The Gendered Nature of Poverty in the EU: Individualized versus Collective Poverty Measures |
| |
| Authors: | Marcella Corsi Fabrizio Botti Carlo D'Ippoliti |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Sapienza University of Rome – Department of Statistics, Viale Regina Elena 295b, Palazzina G, Rome 00161, Italy;2. University of Perugia – Department of Economics, Via A. Pascoli 20, 06123, Perugia, Italy e-mail: fabrizio.botti@unipg.it;3. Sapienza University of Rome – Department of Statistics, Viale Regina Elena 295b, Palazzina G, 00161, Rome, Italy e-mail: carlo.dippoliti@uniroma1.it |
| |
| Abstract: | Due to the adoption of the household as a unit of analysis, researchers have failed to identify accurate measures of women's income poverty. This study proposes an individualized measure of European poverty to highlight gender differences in the economic crisis. Employing data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for the period 2007–12, it compares the household-based at-risk-of-poverty rate (ARPR) and the individualized financial dependency rate (FDR). The study shows that the gender gap in poverty in Europe is considerably higher when computed through FDR. Indeed, since the ARPR constitutes a proxy of the household's average conditions, it levels down gender inequalities within the household and also variations in individuals’ incomes over time. Only more detailed data collection on intrahousehold resource sharing will possibly allow the development of more precise and realistic indicators of women's and men's risks of poverty and financial dependency. |
| |
| Keywords: | Gender poverty crisis risk of dependency individualized income European Union |
|
|
