Armut von Erwerbstätigen im europäischen Vergleich: eine Analyse unter Berücksichtigung des Einkommensverteilungsprozesses

In Europe, there are significant differences in the extent and in the structure of in-work poverty. Based on a comparison of 20 countries the present study analyses to what extent this is due to the differences in the institutional framework conditions of a given country. The analyses are based on micro data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) of 2006 and macro data from different sources. The analyses distinguish between different steps in the process of income generation and redistribution. The starting point is the question whether a person's own income from work is sufficient to avoid poverty. Further steps regard the role of the household context (needs and further income) and the effect of state redistribution (taxes and transfers). This comprehensive perspective allows for a separation of labour market related and other influences on the risk of in-work poverty. In Europa bestehen deutliche Unterschiede im Ausmaß und in der Struktur von Armut von Erwerbstätigen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung analysiert in einem Vergleich von 20 Ländern, inwieweit dies auf die unterschiedliche Ausgestaltung der institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen eines jeweiligen Landes zurückzuführen ist. Die Analysen basieren auf Mikrodaten aus der EU Statistik zu Einkommen und Lebensbedingungen (EU-SILC) des Jahres 2006 und Makrodaten aus unterschiedlichen Quellen. Es werden unterschiedliche Stufen des Einkommensverteilungsprozesses betrachtet. Der Ausgangspunkt ist die Frage, ob das persönliche Erwerbseinkommen einer Person ausreichend ist, um Armut zu vermeiden. In weiteren Schritten werden der Haushaltskontext (Bedarf und weitere Erwerbseinkommen) und der Einfluss staatlicher Umverteilung (Steuern und Transfers) mitberücksichtigt. Nur in dieser umfassenden Perspektive ist es möglich zu klären, inwieweit Armut von Erwerbstätigen vor allem am Arbeitsmarkt entsteht oder auf andere Faktoren zurückzuführen ist.Poverty, Employment, Working Poor, Welfare State

Private Schools in Germany: Attendance up, but Not Among the Children of Less Educated Parents

The percentage of children attending private school in Germany has increased sharply in recent years. According to data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), 7% of all students now attend private school. The SOEP, which contains a range of household data, shows that the children of parents with a university entry degree ("Abitur") are more likely to attend private school than those with less educated parents. This trend has become more pronounced in recent years: between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of students with better-educated parents attending private school increased by 77%. By contrast, the corresponding increase for students with less-educated parents was only 12%. Multivariate analyses demonstrate that increasing selection in favor of better-educated groups is particularly evident at the secondary school level. At the primary school level, full-time employment of the mother and regional factors significantly increase the chances of private school attendance. Educational policy should focus on preventing children from better-educated groups from leaving the public school system. If competition among schools is to be encouraged as a matter of policy, efforts should also be made to ensure less educated families consider sending their children to private schools.Private schools, Selection

Educational poverty in a comparative perspective: theoretical and empirical implications

Lohmann H, Ferger F. Educational poverty in a comparative perspective: theoretical and empirical implications. SFB 882 Working Paper Series. Vol 26. Bielefeld: DFG Research Center (SFB) 882 From Heterogeneities to Inequalities; 2014

Family policy in comparative perspective: the concepts and measurement of familization and defamilization

Family policy is not easily conceptualized or measured in comparative research. Previous approaches are highly diverse and have yielded mixed empirical results in terms of placing countries’ family policy profiles in the international landscape and mapping their trajectories. This article reviews the long-standing discussion of the familization and defamilization concepts popular in comparative research, derives a conceptual framework and provides an in-depth discussion of current empirical approaches. It tackles the lacking consensus on how familization and defamilization are measured, arguing that interventions in gender-specific and intergenerational dependencies are the key dimensions and that measurement at policy level is best suited to capture within- and cross-country variation in family policy. Using data on 21 European countries, the article proposes measures that acknowledge the different dimensions of familization and defamilization. The proposed indicators prove to be useful for mapping a range of European countries’ family policy constellations but are bound by data restrictions. Therefore, the article makes a strong claim for improving the availability of internationally comparable family policy data

The standard of living among the poor across Europe: Does employment make a difference?

Employment does not always guarantee sufficient income and a decent standard of living anymore. In this paper, we analyze the relationship between income poverty and material deprivation for employed and unemployed individuals across Europe. To do so, we focus on relevant mechanisms at the individual and institutional levels. We examine how economic, structural and institutional factors shape the relationship between employment, poverty and deprivation. We explore our subject using EU-SILC data from 2015 and cross-national macro-level data from the OECD, Eurostat and UNECE. According to our findings, employment is associated with a higher standard of living even among the poor and when controlling for savings and income level, which may point to the non-monetary benefits of employment. At the macro level, we show that the impact of employment on the living standard of the poor varies according to economic conditions and institutional settings. Our results suggest that policies that promote integration into the labour market without taking into account the quality of jobs and working conditions devalue gainful employment in terms of maintaining a decent standard of living

Der Trend zur Privatschule geht an bildungsfernen Eltern vorbei

Der Anteil von Kindern, die eine Privatschule besuchen, hat in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Nach Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) besuchen sieben Prozent aller Schüler eine Privatschule. Die Daten geben auch Auskunft über die Eltern von Privatschülern. Demnach besuchen Schüler, deren Eltern ein Abitur haben, häufiger eine Privatschule als Schüler aus bildungsferneren Elternhäusern. Dieser Trend hat sich in den letzten Jahren verstärkt: So ist der Anteil der Privatschüler aus "bildungsnahen" Elternhäusern zwischen 1997 und 2007 um 77 Prozent gestiegen. Bei Schülern aus bildungsfernen Elternhäusern beträgt der Anstieg lediglich zwölf Prozent. Multivariate Analysen zeigen, dass die zunehmende Selektion hin zu bildungsnahen Schichten insbesondere in der Sekundarstufe auftritt. Im Grundschulbereich erhöhen regionale Faktoren sowie eine Vollerwerbstätigkeit der Mutter die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines Privatschulbesuchs signifikant. Bildungspolitisch sollte verhindert werden, dass insbesondere Kinder aus bildungsnahen Schichten den öffentlichen Schulbereich verlassen. Wird ein Schulwettbewerb grundsätzlich für sinnvoll gehalten sollten Bemühungen unternommen werden, dass auch bildungsferne Schichten Privatschulen in Erwägung ziehen

Private Schools in Germany: Attendance up, but Not Among the Children of Less Educated Parents

The percentage of children attending private school in Germany has increased sharply in recent years. According to data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), 7% of all students now attend private school. The SOEP, which contains a range of household data, shows that the children of parents with a university entry degree ("Abitur") are more likely to attend private school than those with less educated parents. This trend has become more pronounced in recent years: between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of students with better-educated parents attending private school increased by 77%. By contrast, the corresponding increase for students with less-educated parents was only 12%. Multivariate analyses demonstrate that increasing selection in favor of better-educated groups is particularly evident at the secondary school level. At the primary school level, full-time employment of the mother and regional factors significantly increase the chances of private school attendance. Educational policy should focus on preventing children from better-educated groups from leaving the public school system. If competition among schools is to be encouraged as a matter of policy, efforts should also be made to ensure less educated families consider sending their children to private schools