Social Protection Convergence in the European Union: Impact of Maastricht Treaty

The main goal of this paper is to test the convergence of social protection expenditures and, more specifically, to examine the incidence of the Maastricht Treaty on this process. We tested several hypotheses of convergence on 12 EU Member States between 1980 and 2000, by considering two indicators: social protection expenditure as percentage of GDP and social protection expenditure per capita. The cross sectional tests of ? and ??convergence show that, for the two indicators, these two assumptions are checked for the whole of the period. On the other hand, the period division in two subperiods intended to locate the Maastricht effect indicates a rupture since 1993. Then, panel data estimations of conditional ?-convergence confirm the existence of a process of conditional convergence and reveal the significant role of the debt criterion of Maastricht. The coexistence of absolute and conditional ?-convergence is not incompatible. It evokes the possible idea of a European Social Snake rather than of a single Social Model.Welfare-state, Social protection, Convergence, European Union, Panel data estimation

Social protection convergence in the European Union: Impact of Maastricht treaty

The main goal of this paper is to test the convergence of social protection expenditures and, more specifically, to examine the incidence of the Maastricht Treaty on this process. We tested several hypotheses of convergence on 12 EU Member States between 1980 and 2000, by considering two indicators: social protection expenditure as percentage of GDP and social protection expenditure per capita. The cross sectional tests of a and ß-convergence show that, for the two indicators, these two assumptions are checked for the whole of the period. On the other hand, the period division in two sub-periods intended to locate the Maastricht effect indicates a rupture since 1993. Then, panel data estimations of conditional ß-convergence confirm the existence of a process of conditional convergence and reveal the significant role of the debt criterion of Maastricht. The coexistence of absolute and conditional ß-convergence is not incompatible. It evokes the possible idea of a European "Social Snake" rather than of a single Social Model

Modelling the Distribution of Multidimensional Poverty Scores: Evidence from Mexico

The main purpose of this paper is to explore a new methodology already developed by Berenger and Celestini (2006). This theoretical method based on fuzzy sets approach makes it possible to define a multidimensional poverty score lying, as for income, between 0 and infinity in order to characterize the organization of poverty. This method is applied using the data from the XII Census of Mexico, 2000 (INEGI). The results obtained enable us to build a typology of poverty. And we derive public policy implications.fuzzy sets approach, multidimensional measures of poverty, unsatisfied basic needs

"Le rôle des marchés monétaire et financier dans le cadre de la zone "Euro" Analyse comparative du Maroc, de la Tunisie, de la Turquie et d'Israël

International audienc

MULTIDIMENSIONAL FUZZY POVERTY AND PRO-POOR GROWTH MEASURES IN NONMONETARY DIMENSIONS IN EGYPT BETWEEN 1995 AND 2005

The main goal of this paper is to adopt a multidimensional approach to poverty that goes beyond focusing on a unidimensional measure of income or expenditure when attempting to ascertain the main aspects of the living conditions of households. In order to obtain multidimensional poverty measures the paper uses an approach based on fuzzy sets. This methodology is applied to data from the Demographic and Health Surveys for the years 1995 and 2005 in order to obtain an aggregated index of the Standard of Living for each household. The evolution of the Standard of Living of households between 1995 and 2005 as well as the uneven progress registered in the index of education as assessed by Egyptian HDR (2008) lead us to investigate the impact of non- income growth on poverty. Thus, following the study of Grosse et al. (2008), extended growth incidence curves (Ravallion and Chen, 2003) are applied to the index of the Standard of Living and to education in order to assess if progress has been biased in favour of the poor.Fuzzy sets approach, multidimensionality of poverty, pro-poor growth, growth incidence curve

La croissance a-t-elle été " pro-pauvres " en termes de niveau de vie et d'éducation en Egypte entre 2000 et 2008 ?

International audienceCet article se propose d'examiner si les évolutions du niveau de vie et du niveau d'éducation ont été " pro-pauvres " entre 2000 et 2008 en Egypte. Dans cette perspective, un indice de niveau de vie des ménages est construit en utilisant une méthodologie développée par Bérenger et Celestini (2006). L'analyse de l'évolution du niveau de vie et du niveau d'éducation (des adultes et des enfants) est ensuite réalisée au moyen de l'élaboration de courbes d'incidence de la croissance étendues aux dimensions non monétaires sur la base de la méthodologie de Grosse, Harttgen et Klasen (2008). Les résultats indiquent une réduction de la pauvreté en termes de niveau de vie mais l'amélioration du niveau de vie ne favorise pas les ménages plus pauvres de manière absolue forte. Le niveau d'éducation des jeunes vivant au sein des ménages les plus pauvres en milieu rural est en progrès, à l'inverse du niveau d'éducation des jeunes au sein des ménages urbains qui est relativement stagnant

Eastern Migrations vs Western Welfare States - (Un)Biased Fears

This inquiry considers some effects of migration on the labour markets and the welfare systems found in the EU-15, and from the perspectives of sustainability of the current welfare state regimes. Our inquiry aims to determine whether and to what extent different approaches in regulation of migration flows between the new and old member states are compatible with related economic and demographic findings. Within this context, our research considers regulations affecting migration flows. Our findings suggest that some effects of migration from the EU8+2 on the labour markets and social protection systems found in the EU-15, both with respect to level and structure, do indeed generate effects on migration, especially considering whether migration is based upon economic or welfare decisions. In addition, our inquiry considers perspectives upon restrictive versus liberal migration policies

Axiomatic and Robust Multidimensional Poverty Measurements in five Southern Mediterranean Countries

The main goal of this chapter is to undertake a multidimensional poverty analysis in relation to five southern Mediterranean countries, namely Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. We rely on a broader concept of poverty by considering the deprivations in women's educational attainments, the possession of durable goods and the consequences of housing conditions, each of which we operationalise by making use of recent developments in multidimensional poverty measurement. This analysis is based on an axiomatic approach to poverty and on the use of stochastic dominance tools to achieve robust results that do not hinge on the choice of poverty line and weighting scheme. Our findings provide comparisons over time for each country and between countries that cannot be obtained when each dimension of poverty is analysed separately, as the approaches take into account the correlations which may exist between different kinds of poverty. Furthermore, in contrast to rankings drawn from cardinal poverty measures (for example, from the Multidimensional Poverty Index), multidimensional tests make it possible to nuance the performance levels reached by certain countries