PERCEPTION OF POVERTY IN EUROPE SINCE THE MIDDLE OF NINETEEN SEVENTIES Analysis of short-term structural changes Serge Paugam et Marion Selz Research team on Social Injustice (ERIS) Centre Maurice Halbwachs
Objective of the research To analyze the social representation of poverty from several European surveys carried out since the middle of the nineteen seventies Source : Eurobaromètres «Perception of poverty» of 1976, 1989, 1993, 2001.
Hypotheses Social representations of poverty can be explained: - by an effect linked to social specificity (country effect or structural effect ), what Durkheim used to call «mental structure of society» - by an effect linked to the change of labour market (economic situation effect), which reflects the sensitivity to economic movements
Questions on the visibility of poverty and on the distinction between inherited poverty and poverty undergone after a fall Question 1 : Where you live, are there persons who live in one of the following situations 1. Situation of extreme poverty 2. Situation of poverty 3. Exposed to fall into poverty 4. In none of these situations 5. Do not know Question 2 : If there are poor people where you live (response 1 or 2 above): does it happen to you to see in which they actually live? 1. Yes often, 2. Yes sometimes, 3. Yes, rarely, 4. No, never, 5. Do not know Question 3 : If yes (response 1,2,3 above), will you say, for most of these persons: 1. They have always been in this situation 2. They fell into this situation after having known another one 3. Do not know 4. Refusal to respond
Graph 1A Situation of poverty or extreme poverty Proportion of persons who reckon that there exists in their district/village people who live in a situation of poverty or extreme poverty
Graph 1B Situation of extreme poverty Proportion of persons who reckon that there exists in their district/village people who live in a situation of extreme poverty
Table 1 : Comparison of objective poverty and subjective poverty Indicateur de pauvreté objective Indicateur de pauvreté % d individus vivant dans des ménages confrontés à un risque de pauvreté (1) subjective (2) 1995 1998 2001 2001 Belgique 16 14 13 32 Danemark 10 12 10 9 Allemagne 15 11 11 14(3) Grèce 22 21 20 54 Espagne 19 18 19 34 France 15 15 15 30 Irlande 19 19 21 24 Italie 20 18 19 41 Luxembourg 12 12 12 8 Pays-Bas 11 10 11 18 Autriche 13 13 12 16 Portugal 23 21 20 66 Finlande - 9 11 30 Suède - 10 9 20 Royaume-Uni 20 19 17 27 (1) Eurostat, seuil de risque de pauvreté : 60 % du revenu médian national, échelle de l OCDE «modifiée», laquelle accorde la valeur 1 au premier adulte du ménage, la valeur 0,5 aux autres personnes de 14 ans ou plus, et la valeur 0,3 aux enfants de moins de 14 ans. (2) Eurobaromètre 56.1, Pauvreté et exclusion sociale, 2001. Il s agit du pourcentage d individus dont le revenu total net est inférieur à ce qu ils jugent absolument nécessaire pour vivre correctement. (3) Allemagne de l Ouest : 11 %, Allemagne de l Est : 24 %.
Graph 2 Inherited poverty Proportion of persons who reckon that the poor they have seen in their district/village have always been in the same situation (inherited poverty)
Graph 3 Poverty undergone after a fall Proportion of persons who reckon that the poor they have seen in their district/village have collapsed (Poverty undergone after a fall) Source: Eurobaromètres 100 Proportion de personnes qui estiment que les pauvres qu'ils ont vus dans leur quartier/village ont sombré (Pauvreté subie après une chute) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 1976 1989 1993 2001 20 10 0 Belgique Danemark Alle-magne- Ouest Alle-magne- Est France Grande Bretagne Irlande Pays Bas Italie Espagne Grece Portugal Pays du Nord Pays du Sud
Question asked on poverty causes Why are there, in your opinion, people who live in need? 1. It is because they were not lucky 2. It is because of their laziness or unwillingness 3. It is because there is much injustice in our society 4. It is unavoidable in modern world 5. None of these formulae
Graph 4 Explanation of poverty by laziness Change of the explanation of POVERTY by LAZINESS
Graph 5 Explanation of poverty by injustice Change of the explanation of POVERTY by INJUSTICE
Main results How the Europeans describe poverty 1. Poverty is more often perceived as a permanent state in the southern countries of Europe whereas in the northern countries it appears more as a hardship undergone after a fall. 2. Perception of poverty «as a phenomenon which recurs» declined in all countries from 1976 to 1993 under the effect of the deterioration of labour market and has, on the contrary, noticeably increased from 1993 to 2001.
The estimated models Effet de pays «structurel» Effet du chômage «conjoncturel» Indicateur de chômage retenu 1 Oui Non Pas retenu 2 Oui Non Pas retenu, mais le modèle estime l effet de l année de l enquête 3 Oui Oui Effet du niveau de chômage 4 Oui Oui Effet de l évolution du chômage au cours de 4 dernières années 5 Oui Oui Effet combiné du niveau et de l évolution du chômage au cours des quatre dernières années Ces modèles ont été estimés sur deux périodes : 1976-2001 pour : la Grande-Bretagne, la Belgique, le Danemark, l Allemagne, la France, l Irlande, les Pays- Bas et l Italie 1989-2001 avec en plus : l Espagne, la Grèce et le Portugal
Main results How the Europeans explain poverty 1. The explanation of poverty by laziness is more widespread in some countries than in others, notably in Great Britain. 2. This explanation by laziness is however also sensitive to the level or development of unemployment. In a period of crisis and of a dearth of jobs, the poor are less frequently considered as lazy.
Conclusion One can speak of a both structural and cyclical working out of representations of poverty and of the status of poor in European societies.