of indicators, which often tell conflicting stories. We propose a new income-based measure of poverty for Europe that captures in a consistent way in a single indicator the level of relative poverty, the intensity of poverty, poverty with a threshold anchored in time and a pan-European perspective on poverty. To do so, we work with a recently developed poverty index, the extended headcount ratio (EHC) and derive the relevant poverty lines to apply the index to poverty in Europe. We show empirically that our measure consistently captures the aspects typically monitored using a variety of indicators and yields rankings that seem more aligned with intuitions than those obtained by these individual indicators. According to our measure, Eastern Europe has a much higher level of poverty than Southern Europe, which, in turn, has a considerably higher level of poverty than North-Western Europe. In North-Western Europe, the evolution of our measure over time correlates most strongly with the at-risk-of-poverty rate, while in Southern and Eastern Europe, it correlates most strongly with at-risk-of-poverty with the threshold anchored in time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Grothe, Oliver, Fabian Kächele & Friedrich Schmid (2022): A multivariate extension of the Lorenz curve based on copulas and a related multivariate Gini coefficient. In: Journal of Economic Inequality, Jg. 20, H. 3, S. 727-748. DOI:10.1007/s10888-022-09533-x

Abstract

"We propose an extension of the univariate Lorenz curve and of the Gini coefficient to the multivariate case, i.e., to simultaneously measure inequality in more than one variable. Our extensions are based on copulas and measure inequality stemming from inequality in each single variable as well as inequality stemming from the dependence structure of the variables. We derive simple nonparametric estimators for both instruments and exemplary apply them to data of individual income and wealth for various countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Guvenen, Fatih, Luigi Pistaferri & Giovanni L. Violante (2022): Global Trends in Income Inequality and Income Dynamics. New Insights from GRID. In: Quantitative Economics, Jg. 13, H. 4, S. 1321-1360. DOI:10.3982/QE2260

Abstract

"The Global Repository of Income Dynamics (GRID) is a new open-access, cross- country database that contains a wide range of micro statistics on income inequality, dynamics, and mobility. It has four key characteristics: it is built on micro panel data drawn from administrative records; it fully exploits the longitudinal dimension of the underlying datasets; it offers granular descriptions of income inequality and income dynamics for finely defined subpopulations; and it is designed from the ground up with the goals of harmonization and cross-country comparability. This paper introduces the database and presents a set of global trends in income inequality and income dynamics across the 13 countries that are currently in GRID. Our results are based on the statistics created for GRID by the 13 country teams who also contributed to this special issue with individual articles." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Koulovatianos, Christos & Carsten Schröder (2022): Income-Dependent Equivalence Scales and Choice Theory: Implications for Poverty Measurement. (DIW-Diskussionspapiere 1991), Berlin, 14 S.

Abstract

"Equivalence Scales are a tool for removing the heterogeneity of household sizes in the measurement of inequality, and affect poverty assessments and poverty lines. We address the disadvantage that poor households may suffer due to their reduced ability to share goods within the household. This disadvantage is important to estimate and embed in standard analysis, as it seems to have a substantial quantitative impact on the measurement of poverty. We also suggest that future research on the role of subsistence incomes of different household types in utility functions may shed light on explanations for poverty and may guide anti-poverty policies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Lakner, Christoph, Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Mario Negre & Espen Beer Prydz (2022): How much does reducing inequality matter for global poverty? In: Journal of Economic Inequality, Jg. 20, H. 3, S. 559-585. DOI:10.1007/s10888-021-09510-w

Abstract

"The goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and working towards a more equal distribution of incomes are part of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Using data from 166 countries comprising 97.5% of the world's population, we simulate scenarios for global poverty from 2019 to 2030 under various assumptions about growth and inequality. We use different assumptions about growth incidence curves to model changes in inequality, and rely on a machine-learning algorithm called model-based recursive partitioning to model how growth in GDP is passed through to growth as observed in household surveys. When holding within-country inequality unchanged and letting GDP per capita grow according to World Bank forecasts and historically observed growth rates, our simulations suggest that the number of extreme poor (living on less than $1.90/day) will remain above 600 million in 2030, resulting in a global extreme poverty rate of 7.4%. If the Gini index in each country decreases by 1% per year, the global poverty rate could reduce to around 6.3% in 2030, equivalent to 89 million fewer people living in extreme poverty. Reducing each country's Gini index by 1% per year has a larger impact on global poverty than increasing each country's annual growth 1 percentage point above forecasts. We also study the impact of COVID-19 on poverty and find that the pandemic may have driven around 60 million people into extreme poverty in 2020. If the pandemic increased the Gini index by 2% in all countries, then more than 90 million may have been driven into extreme poverty in 2020." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Lee, Nayoung (2022): Measurement error and its impact on estimates of income dynamics. In: Empirical economics, Jg. 63, H. 5, S. 2539-2550. DOI:10.1007/s00181-022-02218-4

