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PAUVRETE - POVERTY 

. Measuring poverty using both income and wealth : A cross-country comparison between the U.S. and Spain, F. Azpitarte, Ecineq, Palma de Mallorca, Ecineq working paper, n° 2009-153, January, 39 p., (2010).

Résumé - Summary : In this paper we study the correspondence between a household’s current income and its vulnerability to income shocks in two developed countries: the U.S. and Spain. Vulnerability is measured by the availability of wealth type resources to smooth consumption in a multidimensional approach to measuring poverty, which allows us to identify three groups of households. First, the twice-poor group which includes income-poor households who also lack of an adequate stock of wealth; second, the group of protected-poor households, which are all those income-poor families that have accumulated a buffer stock of wealth resources they can rely on; lastly, the vulnerable-non-poor group, which includes those households above the income poverty line that do not hold any stock of wealth. The latter are, out of the group of non-poor, those who are more likely to be pushed into economic deprivation in times of economic hardship. Interestingly, the risk of belonging to one of these groups changes over the life-cycle in both countries while the size of the groups differs significantly between Spain and the U.S., although this result is quite sensible to whether one includes the housing wealth component in the wealth measure or not.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Espagne, Etats-Unis / Spain, United States

. Child poverty and intergenerational mobility, S. Fass, K. Alden Dinan and Y. Aratani, National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, Brief, December, 8 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States

. Counting poverty orderings and deprivation curves, C. Lasso de la Vega, Ecineq, Palma de Mallorca, Ecineq working paper, n° 2009-150, 20 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : Most of the data available for measuring capabilities or dimensions of poverty is either ordinal or categorical. However, the majority of the indices introduced for the assessment of multidimensional poverty behave well only with cardinal variables. The counting approach introduced by Atkinson (2003) concentrates on the number of dimensions in which each person is deprived, and is an appropriate procedure that deals well with ordinal and categorical variables. A method to identify the poor and a number of poverty indices has been proposed taking this framework into account. However, the implementation of this methodology involves the choice of a minimum number of deprivations required in order to be identified as poor. This cut-off adds arbitrariness to poverty comparisons. The aim of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, we explore properties which allow us to characterize the identification method as the most appropriate procedure to identify the poor in a multidimensional setting. Then the paper examines dominance conditions in order to guarantee unanimous poverty rankings in a counting framework. Our conditions are based on simple graphical devices that provide a tool for checking the robustness of poverty rankings to changes in the identification cut-off, and also for checking unanimous orderings in a wide set of multidimensional poverty indices that suit ordinal and categorical data.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : none

. Είσοδηματική ανισότητα, φτώχεια και η επίδραση της μεταρρύθμισης των συντάξεων, (Inégalité de revenus, pauvreté et effet de la réforme des retraites) Μ. Ανδρέου και Π. Πασιαρδής, Κέντρο Οικονομικών Ερευνών, Λευκωσία, Αρ. 05-09, Νοέμβριος, σ. 33, (2009).

Résumé - Summary : This paper describes the income inequality and poverty in Cyprus and the European Union (EU) and estimates the effect that the pension reform in Cyprus is expected to have on income inequality and poverty after the 1st of December 2009, when the pension reform will be implemented.  Using the data of the EU (Eurostat), income inequality and poverty between Cyprus and the EU is compared. In general, income inequality as well as poverty in Cyprus is close to the mean of the EU countries. The countries with the higher income inequality or/and poverty are Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Greece and the countries with the smaller income inequality are Sweden, Holland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Denmark. The persons that are at high risk of poverty in Cyprus are those aged 65 and over and women, especially single mothers.  The pension reform is described and its effect on income inequality and poverty is examined. The government decided to increase pensions progressively for the low income households with at least one pensioner. This decision of the government, according to our estimations, decreases income inequality (Gini index decreases by 1% and the S80/S20 ratio decreases by 0,4). In addition, it decreases the poverty rate by 1,3 percentage points and, at the same time, increases the standard of living of households that continue even after the pension reform to have incomes below the poverty line (that is, it decreases the depth of poverty).  Therefore, the pension reform is adequately targeted and leads to socially desirable results. However, someone may question the timing of implementation of this reform, since the Cypriot economy is in the middle of an economic crisis. The pension reform will increase the fiscal deficit and measures should be taken to ensure that the high levels of social pensions will not undermine the motivation for employment and savings.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Chypre, Europe / Cyprus, Europe

