Introduction

The world is dealing with unprecedented times with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging one nation after another. Most of the nations which witnessed the pandemic earlier are on the path of recovery, while the pandemic is discovering new grounds in Africa, South America and Asia. This work proposes a framework to compare the outbreak, spread and decline of the pandemic in countries like Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, which were strongly affected but have largely recovered and are in the process of unlocking restrictions; we consider them as case studies. Correlation analysis has been used to determine the association between COVID-19 cases and time series of new COVID-19 cases in countries under study. Dynamic time warping (DTW) is used to measure the similarity between time series of new COVID-19 cases in the countries under study with different shapes and growth rates. We observed that there was a strong correlation between the time series of new COVID-19 cases in the countries under observation. The time series of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom were found to be the most similar. The strong correlation between the time series of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and China with that of India shows that the case study of these countries could be used to understand the propagation of the trajectory of COVID-19 cases in countries where the outbreak is in the preliminary stages.

This chapter highlights the potential of a longitudinal approach to gain better insight into the dynamic patterns of working poverty. While cross-sectional research can show us the characteristics of people at risk of in-work poverty, it cannot show us how transitory or persistent in-work poverty is. A longitudinal approach can further our insight by showing the duration of in-work poverty, the typical sequence of events leading to working poverty and the patterns of exit from in-work poverty. It can furthermore show us which population groups are at risk of persistent working poverty, and how episodes of working poverty are embedded in the life course. We start this chapter with highlighting the advantages of a longitudinal approach to working poverty. In a second section we will review the existing research evidence on dynamic approaches to poverty and employment. In the third section we will introduce the research design needed to study dynamics of working poverty. This includes a discussion of the type of data necessary (socio-economic household panel data), as well as a brief overview of the relevant analysis techniques. The fourth section of the chapter includes empirical examples of the dynamics of in-work poverty.

In Spain, 70% of children in poverty live in households with one or more workers; equally, households with children make up the majority of households in in-work poverty (53%) despite representing only 27% of all households. However, in-work poverty and child poverty are often thought of as separate problems. Most analyses on in-work poverty in Spain use data from a single year and focus on working individuals. However, since households share needs and resources, understanding the factors that increase the risk of poverty requires studying households. In this work, carried out at the Demographic Studies Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, we adopt a dynamic perspective to analyse the interrelationship between child and in-work poverty, and specifically the high in-work poverty rates in households with children and adolescents. Using longitudinal data from the Living Conditions Survey (2017-2020), we examine the role played by childbirth/adoption, the presence of children in the household and their age in the processes of impoverishment. We find that in 2020 only 4% of households entering in-work poverty experienced an increase in the number of children and adolescents in the household. In contrast, 37% of entrants experienced a decrease in income without decreasing the number of workers (for example, due to a temporary period of unemployment), and 29% a reduction in unemployment benefit income. Households with children tend to have greater difficulties in escaping poverty, which translates into longer periods in in-work poverty. We conclude that changes in employment status are more relevant than changes in household composition for understanding child and working poverty. Additionally, the role of risk factors such as temporary employment is compounded in households with children, further reducing their poverty exit rates. Reducing child poverty requires tackling in-work poverty and vice versa

Subject EU measures of poverty in a context of rising unconventional employment. Significance According to EU and OECD reports on incomes, employment offers a weakening guarantee against the risk of deprivation. In-work poverty is closely associated with low levels of hours worked. Unconventional employment, often involving less-than-full hours, is rising as a share of the total, with greater work-related income uncertainty becoming an essential feature of EU job markets. However, cross-country data on in-work poverty can be misleading; in the EU, such data typically indicate wage inequality, not absolute poverty. Impacts Greece's poverty threshold (at purchasing power parity) is now slightly below Poland's, and its share of workers at risk of poverty higher. In the United Kingdom, there is controversy over competing ways of raising in-work incomes ahead of the government's July 8 budget. EU-backed labour market flexibility being pursued in countries such as France and Italy is likely to see unconventional employment rise.

