Poverty Dynamics of Social Risk Groups in the EU

The report investigates changes (in three waves) over the period 2004 to 2014 in the trends and dynamics in poverty for social risk groups in Ireland compared to eleven selected European countries, using European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data.

The comparative analysis allows for the assessment of the significance of different systems of social and employment protection regimes (Social democratic, Corporatist, Liberal and Southern) and their effectiveness in protecting vulnerable groups in countries affected to very different degrees by the recession.

This study builds on previous exploratory research for the department. It uses two indicators of poverty (measurement of income poverty and material deprivation) to address a number of research questions. The social risk groups studied are: lone parents and their children, working-age adults with a disability and their children, older people (aged 66 and over), young adults (aged 18 to 29) and other children aged under 18. The social risk groups were compared to other working-age adults (aged 30 to 65, the reference group).

The research report is an output of the department’s research programme with the ESRI on the Measurement and Analysis of Household Income and Living Conditions (MAHILC). The findings were presented at a national research conference in the ESRI on 31st January 2018.