. Familles et pauvreté : mesurer, agir, comparer, Cnaf, Paris, Politiques sociales et familiales, n° 98, décembre, 66 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe, France, Norvège, Royaume-Uni / Europe, France,  Norway, United Kingdom

. Lutte contre la pauvreté : rapport 2008-2009. Partie 1 : Une contribution au débat et à l'action politiques, Service de Lutte contre la Pauvreté, la Précarité et l'Exclusion sociale, Bruxelles, décembre, 218 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Belgique / Belgium

. Pauvreté, précarité, solidarité en milieu rural,  M. Berthod-Wurmser et alii, Inspection générale des Affaires sociales et  Conseil général de l'Agriculture, de l'Alimentation et des Espaces ruraux, La Documentation française, Paris, septembre, 218 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

EMPLOI - EMPLOYMENT

. Fixing the leak : Unemployment incidence before and after the 2006 reform of unemployment benefits in Germany, S. Dlugosz, G. Stephan and R. A. Wilke, Institute for Employment Research, Nürnberg, IAB-discussion paper, n° 25/2009, 30 p., (2009).

Summary : From 2002–2004, the German government passed several laws that curtailed the generosity of the unemployment compensation system. One of the most ambitious changes was a considerable reduction in unemployment benefit entitlement lengths for older unemployed, which was effective during 2006 and 2007. We apply a difference-in-differences approach to show that the highly disputed reform induced a considerable decline in unemployment incidence among older workers. It thus sealed an important leak in the unemployment insurance system. Furthermore, we find a strong anticipation effect; unemployment entries of elderly workers peaked during the months preceding the reform.

Zusammenfassung : Das Gesetz zu Reformen am Arbeitsmarkt schränkte ab Februar 2006 die Bezugshöchstdauern des Arbeitslosengeldes für Ältere stark ein; je nach Altersgruppe um bis zu 14 Monate. Wir untersuchen dieses natürliche Experiment und zeigen: Bei den betroffenen Altersgruppen stiegen die Übergangsraten aus Beschäftigung in Arbeitslosigkeit in den drei Monaten vor der Reform deutlich an: Bei einem durchschnittlichen Arbeitnehmer der Altersgruppe 57 bis 64 war die monatliche Übergangswahrscheinlichkeit sogar um etwa 120 Prozent höher, als ohne Reform zu erwarten gewesen wäre. Im Nachreform-Zeitraum bis Ende 2007 sanken die monatlichen Eintrittsraten Älterer in Arbeitslosigkeit deutlich ab; sie lagen bei den 57-64 Jährigen um gut 20 Prozent niedriger als ohne Reform. Ein Teil der geringeren Eintritte im Nachreform-Zeitraum dürfte darauf zurückzuführen sein, dass Übergänge in die Monate vor der Reform vorgezogen wurden. Da der Gesetzgeber die Bezugshöchstdauern bereits Anfang 2008 teils wieder verlängerte, lässt sich der exakte langfristige Reformeffekt leider nicht identifizieren.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

. Fünf Jahre SGB II : Eine IAB-Bilanz - Der Arbeitsmarkt hat profitiert, J. Möller und alii, Institute for Employment Research, Nürnberg, IAB Kurzbericht, 29/2009, S. 8, (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