Abstract

"This paper examines whether reported income generates biases for studies on economic mobility and poverty dynamics. Using a linear measurement error model capturing mean-reverting measurement error, this study finds that substantial classical measurement error exists in reported data, leading to a bias toward zero in the estimate of income dynamics. Time-invariant non-classical measurement error and unobserved heterogeneity offset the effect of classical measurement error. This study also identifies the standard deviation of the measurement error, which is estimated to be about 70% of that of the equation error in the income model, suggesting that random measurement error is substantial." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Meriküll, Jaanika & Tairi Rõõm (2022): Are survey data underestimating the inequality of wealth? In: Empirical economics, Jg. 62, H. 2, S. 339-374. DOI:10.1007/s00181-021-02030-6

Abstract

"This paper studies households' response behaviour in a wealth survey. We analyse how unit non-response and item non-response contribute to the estimated distribution of wealth. Our findings imply that wealth inequality is underestimated in the survey. The downward bias is originating from item non-response and not from unit non-response. Wealthier households are less likely to provide answers to wealth-related questions. As a result, the level of net wealth is underestimated and the top tail of its distribution is missing. Imputation can eliminate biases throughout most of the wealth distribution but does not recover the estimates in the top tail." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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de Mesnard, Louis (2022): About some difficulties with the functional forms of Lorenz curves. In: Journal of Economic Inequality, Jg. 20, H. 4, S. 939-950. DOI:10.1007/s10888-022-09542-w

Abstract

"We study to what extent some functional form assumption on the Lorenz curve are amenable to calculating headcount poverty, or poverty threshold, the key concept to determine a poverty index. The difficulties in calculating it have been underestimated. We must choose some functional forms for the Lorenz concentration curve. We examine three families of one-parameter functional forms to estimate Lorenz curves: power (elementary and Pareto), exponential (elementary and Gupta) and fractional (Rohde). Computing these numerical functions may be difficult and impose some restrictions on their domain of definition, may impose to use some numerical approximation methods. The elementary power and exponential forms are not a problem. However, Pareto raises the problem of a restricted domain of definition for its parameters. The exponential form of Gupta leads to a Lambert function that poses multiple problems, including a restricted field of definition. The fractional form of Rohde has also a restricted domain of definition. It is probably time to choose functional forms not only according to their ability to fit the data, but also according to their ability to calculate poverty indices." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Beste, Jonas & Mark Trappmann (2021): Die materielle Versorgung von Hartz-IV-Haushalten hat sich in den letzten Jahren etwas verbessert, deren relative Einkommenssituation nicht. In: IAB-Forum H. 17.02.2021 Nürnberg, o. Sz., 2021-02-15.

Abstract

"Während die relative Armut in Deutschland in den 2010er Jahren zunächst zunahm und dann auf hohem Niveau stagnierte, nahm die materielle Unterversorgung in der gleichen Zeit deutlich ab. Letztere kann als Maß für absolute Armut betrachtet werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Dudel, Christian, Jan Marvin Garbuszus & Julian Schmied (2021): Assessing differences in household needs. A comparison of approaches for the estimation of equivalence scales using German expenditure data. In: Empirical economics, Jg. 60, H. 4, S. 1629-1659. DOI:10.1007/s00181-020-01822-6

Abstract

"Equivalence scales are routinely applied to adjust the income of households of different sizes and compositions. Because of their practical importance for the measurement of inequality and poverty, a large number of methods for the estimation of equivalence scales have been proposed. Until now, however, no comprehensive comparison of current methods has been conducted. In this paper, we employ German household expenditure data to estimate equivalence scales using several parametric, semiparametric, and nonparametric approaches. Using a single dataset, we find that some approaches yield more plausible results than others while implausible scales are mostly based on linear Engel curves. The results we consider plausible are close to the modified OECD scale, and to the square root scale for larger households." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Gartner, Hermann (2021): Amartya Sen und die Idee der Gerechtigkeit. In: F. Schulze (Hrsg.) (2021): Humanistik und Philosophie, Bd. 2. Jahresband der Humanistischen Akademie 2021, S. 1-8.

Abstract

"Der Aufsatz stellt die Grundideen des Wirtschaftsnobelpreisträgers Amartya Sen zu Fragen der Gerechtigkeit dar. Dabei wird auch der Kontext zu anderen Gerechtigkeitstheorien hergestellt, wie dem Utilitarismus oder den Vorstellungen von John Rawls. Im Zentrum von Amartya Sens Vorstellungen zu Gerechtigkeit steht der Befähigungsansatz. Befähigungen umfassen dabei substantielle Freiheiten, das Leben so zu führen, wie wir es mit guten Gründen wollen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Kuypers, Sarah & Ive Marx (2021): Poverty in the EU using augmented measures of financial resources: The role of assets and debt. In: Journal of European Social Policy, Jg. 31, H. 5, S. 496-516. DOI:10.1177/09589287211040421

