Author
Abstract
[eng] Poverty can only be defined by convention or as a relative notion. It is related to norms of consumption and to the well-being of society. If poverty is defined in monetary terms, then the number of poor in France decreased until 1979, and has been increasing since then. This occured despite the improvement and the generalisation of social welfare. Poverty has been modified by the fact that new and different groups now depend on social welfare. Although traditionally poor people were born poor, they nowadays tend to fall into poverty because of the conbination of handicaps due to work and family. Traditional poverty used to be rooted within the fringe of society and to reproduce itself from generation to generation. It was a stable and endogenous situation constituting a world apart from the mainstream of society. A new form of poverty appeared in the last decades as a result of mechanisms of marginalisation generated by the social system. The lack of support from the partner within the couple or from close relatives lead to poverty when the head of the family is unemployed or in a precarious situation. So far, we do not know if the majority of these new poor will succeed in going out of poverty more easily than in the past. [fre] La pauvreté, parce que sa notion est relative aux normes de consommation et de bien-être de la société, ne peut être définie que de façon conventionnelle. Si on la conçoit comme un phénomène purement monétaire, le nombre de pauvres en France, après avoir baissé jusqu'en 1979, augmente depuis en dépit de l'amélioration et de la généralisation de la protection sociale. La diversification et le renouvellement des populations qui recourent à l'assistance font que la pauvreté se transforme. Alors que la pauvreté traditionnelle, qui s'enracine et se reproduit aux marges de la société, s'atténue, une nouvelle apparaît. D'état stable et endogène, constituant un monde à l'écart de la société, elle devient le résultat de mécanismes de marginalisation engendrés par le système social. On naît pauvre plus rarement, mais on le devient par la conjonction de handicaps dus au travail et à la famille. L'absence de soutien du conjoint ou de la parentèle proche y fait tomber les ménages dont le chef est au chômage ou rencontre des difficultés d'insertion professionnelle. Pour l'instant on ne sait pas si la majorité de ces nouveaux pauvres vont s'enfoncer dans la pauvreté traditionnelle et rejoindre le quart- monde ou s'ils parviendront à en sortir plus facilement qu'il n'était possible auparavant.
Suggested Citation
Jean-Hugues Dechaux, 1990.
"Pauvretés ancienne et nouvelle en France,"
Revue de l'OFCE, Programme National Persée, vol. 30(1), pages 7-33.
Handle:
RePEc:prs:rvofce:ofce_0751-6614_1990_num_30_1_1197
DOI: 10.3406/ofce.1990.1197
Note: DOI:10.3406/ofce.1990.1197
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