. L'impact d'exonérations fiscales sur la création d'établissements et l'emploi en France rurale : une approche par discontinuité de la régression, A. Lorenceau, Paris-Jourdan Sciences économiques, Paris, Document de travail, n° 2009-54, 42 p.,  (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Income support systems, labor market policies and labor supply : The German experience, M. Caliendo, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, IZA discussion paper, n° 4665, December, 37 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary :In view of the demographic trends, most EU countries face the problem of a declining work force in the future. Understanding the interaction between income support systems (such as unemployment benefits, social assistance, early retirement and pension systems) and total labor supply is of crucial importance to combat problems and ensure economic growth in the future. The German labor market has been plagued by high and persistent unemployment in the last two decades in combination with a relatively low labor force participation of women. This created a situation where labor market reforms were unavoidable. The speed and depth of the reforms are remarkable, mainly aimed at activating people by increasing their incentives to take up work. The aim of this paper is to give a brief overview of the German income support systems and labor market polices, their recent reforms and – where already possible – effects of these reforms. Overall, Germany seems to be on the right track. The recent reforms helped to tackle some labor market problems but also created high political unrest. It remains to be seen how future governments react to worsened economic conditions in light of these experiences.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

. Intensifying the use of benefit sanctions : An effective tool to shorten welfare receipt and speed up transitions to employment ?, B. Boockmann, S. Thomsen and T. Walter, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung, Tübingen, IAW discussion papers, n° 56, November, 42 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : Benefit sanctions imposed on non-compliant welfare recipients are a new element in the German welfare system. In practice, the sanction policy and the application of sanctions vary considerably across the 439 welfare agencies. Based on combined administrative and survey data, these differences are used as instrumental variables to estimate the effect of sanctions on the drop-out from welfare and the transition to employment. The estimated local average treatment effect (LATE) is an estimate of the effectiveness of an intensified use of sanctions. The results show that tightening sanction policy would be quite effective.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

. Le workfare : Néolibéralisme et contrats de travail dans le secteur public aux Etats-Unis, J. Krinsky, Institut européen du Salariat, Paris, Les notes de l'IES, n° 8, novembre-décembre, 4 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States

. Youth employment in Europe : Institutions and social capital explain better than mainstream economics,  B. Contini, Laboratorio R. Revelli, Moncalieri, Working paper, n° 97, 31 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

REVENU - INCOME

. The distributional impact of in kind public benefits in European countries, A. Paulus, H. Sutherland and P. Tsakloglou, Microsimulation Unit, Colchester, Euromod working paper, n° EM10/09, December, 35 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : International comparisons of inequality based on measures of disposable income may not be valid if the size and incidence of publicly-provided in kind benefits differ across the countries considered. The benefits that are financed by taxation in one country may need to be purchased out of disposable income in another. We estimate the size and incidence of in kind or “non cash” benefits from public housing subsidies, education and health care for five European countries using comparable methods and data. Inequality in the augmented income measure is dramatically lower than in disposable income, with the effects of the three components varying in importance across countries. Adapting equivalence scales to take proper account of differences in needs for health care and education across population members reduces the scale of the effect, but does not eliminate it.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Restaurant prices and the minimum wage, D. Fougère, E. Gautier et H. Le Bihan, Crest, Paris, Documents de travail, n° 2009/13, 55 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

AUTRES DONNEES SOCIALES - OTHER SOCIAL ISSUES

. Parcours professionnels et état de santé, T. Coutrot et alii, Dares, Paris, Premières synthèses, n° 001, janvier, 10 p., (2010).

. The measurement of child costs : Evidence from Ireland, O. Bargain, O. Donni and M.Gbakou, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, IZA discussion paper, n° 4672, December, 24 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : We apply an extension of the Rothbarth approach to estimate the share of household resources accruing to children (i.e., the cost of children) in Ireland. The method also allows us to identify the economies of scale in the household and indifference scales in Lewbel (2003)’s sense. A practical aspect of the present approach is that it does not require price variation. The identification of the children’s share requires the observation of adult-specific goods as in the traditional Rothbarth method. We compare our findings to previous results for Ireland.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Irlande / Ireland

. Why are young children missed so often in the Census ?, W. R. O'Hare, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Washington, Kids count working paper, December, 20 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States