The COVID 19 pandemic is mainly perceived as a health problem which makes no distinction between poor and rich, powerful and powerless. Nevertheless social factors play an important role in how the pandemic affects poor and vulnerable people. This book presents the first discussion of the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from a social justice perspective. It offers different perspectives on the likely impact of the pandemic, the measures to contain it and the resulting consequences for vulnerable people.

The governments of 117 countries agreed at the World Summit on Social Development to prepare annual national anti-poverty plans. Two measures in particular were recommended for absolute and overall poverty. This book examines poverty in Europe within this agreed international framework.

This SDN studies the evolution of inequality across age groups leading up to and since the global financial crisis, as well as implications for fiscal and labor policies. Europe’s population is aging, child and youth poverty are rising, and income support systems are often better equipped to address old-age poverty than the challenges faced by poor children and/or unemployed youth today.

This book sets out a new framework and methodology for the measuring and monitoring of absolute poverty in the European Union. A comparative needs-based analysis of poverty is presented that allows for cross-country examination. By comparing absolute poverty measurements with existing conventional measures, a new understanding of poverty within the European Union is explored, highlighting that poverty is cyclical and unevenly disturbed across Europe. Issued related to poverty, including food basket development, basket pricing, household compatibility, are also discussed. This book aims to provide a comprehensive account of methodological tools available for the measurement of poverty. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in absolute poverty measurement. This is an open access book.

There are striking differences between relative and absolute poverty rates in the European Union and the United States. In this paper, we apply the official poverty measurement methods of the United States (absolute) and the European Union (relative) to both regions. Official poverty rates differ from other poverty statistics in the sense that they are more often used as a benchmark by policymaking and advocacy groups. In our analysis we use within and between country perspectives to explain differences in poverty levels and trends and show the impact of each of these aspects on poverty levels and over time while keeping other explanatory factors constant. Using annual data of the EU and the US from 1994 to 2000 we illustrate how some poverty differences are inherent to choosing either an absolute or a relative approach to poverty while other differences are related to more general aspects of poverty measurement. The results of our analysis suggest that governments should use both; an absolute approach that helps to identify those people who are not able to attain a minimum living standard and a relative approach to identify those whose living standard is low compared to the society they live in.

We are at a point in history where economic inequalities are more widespread each day. The situation of extreme poverty experienced by the majority of the populations in developing countries ("Third World" countries) often coincides with an absence of democracy and the violation of the most fundamental rights. But in so-called "First World" countries a non-negligible proportion of inhabitants also live in impoverished conditions (albeit mainly "relative" poverty) and are denied their rights. The European situation, which this publication aims to analyse, is painful: the entire continent is afflicted by increasing poverty and consequently by the erosion of living conditions and social conflicts.The economic and financial crisis has resulted in the loss of millions of jobs, and created job insecurity for many still working. Economic insecurity raises social tensions, aggravating xenophobia, for instance. Yet the economic and financial crisis could present a good opportunity to rethink the economic and social system as a whole. Indeed, poverty in modern societies has never been purely a question of lack of wealth. It is therefore urgent today to devise a new discourse on poverty. In pursuit of this goal, the Council of Europe is following up this publication in the framework of the project "Human rights of people experiencing poverty", co-financed by the European Commission.

This report contains the second generation of National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion which have been prepared by the Member States and constitute a strong political acknowledgement, three years after the Lisbon Summit, of the continuing challenge to ensure social inclusion across the European Union.