Abstract

"Despite clear limitations, poverty research in the rich world overwhelmingly relies on income-based measures. Households may have significant savings and assets that they can draw on to boost their living standards, but may also have debts that depress the living standard they can actually achieve with their disposable income. Using data from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), this article offers a picture of poverty in 17 EU countries that takes into account assets and debt, using various approaches. While earlier studies have found that poverty rates tend to be lower when wealth is accounted for, this study highlights the situation of those who become or remain poor even when savings and assets are included. It focuses both on within-country patterns of joint income–wealth poverty and on cross-country differences. It is shown that the elderly are generally less prone to being poor once assets are accounted for. However, for renter households with a young, female, low educated, unemployed or inactive and single head, the risk of being poor when assets and debt are accounted for remains high and in some cases even increases. That is generally the case because they have few assets, rather than because of high debts. The substantial variation in poverty rates observed across countries can to some extent be accounted for by socio-demographic factors, but a lot of variation still remains unaccounted for." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Moretti, Angelo, Natalie Shlomo & Joseph Sakshaug (2021): Small area estimation of latent economic well-being. In: Sociological methods & research, Jg. 50, H. 4, S. 1660-1693., 2018-09-17. DOI:10.1177/0049124119826160

Abstract

"Small area estimation (SAE) plays a crucial role in the social sciences due to the growing need for reliable and accurate estimates for small domains. In the study of well-being, for example, policy makers need detailed information about the geographical distribution of a range of social indicators. We investigate data dimensionality reduction using factor analysis models and implement SAE on the factor scores under the empirical best linear unbiased prediction approach. We contrast this approach with the standard approach of providing a dashboard of indicators or a weighted average of indicators at the local level. We demonstrate the approach in a simulation study and a real data application based on the European Union Statistics for Income and Living Conditions for the municipalities of Tuscany." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bedük, Selçuk (2020): Missing Dimensions of Poverty? Calibrating Deprivation Scales Using Perceived Financial Situation. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 36, H. 4, S. 562-579. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcaa004

Abstract

"Deprivation scales usually cover some but not all aspects of poverty. Missing dimensions could affect who is and is not identified as poor. Despite its importance, whether missing dimensions affect the measurement of poverty has not been empirically examined in the EU context. Such an examination requires data on missing dimensions that existing surveys do not usually collect. In this article, I get around this problem with an innovative design and using the rich content of the British Household Panel Survey (1999–2008). I use perceived financial inadequacy as a proxy for poverty and show that, independent of the deprivation status, having a need in healthcare, childcare, social care, or education increases the risk of reporting financial inadequacy. The main explanations for these effects are extra spending and reduced earnings of the families (as a response to having extra needs), and not other biases that might arise from using a self-assessed proxy measure such as scale heterogeneity, personality traits, state dependence, anticipations, or psychological negativity. These findings demonstrate the need for more comprehensive measures. Unless relevant indicators of missing dimensions (e.g. cost-related unmet needs in healthcare) are included in the analysis, deprivation scales might fail to identify some people experiencing poverty." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Butterwegge, Christoph (2020): Die zerrissene Republik: wirtschaftliche, soziale und politische Ungleichheit in Deutschland. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa, 414 S.

Abstract

"Seit geraumer Zeit ist das Problem wachsender Ungleichheit das Kardinalproblem unserer Gesellschaft, wenn nicht der gesamten Menschheit. Während daraus im globalen Maßstab ökonomische Krisen, Kriege und Bürgerkriege resultieren, die wiederum größere Migrationsbewegungen nach sich ziehen, sind in Deutschland der soziale Zusammenhalt und die repräsentative Demokratie bedroht. Daher wird nicht bloß thematisiert, wie soziale Ungleichheit entsteht und warum sie zugenommen hat, sondern auch, weshalb die politisch Verantwortlichen darauf kaum reagieren und was getan werden muss, um sie einzudämmen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Beltz Juventa)

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Eren, Gürer & Alfons Weichenrieder (2020): Pro-rich inflation in Europe: Implications for the measurement of inequality. In: German Economic Review, Jg. 21, H. 1, S. 107-138. DOI:10.1515/ger-2018-0146

Abstract

"This paper studies the distributional consequences of a systematic variation in expenditure shares and prices. Using European Union Household Budget Surveys and Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices data, we construct household-specific price indices and reveal the existence of a pro-rich inflation in Europe. Over the period 2001–15, the consumption bundles of the poorest deciles in 25 European countries have, on average, become 11.2 percentage points more expensive than those of the richest deciles. We find that ignoring the differential inflation across the distribution underestimates the change in the Gini (based on consumption expenditure) by almost up to 0.04 points. Cross-country heterogeneity in this change is large enough to alter the inequality ranking of numerous countries. The average inflation effect we detect is almost as large as the change in the standard Gini measure over the period of interest." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with De Gruyter) ((en))

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Kyzyma, Iryna (2020): How Poor Are the Poor? Looking beyond the Binary Measure of Income Poverty. In: Journal of Economic Inequality, Jg. 18, H. 4, S. 525-549. DOI:10.1007/s10888-020-09453-8

