Year: 2008
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: WELFARE STATES AND IN-WORK POVERTYUntil recently, scholars argued that different welfare state regimes create different kinds of poverty.The typical face of poverty in liberal welfare states such as the USA is that of the working poor.The relatively large number of working poor in the USA is a consequence of the central characteristics of a liberal welfare state (Esping-Andersen, 1990).The combination of marginal social protection and low minimum wages creates a situation in which vulnerable people are often forced to work but remain poor (Jencks, 2005;Neubeck, 2006).On the other hand, because of the low wage levels in the USA, there is ample low-skilled and low-paid work available for those people who depend on this segment of the labour market.Such jobs are often lacking in the more developed welfare states of the European continent.As a result, there are many US citizens who work but are nevertheless poor.Moreover, working poor individuals often have to combine several low-paid jobs in order to make ends meeta situation that has been vividly described in ethnographic studies about the American working poor (Ehrenreich, 2002;Newman, 1999;Venkatesh, 2006).The typical face of poverty in the European welfare states -especially those on the European continent -is rather different.Continental European or 'corporatist' welfare states tend to become 'welfare states without work' (Esping-Andersen, 1996).Because of the higher levels of social security in these countries -mostly in the form of a social safety net for all citizens -those who do not work or are unable to work can generally rely on social security or means-tested social assistance.The relatively high legal minimum wages in the Continental European welfare states
Source: Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
Authors: Erik Snel, Jan de Boom, Godfried Engbersen
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2124184416