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Cross-country evidence on the individual dynamics of in-work poverty in the EU
2026
Abstract: The dynamics of in-work poverty is complex since it involves both a household-level dimension—the poverty status—and individual characteristics—the employment status. Because of in-work poverty’s dual nature, similar indicator levels may conceal different underlying dynamics in terms of poverty and employment transitions. Our analysis addresses the dual nature of in-work poverty transitions by considering all working-age individuals and analysing jointly trajectories into and out of both employment and poverty. We estimate an econometric model that jointly describes the dynamics of the two components. Furthermore, we examine the classic in-work poverty measure alongside an indicator of in-work material deprivation. Our analysis confirms that in many countries employment status alone is not able to prevent poverty or material deprivation. Poverty exhibits strong persistence both directly and through reduced chances of employment entry. The trajectories into and out of in-work poverty and in-work material deprivation vary considerably between countries.
| Type: | Journal article |
| Theme(s): | Income dynamics and mobility Poverty and social exclusion |
| Keywords: | At-risk of poverty, In-work material deprivation, In-work poverty, Material deprivation |
| 10.1016/j.ecosys.2025.101360 | |
| RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:50:y:2026:i:2:s093936252500072x |
Reference
D'Aguanno, M.C., Guio, A.-C. & Van Kerm, P. (2026), 'Cross-country evidence on the individual dynamics of in-work poverty in the EU', Economic Systems, 50(2), 101360.
@ARTICLE{pvk-2003,
Author = {D'Aguanno, Maria Cristina and Guio, Anne-Catherine and Van Kerm, Philippe},
Title = {Cross-country evidence on the individual dynamics of in-work poverty in the {EU}},
Journal = {Economic Systems},
Volume = {50},
Number = {2},
Pages = {101360},
Year = {2026}
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Dataset(s) used in the paper
Other papers using the same datasets...
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Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2017), 'How does attrition affect estimates of persistent poverty rates? The case of EU-SILC', in A.B. Atkinson, A.-C. Guio & E. Marlier, Monitoring Social Inclusion in Europe, Eurostat, European Commission, Luxembourg, Ch.22, pp.402-417.
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Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2014), 'The Relationship between EU Indicators of Persistent and Current Poverty', Social Indicators Research, 116(2), 611-638.
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Van Kerm, P. (2002), 'Une perspective longitudinale sur la pauvreté en Belgique', Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, 2002/03, 23-36.
Van Kerm, P. (2002), 'How much low income turnover is there in Belgium?', in P. Moyes, C. Seidl & A. Shorrocks, Inequalities: Theory, experiments and applications, Journal of Economics supplement issues9, Springer-Verlag, Vienna, Austria, pp.341-363.
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