All we need is\u2026

Ilse Cornelis,Tess Penne,Bérénice Storms

doi:10.1007/s11205-019-02181-1

Ilse Cornelis, Tess Penne + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02181-1

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Abstract

The right to adequate minimum income protection is one of the key principles included in the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). The EPSR takes a right-based and normative approach, aiming specifically at fulfilling people’s essential needs, not only by guaranteeing sufficiently high income levels, but also by promoting labour market inclusion and access to affordable goods and services of good quality. This paper takes the EPSR as a starting point to propose a needs-based indicator that assesses the adequacy of minimum income protection including these three dimensions in a comprehensive way. We argue that Reference Budgets (RBs), priced baskets of goods and services that represent an adequate living standard, are well-suited to construct such an indicator. To illustrate this empirically, we use RBs for adequate social participation in Belgium which have been constructed for the first time in 2008 and have been regularly updated since then. Through a combination of hypothetical household simulations of essential out-of-pocket costs and designated tax-benefits for families living on different minimum income schemes, we are able to assess the adequacy of minimum income protection for a range of household types over the period 2008–2017. The paper shows that, the proposed indicator is a useful policy tool for both ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of the adequacy of social policy measures in light of the social protection and inclusion rights included in the Pillar.

Highlights

For a long time, adequate minimum income protection has been at the center of EU social policy (Zeitlin and Vanhercke 2018; Vandenbroucke et al 2013; Marx and Nelson 2013), being one of the most important tools for preventing and combatting poverty in Europe1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)(e.g. Nelson 2013; Cantillon et al 2019)
The EU Council Recommendation (1992) was a first step to urge Member States to recognize the basic right to an adequate minimum income protection, defined as ‘sufficient resources and social assistance to live in a manner compatible with human dignity’
This paper argues that current indicators to monitor the adequacy of minimum income lack a clear operationalization of what a life in human dignity entails, and, do not sufficiently correspond to the broad view on adequacy outlined in the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR)

Summary

Introduction

Adequate minimum income protection has been at the center of EU social policy (Zeitlin and Vanhercke 2018; Vandenbroucke et al 2013; Marx and Nelson 2013), being one of the most important tools for preventing and combatting poverty in Europe1 3 Vol.:(0123456789)(e.g. Nelson 2013; Cantillon et al 2019). The ‘Active Inclusion’ Recommendation (Commission 2008) stressed the right to an adequate minimum income, but added the importance of labour market integration and access to services (Zeitlin and Vanhercke 2018; Frazer and Marlier 2016). This trend has been continued and strengthened with the EU2020 strategy, focusing on adequate social protection and social inclusion, including ‘access to resources, rights and services needed for participation in society’ (Commission 2015)

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