Abstract

"This paper contributes to the literature by analysing how poor the income poor are in European countries. Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, I go beyond average estimates of the intensity of poverty and analyse the distribution of individual-level poverty gaps in each country of interest. As a next step, I identify which personal and household characteristics predict how far away incomes of the poor fall from the poverty line. The results indicate that, in most European countries, half of the poor have income shortfalls not exceeding 30% of the poverty line whereas only a few percent of the poor have income deficits of 80% and more. The results also suggest that traditional poverty correlates (e.g. age, gender, educational background) are not always significantly associated with the size of normalised poverty gaps at the individual level, or the nature of these associations differs as compared to when the same characteristics are linked to the probability of being poor." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Moretti, Angelo, Natalie Shlomo & Joseph Sakshaug (2020): Multivariate small area estimation of multidimensional latent economic wellbeing indicators. In: International statistical review, Jg. 88, H. 1, S. 1-28., 2019-04-25. DOI:10.1111/insr.12333

Abstract

"Factor analysis models are used in data dimensionality reduction problems where the variability among observed variables can be described through a smaller number of unobserved latent variables. This approach is often used to estimate the multidimensionality of wellbeing. We employ factor analysis models and use multivariate EBLUP (MEBLUP) under a unit-level small area estimation approach to predict a vector of means of factor scores representing wellbeing for small areas. We compare this approach to the standard approach whereby we use SAE (univariate and multivariate) to estimate a dashboard of EBLUPs of the means of the original variables and then averaged. Our simulation study shows that the use of factor scores provides estimates with lower variability than weighted and simple averages of standardised MEBLUPs and univariate EBLUPs. Moreover, we find that when the correlation in the observed data is taken into account before small area estimates are computed, multivariate modelling does not provide large improvements in the precision of the estimates over the univariate modelling. We close with an application using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Niehues, Judith, Maximilian Stockhausen, Andreas Peichl, Charlotte Bartels, Mario Bossler, Bernd Fitzenberger, Arnim Seidlitz, Moritz Kuhn, Till Baldenius, Sebastian Kohl, Moritz Schularick & Rolf Kleimann (2020): Ungleichheit unter der Lupe - neue politische Antworten auf ein bekanntes Thema. Zur Diskussion gestellt. In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 73, H. 2, S. 3-26., 2020-01-27.

Abstract

"Die öffentliche Debatte lässt uns glauben, die Ungleichheit der Einkommen und des Vermögens in Deutschland und in Europa habe in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Daraus wird die Forderung abgeleitet, man müsse politisch umverteilen, damit die Schere zwischen arm und reich nicht weiter auseinandergeht. Aber sind die Daten wirklich so eindeutig? Unterschiedliche Datensätze führen oft zu unterschiedlichen Aussagen über das Ausmaß von Ungleichheit. Deshalb stellt sich einmal mehr die Frage: Wie kann Ungleichheit quantifiziert werden? Ist der Gini-Koeffizient das richtige Maß oder die Armutsrisikoquote? Gibt es ein Problem, weil die Kapitaleinkommen stärker gewachsen sind als die Lohneinkommen? Oder entwickelt sich vor allem die Vermögensverteilung in der Gesellschaft rasant auseinander? Unsere Autoren diskutieren über Antworten auf diese Fragen. Das Dossier enthält folgende Beiträge:
- Judith Niehues und Maximilian Stockhausen, Ungleichheit(en), ein bekanntes Phänomen? - Andreas Peichl, Die Macht der Zahlen: Ein kritischer Blick auf die Quantifizierung von Ungleichheit - Charlotte Bartels: Steigende Polarisierung der Markteinkommen>> - Mario Bossler, Bernd Fitzenberger und Arnim Seidlitz, Neues zur Lohnungleichheit in Deutschland - Moritz Kuhn, Vermögensungleichheit in Deutschland - Till Baldenius, Sebastian Kohl und Moritz Schularick, Die neue Wohnungsfrage. Gewinner und Verlierer des deutschen Immobilienbooms - Rolf Kleimann, Ungleichheit - sehen, was der Fall ist" (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Pattaro, Serena, Nick Bailey & Chris Dibben (2020): Using Linked Longitudinal Administrative Data to Identify Social Disadvantage. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 147, H. 3, S. 865-895. DOI:10.1007/s11205-019-02173-1

Abstract

"Administrative data are widely used to construct indicators of social disadvantage, such as Free School Meals eligibility and Indices of Multiple Deprivation, for policy purposes. For research these indicators are often a compromise between accuracy and simplicity, because they rely on cross-sectional data. The growing availability of longitudinal administrative data may aid construction of more accurate indicators for research. To illustrate this potential, we use administrative data on welfare benefits from DWP’s National Benefits Database and annual earnings from employment from HMRC’s P14/P60 data to reconstruct individual labour market histories over a 5-year period. These administrative datasets were linked to survey data from the Poverty and Social Exclusion UK 2012. Results from descriptive and logistic regression analyses show that longitudinal measures correlate highly with survey responses on the same topic and are stronger predictors of poverty risks than measures based on cross-sectional data. These results suggest that longitudinal administrative measures would have potentially wide-ranging applications in policy as well as poverty research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Cremer, Georg (2019): Fallstricke der Armutsdebatte. In: Ifo-Schnelldienst, Jg. 72, H. 10, S. 27-33.

