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Assessing the impact of social transfer income packages on child poverty. A European cross-national perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Elena Bárcena-Martín

    (Dpto. Estadística y Econometría, University of Málaga.)

  • Maria del Carmern

    (Dpto. Economia Aplicada, University of Málaga.)

  • Salvador Perez-Moreno

    (Dpto. Economia Aplicada, University of Málaga.)

Abstract

Children are generally at a higher risk of poverty than the population as a whole, although the mechanisms that lead to their socioeconomic vulnerability vary widely across European countries. This paper assesses to what extent some general characteristics of social transfer systems explain the variation in levels of child poverty across 30 European countries. In contrast to previous studies that mainly focus on the redistributive impact of social transfers, we examine several indicators of the generosity, efficiency and incidence of social transfers. Using a multilevel framework, we find lower child poverty rates in countries with more generous and more efficient social transfer that focus to a larger degree on children, even after controlling for country living standard and labour market performance. We confirm previous results that find that the variation in child poverty is mainly due to contextual factors and to a lesser degree to individual factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Bárcena-Martín & Maria del Carmern & Salvador Perez-Moreno, 2015. "Assessing the impact of social transfer income packages on child poverty. A European cross-national perspective," ThE Papers 15/02, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    • Handle: RePEc:gra:wpaper:15/02
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    File URL: http://www.ugr.es/~teoriahe/RePEc/gra/wpaper/thepapers15_02.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Massimo Baldini & Giovanni Gallo & Manuel Reverberi & Andrea Trapani, 2016. "Social transfers and poverty in Europe: comparing social exclusion and targeting across welfare regimes," Department of Economics 0091, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    2. Massimo Baldini & Giovanni Gallo & Manuel Reverberi & Andrea Trapani, 2016. "Social transfers and poverty in Europe: comparing social exclusion and targeting across welfare regimes," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0145, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child poverty; EU-SILC; European country; multilevel analysis; social transfers.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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