WP1: Measurement

The project’s first package aims at improving our understanding of child poverty trends in Spain and Southern Europe. Measurement issues have been ventured as an explanation for the stability of (child) poverty rates in Spain, with concerns that the use of a relative or too generous poverty threshold could mask improvements in living conditions during periods of economic growth. We address methodological explanations to disappointing poverty trends through the comparison of several indicators. This first package also pays attention to housing costs and their impact on households with children, which is particularly relevant in a context of rising housing costs. Additionally, it explores changes in child poverty trends for different population groups so as to assess differential trends. Finally, this line of research seeks to contribute to the methodological literature by exploring new datasets and methods in order to develop a more granular understanding of child poverty. 

 

WP 2: Employment

The second line of research focuses on the link between child poverty and employment. One of the explanations for disappointing poverty trends in Europe is the expansion of precarious and low-wage jobs. Many newly created jobs are low-wage or part-time, offering insufficient income to lift workers out of poverty. In Spain, the labour market has seen an increase in wage inequality over the last two decades, with growth in both ends of the distribution but a relative decline in middle-income positions. This polarisation results in an expanding share of workers in low-wage jobs, which contributes to in-work poverty. Furthermore, certain demographics, such as young workers, women, and migrants, are more likely to face underemployment or precariousness, which in turn are associated with economic precariousness. Yet, there remains a gap with respect to the particular situation of households with children, which this work package aims to contribute to filling. Moreover, it aims to further explore the factors associated with poverty entries, exits and persistence among households with and without children and inform policy solutions.

 

WP3: Policy

The third line of research focuses on social policy and child poverty. Welfare state institutions play a major role in protecting children from poverty, and countries with robust social protection systems tend to have lower child poverty rates. Households with children can potentially benefit from a wide array of social benefits, including both benefits for adult members and child-specific benefits.  In Spain, public support is mostly articulated through contributory benefits tied to formal employment trajectories and earnings of the adult members of the household, excluding many employed in precarious and/or informal jobs due to strict eligibility criteria, which require long and continuous formal employment. This is aggravated by the Spanish welfare state’s traditional underinvestment in non-contributory programs. Targeted public expenditure, which could potentially benefit low-income households, is largely ineffective in Spain. In this sense, the approval of the Ingreso Minimo Vital in 2021 and the Complemento de Ayuda para la Infancia in 2022 marked a shift in Spain’s welfare system, benefiting more than 650 000 households by the end of 2024. However, much fine-grained analysis is needed to track their impact on the living conditions of households with children, particularly within the paradox of ‘growth without child poverty reduction’, as well as shortcomings. This working package addresses the dynamic dimension of the impacts of policy reforms on poverty outcomes and further leverages recent policy reforms in Portugal and Italy, thus also contributing to the wider literature on child poverty and social policy in Southern Europe.