Abstract

"Von den Vorstellungen über Armut hängt ab, wie Maßnahmen zur materiellen Besserstellung armer Personen oder zur Erhöhung ihrer Teilhabechancen bewertet werden. Georg Cremer, ehemaliger Generalsekretär des Deutschen Caritasverbandes e. V., zeigt, dass einige Armutsindikatoren, beispielsweise die Verwendung der Zahl der Grundsicherungsbezieher, problematisch sind. Eine Debatte zu geeigneten Armutsindikatoren ist notwendig." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Dang, Hai-Anh, Dean Jolliffe & Calogero Carletto (2019): Data gaps, data incomparability, and data imputation: A review of poverty measurement methods for data-scarce environments. In: Journal of Economic Surveys, Jg. 33, H. 3, S. 757-797. DOI:10.1111/joes.12307

Abstract

"Questions that often come up in contexts where household consumption data are unavailable or missing include: what are the best existing methods to obtain poverty estimates at a single snapshot in time? and over time? and what are the best available methods to study poverty dynamics? A variety of different techniques have been developed to tackle these questions, but unfortunately, they are presented in different forms and lack unified terminology. We offer a review of poverty imputation methods that address contexts ranging from completely missing and partially missing consumption data in cross-sectional household surveys, to missing panel household data. We present the various existing methods under a common framework, with pedagogical discussion on their intuition. Empirical illustrations are provided using several rounds of household survey data from Vietnam. Furthermore, we also offer a practical guide with detailed instructions on computer programs that can be used to implement the reviewed techniques." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Dütsch, Matthias, Ralf Himmelreicher & Clemens Ohlert (2019): Calculating gross hourly wages: The (structure of) earnings survey and the German Socio-Economic Panel in comparison. In: Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, Jg. 239, H. 2, S. 243-276. DOI:10.1515/jbnst-2017-0121

Abstract

"The statutory minimum wage in Germany was set as an hourly wage. Thus, valid information on gross hourly wages must be calculated from monthly wages and weekly working hours. This paper compares the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the (Structure of) Earnings Survey (SES/ES). The sampling and collection of data on employees in the household survey GSOEP, and on jobs in the administrative surveys SES/ES exhibit fundamental conceptual differences. Accordingly, there is variation in the definition of types of employment and in the distribution of the observed units regarding central characteristics. Monthly wages, weekly working hours and gross hourly wages differ especially in the lower range of the respective distribution. Against this backdrop specific implications can be derived for minimum wage research." (Author's abstract, © De Gruyter) ((en))

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Furceri, Davide & Jonathan D. Ostry (2019): Robust determinants of income inequality. In: Oxford review of economic policy, Jg. 35, H. Nol. 3, S. 490-517. DOI:10.1093/oxrep/grz014

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Furman, Edward, Yisub Kye & Jianxi Su (2019): Computing the Gini index: A note. In: Economics Letters, Jg. 185. DOI:10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108753

Abstract

The Gini index of inequality has been extensively studied by economists in a variety of contexts with the notions of wealth and income distribution serving as two primary examples. Nevertheless, the Gini index is by far less popular outside of the economics literature, and even in economics it is not uncommon to replace Gini with other measures of inequality. A reason for this lies in the critics associated with the computability of the Gini index. In this note, we reveal convenient ways to compute the Gini index explicitly and in some cases effortlessly. The thrust of our approach is the herein discovered link between the Gini index and the notion of statistical sample size-bias. Not only the just-mentioned link opens up advantageous computational routes for the Gini index, but also yields an alternative interpretation for it.

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Hochgürtel, Tim (2019): Einkommensanalysen mit dem Mikrozensus. In: Wirtschaft und Statistik H. 3, S. 53-64.

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Hérault, Nicolas & Stephen P. Jenkins (2019): How valid are synthetic panel estimates of poverty dynamics? In: Journal of Economic Inequality, Jg. 17, H. 1, S. 51-76. DOI:10.1007/s10888-019-09408-8

Abstract

"A growing literature uses repeated cross-section surveys to derive 'synthetic panel' data estimates of poverty dynamics statistics. It builds on the pioneering study by Dang et al. ('DLLM', Journal of Development Economics, 2014) providing bounds estimates and the innovative refinement proposed by Dang and Lanjouw ('DL', World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6504, 2013) providing point estimates of the statistics of interest. We provide new evidence about the accuracy of synthetic panel estimates relative to benchmarks based on estimates derived from genuine household panel data, employing high quality data from Australia and Britain, while also examining the sensitivity of results to a number of analytical choices. For these two high-income countries we show that DL-method point estimates are distinctly less accurate than estimates derived in earlier validity studies, all of which focus on low- and middle-income countries. We also demonstrate that estimate validity depends on choices such as the age of the household head (defining the sample), the poverty line level, and the years analyzed. DLLM parametric bounds estimates virtually always include the true panel estimates, though the bounds can be wide." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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McGregor, Thomas, Brock Smith & Samuel Wills (2019): Measuring inequality. In: Oxford review of economic policy, Jg. 35, H. Nol. 3, S. 368-395. DOI:10.1093/oxrep/grz015

