Abstract
Despite considerable efforts to reduce social exclusion and economic hardship, poverty remains a persistent problem in Europe, representing a major policy conundrum for EU welfare states. Minimum Income Schemes (MIS) are in force in all EU Member States (MS) to provide a last safety net. Yet, their effectiveness in covering and adequately supporting the poor remains by and large disappointing, be it with considerable variation across countries. While social research has addressed the performance of MIS in the EU, major questions remain. Why are MIS incapable at reducing poverty? How does their accessibility differ across EU? Who is left uncovered? In this project, I will investigate the drivers of the insufficient and yet heterogeneous capacity of MIS in protecting the most vulnerable in Europe. Concretely, I will assess the coverage, adequacy, and take-up of MIS and explain how and why they differ across EU. The main objectives are: 1) to understand the role played by MIS in providing social safety nets inside the welfare set-up; 2) to innovate the methods used to identify MIS recipients; and 3) to discern who is left uncovered, and the reasons why. Addressing shortcomings in previous research, the project will enhance our comprehension of the mechanisms behind the MIS disappointing performances and it will provide policy-oriented insights to optimize the targeting of social safety nets and to improve the effectiveness of social protection.
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