Welfare state reform and in-work poverty in the Netherlands

This paper describes the development of in-work poverty in the Netherlands from 1996 until 2005 and examines whether in-work poverty is related to recent social security and welfare state reforms (a new ideology of an ‘activating welfare state’ and numerous policy measures to reduce the number of social benefit claimants and to promote work). Using large-scale administrative data (from the Dutch tax services) we found that the in-work poverty risk in the Netherlands was quite constant (fluctuating between 5.3 and 6.6 percent). We expected that because of the social security reforms more individuals with vulnerable labour market positions are pushed into the labour market but are nevertheless unable to escape from poverty. This would result in more working individuals below the poverty line. However, this is not the case. But even with a constant in-work poverty risk the number of working poor individuals increases over the years. As a result, there is a gradual shift within the Dutch poverty population from non-working to working poor. We conclude that in-work poverty – once the typical face of poverty in liberal welfare states such as the USA – also became a familiar phenomenon in the Netherlands. The majority of the Dutch working poor belongs to this category for only one year. However, a limited but significant number of individuals is working poor for three years or more. In-work poverty occurs relatively often after individuals experience a transition from social benefits (particularly social assistance) to work

The silent transformation of the Dutch welfare state and the rise of in-work poverty

INTRODUCTION - Until recently, scholars argued that different welfare state regimes create different kinds of poverty. The typical face of poverty in liberal welfare states such as the USA is that of the working poor. The relatively large number of working poor in the USA is a consequence of the central characteristics of a liberal welfare state (Esping-Andersen, 1990). The combination of marginal social protection and low minimum wages creates a situation in which vulnerable people are often forced to work but remain poor (Jencks, 2005; Neubeck, 2006). On the other hand, because of the low wage levels in the USA, there is ample low-skilled and low-paid work available for those people who depend on this segment of the labour market. Such jobs are often lacking in the more developed welfare states of the European continent. As a result, there are many US citizens who work but are nevertheless poor. Moreover, working poor individuals often have to combine several low-paid jobs in order to make ends meet – a situation that has been vividly described in ethnographic studies about the American working poor (Ehrenreich, 2002; Newman, 1999; Venkatesh, 2006)

Asielmigratie en criminaliteit

Het vraagstuk van asielmigratie staat al jaren hoog op de politiek-maatschappelijke agenda. De mate van betrokkenheid van asielzoekers bij criminaliteit is onderwerp van een beladen discussie die desondanks, of wellicht juist daardoor, een degelijke empirische onderbouwing mist. Dat betreft eerst en vooral een betrouwbaar cijfermatig inzicht in de betrokkenheid van asielzoekers bij criminaliteit. Dat kan vervolgens als opmaat dienen voor nader onderzoek naar achterliggende verklaringen, oorzaken en omstandigheden. Voor Politie en Wetenschap was het aanleiding voor een meeromvattend drieluik naar zowel de aard en omvang als de achtergronden van betrokkenheid bij criminaliteit van drie groepen asielzoekers: asielzoekers in procedure, (ex-)asielzoekers die een formele status hebben verworven en 'illegalen': asielzoekers wier asielaanvraag is afgewezen. Dit deel van het drieluik geeft een overzicht van de aard en omvang van de criminaliteit onder in Nederland verblijvende asielmigranten (waaronder afgewezen asielzoekers, toegelaten asielzoekers en asielzoekers in de procedure). De studie is gebaseerd op de registraties van de Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst en de politie voor de periode 1995-2004. De onderzoekers geven niet alleen een gedegen cijfermatige beschrijving van de aangetroffen criminaliteitspatronen, maar gaan ook in op de vraag in hoeverre de verblijfsstatus van invloed is op betrokkenheid bij misdaad

Reliable microsatellite genotyping of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) using faecal DNA

The potential link between badgers and bovine tuberculosis has made it vital to develop accurate techniques to census badgers. Here we investigate the potential of using genetic profiles obtained from faecal DNA as a basis for population size estimation. After trialling several methods we obtained a high amplification success rate (89%) by storing faeces in 70% ethanol and using the guanidine thiocyanate/silica method for extraction. Using 70% ethanol as a storage agent had the advantage of it being an antiseptic. In order to obtain reliable genotypes with fewer amplification reactions than the standard multiple-tubes approach, we devised a comparative approach in which genetic profiles were compared and replication directed at similar, but not identical, genotypes. This modified method achieved a reduction in polymerase chain reactions comparable with the maximumlikelihood model when just using reliability criteria, and was slightly better when using reliability criteria with the additional proviso that alleles must be observed twice to be considered reliable. Our comparative approach would be best suited for studies that include multiple faeces from each individual. We utilized our approach in a well-studied population of badgers from which individuals had been sampled and reliable genotypes obtained. In a study of 53 faeces sampled from three social groups over 10 days, we found that direct enumeration could not be used to estimate population size, but that the application of mark–recapture models has the potential to provide more accurate results

Tuberculosis in Dr Granville's mummy: a molecular re-examination of the earliest known Egyptian mummy to be scientifically examined and given a medical diagnosis

‘Dr Granville's mummy’ was described to the Royal Society of London in 1825 and was the first ancient Egyptian mummy to be subjected to a scientific autopsy. The remains are those of a woman, Irtyersenu, aged about 50, from the necropolis of Thebes and dated to about 600 BC. Augustus Bozzi Granville (1783–1872), an eminent physician and obstetrician, described many organs still in situ and attributed the cause of death to a tumour of the ovary. However, subsequent histological investigations indicate that the tumour is a benign cystadenoma. Histology of the lungs demonstrated a potentially fatal pulmonary exudate and earlier studies attempted to associate this with particular disease conditions. Palaeopathology and ancient DNA analyses show that tuberculosis was widespread in ancient Egypt, so a systematic search for tuberculosis was made, using specific DNA and lipid biomarker analyses. Clear evidence for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA was obtained in lung tissue and gall bladder samples, based on nested PCR of the IS6110 locus. Lung and femurs were positive for specific M. tuberculosis complex cell-wall mycolic acids, demonstrated by high-performance liquid chromatography of pyrenebutyric acid–pentafluorobenzyl mycolates. Therefore, tuberculosis is likely to have been the major cause of death of Irtyersenu