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Meyer, Bruce D., Derek Wu, Victoria R. Moores & Carla Medalia (2019): The use and misuse of income data and extreme poverty in the United States. (NBER working paper 25907), Cambrige, Mass., 60 S. DOI:10.3386/w25907

Abstract

"Recent research suggests that rates of extreme poverty, commonly defined as living on less than $2/person/day, are high and rising in the United States. We re-examine the rate of extreme poverty by linking 2011 data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and Current Population Survey, the sources of recent extreme poverty estimates, to administrative tax and program data. Of the 3.6 million non-homeless households with survey-reported cash income below $2/person/day, we find that more than 90% are not in extreme poverty once we include in-kind transfers, replace survey reports of earnings and transfer receipt with administrative records, and account for the ownership of substantial assets. More than half of all misclassified households have incomes from the administrative data above the poverty line, and several of the largest misclassified groups appear to be at least middle class based on measures of material well-being. In contrast, the households kept from extreme poverty by in-kind transfers appear to be among the most materially deprived Americans. Nearly 80% of all misclassified households are initially categorized as extreme poor due to errors or omissions in reports of cash income. Of the households remaining in extreme poverty, 90% consist of a single individual. An implication of the low recent extreme poverty rate is that it cannot be substantially higher now due to welfare reform, as many commentators have claimed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Meyer, Bruce D. & Nikolas Mittag (2019): Using linked survey and administrative data to better measure income. Implications for poverty, program effectiveness and holes in the safety net. In: American Economic Journal. Applied Economics, Jg. 11, H. 2, S. 176-204. DOI:10.1257/app.20170478

Abstract

"We examine the consequences of survey underreporting of transfer programs for prototypical analyses of low-income populations. We link administrative data for four transfer programs to the CPS to correct its severe understatement of transfer dollars received. Using survey data sharply understates the income of poor households, distorts our understanding of program targeting, and greatly understates the effects of anti-poverty programs. Using the combined data, the poverty-reducing effect of all programs together is nearly doubled. The effect of housing assistance is tripled. Correcting survey error often reduces the share of single mothers falling through the safety net by one-half or more." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bedük, Selçuk (2018): Understanding material deprivation for 25 EU countries. Risk and level perspectives, and distinctiveness of zeros. In: European Sociological Review, Jg. 34, H. 2, S. 121-137. DOI:10.1093/esr/jcx089

Abstract

"Existing deprivation scales identify a majority of the population in each European Union (EU) country with zero deprivation. In this article, I hypothesize and test whether scoring zero on a material deprivation scale is a qualitatively different phenomenon to scoring at least one by applying and comparing multiple count models. I then examine how neglecting the distinctiveness of zeros, as the case in conventional models, influences our understanding of deprivation risk (deprived vs. non-deprived) and deprivation level (high vs. low deprivation), specifically regarding their relationship to social class. Consistently across 25 EU countries, the findings show that those with zero deprivation have significantly distinct profiles to those who have at least one deprivation. These results are robust to different weighting and index specifications. I then demonstrate how neglecting the distinctiveness of zeros results in significant underestimation of the strong social class gradient in risk of deprivation, and significant overestimation of the rather weak social class gradient in level of deprivation. Moreover, accounting for the distinctiveness of zeros reveals the conceptual difference between the risk and the level of deprivation given their different determinants, while conventional models identify the same determinants for both. These latter findings are also broadly consistent across 25 EU countries, with some exceptions in countries with very low level of zeros, such as Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. Relevant scales with a zero threshold can be used to study deprivation or to measure poverty in the EU yet either with some reconsiderations of conceptual and data problems or using a consistent poverty approach." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Beste, Jonas, Markus M. Grabka & Jan Göbel (2018): Armut in Deutschland. Ein Vergleich zwischen den beiden Haushaltspanelstudien SOEP und PASS. In: Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Jg. 12, H. 1, S. 27-62., 2018-02-19. DOI:10.1007/s11943-018-0221-4

