Welfare States, Social Structure and the Dynamics of Poverty Rates. A comparative study of 16 countries, 1980-2000

Olof Bäckman 2005

This paper attempts to explain temporal and spatial variation of poverty rates in terms of unemployment insurance and socio-demographic factors, and test the ‘convergence hypothesis’ of the poverty rate. The analyses suggest that structural change in unemployment rate, proportion of single-earner households, female labor-force participation rate, and proportion of families with children primarily explain the temporal variation in poverty rates.

Download Working Paper 2005 no.7

This paper attempts to explain temporal and spatial variation of poverty rates in terms of unemployment insurance and socio-demographic factors, and test the ‘convergence hypothesis’ of the poverty rate. The analyses suggest that structural change in unemployment rate, proportion of single-earner households, female labor-force participation rate, and proportion of families with children primarily explain the temporal variation in poverty rates.

Download Working Paper 2005 no.7