Abstract

"Die Ergebnisse von Armutsanalysen auf Basis von Befragungsdaten unterliegen statistischen Unsicherheiten und möglichen systematischen Verzerrungen, deren Ursachen sowohl in der Pre-Data-Collection-Phase (z.B. bei der Stichprobenziehung), der Data-Collection-Phase (Unit- bzw. Item-Non-Response), als auch in der Post-Data-Collection-Phase (Gewichtung, Datengenerierung) liegen können. Um diese studienspezifischen Einflüsse bewerten zu können, kann ein Vergleich der Ergebnisse auf Basis von mehreren Datenquellen hilfreich sein. In dieser Untersuchung werden die Einkommensverteilungen, mehrere Armutsmaße, die identifizierten Armutsrisikoquoten von Subpopulationen, Armutsfaktoren, die Betroffenheit von dauerhafter Armut sowie Auf- und Abstiege mit den beiden Haushaltspanelstudien Panel 'Arbeitsmarkt und soziale Sicherung' (PASS) und soziooekonomisches Panel (SOEP) berechnet und miteinander verglichen. Als zusätzliche Referenz nutzen wir Ergebnisse zu Armut basierend auf dem Mikrozensus. Ziel dieses Vorhabens ist es, die Aussagekraft der Ergebnisse von Armutsanalysen besser einschätzen zu können. Zwischen den beiden Studien können signifikante Unterschiede in den Armutsmaßen festgestellt werden, welche sich allerding teilweise über den Beobachtungszeitraum auflösen. Eine Annäherung der in PASS bestimmten Armut an die Werte des SOEP kann entweder durch einen Ausfallsprozess in den ersten Erhebungsjahren der PASS-Studie oder durch eine Verbesserung der Datenqualität der Einkommensinformation bedingt sein. Die Resultate einer multivariaten Analyse auf die Wahrscheinlichkeit ein Einkommen unterhalb der Armutsschwelle aufzuweisen weichen zwischen den beiden Studien kaum voneinander ab. In der beobachteten Armutsdynamik weisen die beiden Panelstudien neben großen Gemeinsamkeiten auch klare Unterschiede auf. Insgesamt zeigt sich ein in vielen Bereichen vergleichbares Bild von relativer materieller Armut in den beiden Haushaltspanelstudien, das jedoch in einigen Punkten voneinander abweicht. Hieraus lässt sich die Relevanz für die Analyse von Armut anhand mehrerer verschiedener Datenquellen ableiten." (Autorenreferat, © Springer-Verlag)

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(2018): Armut stört. Schattenbericht der Nationalen Armutskonferenz. (Armut in Deutschland : Schattenbericht der Nationalen Armutskonferenz), Berlin, 38 S.

Abstract

"Am 17. Oktober 2018, dem Internationalen Tag zur Beseitigung der Armut, veröffentlicht die Nationale Armutskonferenz ihren dritten Schattenbericht zur Armut in Deutschland. Der Bericht gibt einen Überblick über den armutspolitischen Handlungsbedarf und lässt Betroffene zu Wort kommen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Bossert, Walter & Bhaskar Dutta (2018): The measurement of welfare change. (Warwick economic research paper 1151), Coventry, 13 S.

Abstract

"We propose and characterize a class of measures of welfare change that are based on the generalized Gini social welfare functions. In addition, we analyze these measures in the context of a second-order dominance property that is akin to generalized Lorenz dominance as introduced by Shorrocks (1983) and Kakwani (1984). Because we consider welfare differences rather than welfare levels, the requisite equivalence result involves linear welfare functions (that is, those associated with the generalized Ginis) only, as opposed to the entire class of strictly increasing and S-concave welfare indicators." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Desmond, Matthew & Bruce Western (2018): Poverty in America: New directions and debates. In: Annual review of sociology, Jg. 44, S. 305-318. DOI:10.1146/annurev-soc-060116-053411

Abstract

"Reviewing recent research on poverty in the United States, we derive a conceptual framework with three main characteristics. First, poverty is multidimensional, compounding material hardship with human frailty, generational trauma, family and neighborhood violence, and broken institutions. Second, poverty is relational, produced through connections between the truly advantaged and the truly disadvantaged. Third, a component of this conceptual framework is transparently normative, applying empirical research to analyze poverty as a matter of justice, not just economics. Throughout, we discuss conceptual, methodological, and policy-relevant implications of this perspective on the study of extreme disadvantage in America." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gallardo, Mauricio (2018): Identifying vulnerability to poverty. A critical survey. In: Journal of Economic Surveys, Jg. 32, H. 4, S. 1074-1105. DOI:10.1111/joes.12216

Abstract

"In the economic literature on poverty, various methods have been proposed for measuring a phenomenon known as 'vulnerability'. However, after more than a quarter century of research, no consensus has been reached on how to identify such vulnerable individuals within a given population. Some misunderstandings have also arisen from the overlapping of other closely related concepts, such as the expectation of being poor, expected poverty, multi-period poverty and risk exposure. This paper offers a detailed conceptual discussion on vulnerability to poverty and its related elements, reviewing a wide range of identifying criteria provided in the literature. It is found that according to the state of the art in this ?eld of research, two key elements stand out in identifying vulnerable individuals: an expected well-being below the poverty line and a relevant risk of falling into poverty due to downside deviation from a reference level of well-being. The traditional classi?cation of vulnerability approaches has been updated into four groups: (i) those that stress the element of exposure to risk; (ii) those that emphasize the element of expected poverty; (iii) those that de?ne vulnerability through a utility gap and (iv) those that are supported by a mean-risk dominance criterion." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Garbuszus, Jan Marvin, Notburga Ott, Sebastian Pehle & Martin Werding (2018): Wie hat sich die Einkommenssituation von Familien entwickelt? Ein neues Messkonzept. Gütersloh, 119 S. DOI:10.11586/2017050

Abstract

"Familien mit geringem Einkommen sind in den letzten 25 Jahren weiter abgehängt worden. Das ist das Ergebnis der vorliegenden Studie. Sie untersucht, wie sich das Haushaltseinkommen verschiedener Familientypen seit den 90er Jahren entwickelt hat und verwendet dabei ein neues Messkonzept, um Einkommen verschiedener Haushaltstypen vergleichbar zu machen. Erstmals für Deutschland ermitteln die Bochumer Wissenschaftler, welche zusätzlichen Kosten durch Kinder je nach Familientyp und Einkommensniveau entstehen. Dabei wird klar: je geringer das Familieneinkommen ist, desto schwerer wiegt die finanzielle Belastung durch jedes weitere Haushaltsmitglied.
Die Autoren kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass bisherige Berechnungsmethoden auf der Grundlage der neuen OECD-Skala die Einkommen armer Haushalte systematisch über- und jene reicher Haushalte unterschätzt haben. Das führt zu Verzerrungen bei der Armutsmessung. So zeigt sich, dass die Armutsrisikoquote von Paarfamilien nach der neuen Berechnung knapp drei Prozentpunkte über den bisher ermittelten Werten liegt. Die Armutsrisikoquote Alleinerziehender lag nach früheren Berechnungen bei schon sehr hohen 46 Prozent, auf Basis der neuen Methode liegt sie bei 68 Prozent. Insgesamt sind Paarhaushalte mit Kindern und Alleinerziehende in den letzten 25 Jahren zudem im Durchschnitt durchgängig finanziell schlechter gestellt gewesen als Paare ohne Kinder." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Garbuszus, Jan Marvin, Notburga Ott, Sebastian Pehle & Martin Werding (2018): Development of family income since the 1990s. A fresh look at German microdata using income-dependent equivalence scales. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 987), Berlin, 21 S.

Abstract

"Income inequality and poverty risks receive a lot of attention in public debates and current research. However, the situation of families that differ in size and composition is rarely considered more closely in this context. Relevant research typically relies on equivalence scales to make income comparable across different types of households. The standard approach for doing so is based on the so-called '(modified) OECD scale'. Instead, we apply income-dependent equivalence scales in this paper to assess how the financial situation of families living in Germany has developed since the early 1990s. Among other things, our results indicate that poverty risks for households with children - especially for single parents - are considerably higher than was previously found. We conclude that the application of income-dependent equivalence scales is required for applied research in income inequality, especially if one is concerned with the composition, not just the size of the population at poverty risk." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gutfleisch, Tamara & Hans-Jürgen Andreß (2018): Ein Deutschland, in dem wir gut und gerne leben. Welche Merkmale gehören nach Ansicht der Bevölkerung zum notwendigen Lebensstandard? In: Informationsdienst Soziale Indikatoren H. 59, S. 1-7.

Abstract

"Es ist eine sozialpolitisch wichtige Frage, ob sich ein minimaler Lebensstandard definieren lässt, über den man notwendigerweise verfügen muss, um in Deutschland ein gerade noch ausreichendes Leben zu führen. (...) Mit einem im GESIS Panel 2016 geschalteten Messinstrument wollen wir daher die aktuellen Meinungen der Bevölkerung zum notwendigen Lebensstandard in Deutschland erfassen und mit den Daten der Panelbefragung 'Arbeitsmarkt und Soziale Sicherung' (PASS) vergleichen. (...) Im Wesentlichen gehen wir in diesem Beitrag drei Fragen nach: (i) Wie kann man die Einstellungen der Bevölkerung über den notwendigen Lebensstandard erfassen? (ii) Gibt es in der Bevölkerung einen Konsens über das, was den notwendigen Lebensstandard ausmacht? (iii) Wie stabil sind die Einstellungen im Zeitablauf?" (Textauszug, © GESIS)

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Hufe, Paul & Andreas Peichl (2018): Inequality and unfairness in Europe. In: CESifo forum, Jg. 19, H. 2, S. 26-34.

Abstract

"In this paper, we consider three aspects of inequality that could provoke normative concern. Specifically, we will calculate summary statistics for each of these concerns and analyse the extent to which they are reflected in a standard measure of inequality: the Gini index. Firstly, we consider individual deprivation, i.e. the concern that some do not have sufficient means to make ends meet. Typically, poverty is calculated by partitioning the population into a poor and a non-poor fraction by means of a poverty line. An aggregation index is then applied to summarize the income distribution below the poverty line. The higher the poverty index, the unfairer the income distribution from the perspective of those who are poverty-averse. Secondly, we consider individual affluence, i.e. the concern that some have so much that they could tilt the balance of social processes in their favour. In analogy to poverty measurement the population is partitioned into an affluent and a nonaffluent fraction by means of a richness threshold. Then an aggregation index is applied to summarize the income distribution above the richness line. The higher the richness index, the unfairer the income distribution from the perspective of those who are affluence-averse. Thirdly, equality of opportunity, i.e. the concern that disparities among individuals are due to factors for which they should not be held responsible. Typically, inequality of opportunity is measured by comparing incomes across types that are defined by a set of factors beyond individual control. The larger the disparities across types, the more individual incomes are determined by factors beyond individual control, the unfairer the income distribution from the perspective of an opportunity-egalitarian." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))