The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the impact of state interventions on in-work poverty and to explore variations in its definition across studies. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this review analyzed existing literature on the effectiveness of state interventions in reducing in-work poverty. The search spanned 18 electronic databases, covering articles published from 2010 to 2023. Fourteen studies were selected, encompassing 46 units of analysis. The findings reveal a diverse range of outcomes, with state interventions exhibiting positive, negative, and bidirectional impacts on in-work poverty. Tax credits emerged as particularly effective, especially the United Kingdom (UK) working tax credit (WTC) and child tax credit (CTC), though their effectiveness varied by family structure. Other interventions, such as social insurance programs, also showed promise, while some interventions, including unemployment benefits and certain conditional cash transfers, were associated with increased in-work poverty. This review also highlights significant definitional disparities in the literature on in-work poverty, due to differing conceptualizations and measurement methods. These findings underscore the complex interactions between policy measures and demographic factors in addressing in-work poverty. The implications for policymakers include the need for tailored, context-specific interventions and a holistic evaluation approach that considers both short-term outcomes and long-term socio-economic impacts.

In-work poverty (IWP) is gaining interest in the public agenda. This article is a first contribution to the analysis of IWP dynamics in Latin America, based on the study of the Argentine case. Using one-year interval panel data, the paper analyzes the trigger events that produce entries and exits from IWP, short-term poverty trajectories and the determinants associated to transient and persistent poverty. Drawing on a decomposition analysis of mutually exclusive events, the article shows that labor market events are the most relevant triggers for both exits and entries into IWP. Based on a multinomial logistic regression, the paper concludes that low education, the presence of children in the household, and having a low-quality job are the three main factors explaining persistent-poverty.

In-work poverty (IWP), a growing problem in the United Kingdom, describes being in employment but having financial resources close to thresholds associated with poverty. IWP is associated with poorer health behaviors. We examined why people experiencing IWP may exhibit poorer health behaviors. Experiences of six individuals with whole-household IWP in North East England, were elicited using inductive reflexive thematic analysis with semi-structured interviews. Three themes were generated, showing that IWP impacted on the adoption of healthy behaviors, resulting in an obesogenic environment, particularly for single parents. IWP is a socioeconomic health disparity requiring further exploration.

Recent studies find in-work poverty to be a pan-European phenomenon. Yet in-work poverty has come to the fore as a policy issue only recently in most continental European countries. Policies implemented in the United States and the United Kingdom, most notably in-work benefit schemes, are much discussed. This article argues that if it comes to preventing and alleviating poverty among workers, both the policy options and constraints facing Continental European policymakers are fundamentally different from those facing Anglo-Saxon policymakers. Consequently, policies that work in one setting cannot be simply emulated elsewhere. We present micro-simulation derived results for Belgium to illustrate some of these points. Policy options discussed and simulated include: higher minimum wages, reductions in employee social security contributions, tax relief for low-paid workers, and the implementation of a stylised version of the British Working Tax Credit. The latter measure has the strongest impact on in-work poverty but in settings where wages are compressed, as in Belgium, a severe trade-off between coverage and budgetary cost presents itself. The article concludes that looking beyond targeted measures to universal benefits and support for employment of carers may be important components of an overall policy package to tackle in-work poverty.

Recent studies find in-work poverty to be a pan-European phenomenon. Yet in-work poverty has come to the fore as a policy issue only recently in most continental European countries. Policies implemented in the United States and the United Kingdom, most notably in-work benefit schemes, are much discussed. This article argues that if it comes to preventing and alleviating poverty among workers, both the policy options and constraints facing Continental European policymakers are fundamentally different from those facing Anglo-Saxon policymakers. Consequently, policies that work in one setting cannot be simply emulated elsewhere. We present microsimulation derived results for Belgium to illustrate some of these points. Policy options discussed and simulated include: higher minimum wages, reductions in employee social security contributions, tax relief for low-paid workers and the implementation of a stylised version of the British Working Tax Credit. The latter measure has the strongest impact on in-work poverty, but in settings where wages are compressed, as in Belgium, a severe trade-off between coverage and budgetary cost presents itself. The article concludes that looking beyond targeted measures to universal benefits and support for employment of carers may be important components of an overall policy package to tackle in-work poverty.

Using PWT10 and EU-SILC, we analyse the relationship between income per capita, wage inequality and welfare for 30 European countries over the period 2004-2019. We found that there is a great divergence between European countries in terms of labour productivity, although this variable is strongly (positively) related to the average salary of the different European economies. Spain has experienced one of the largest increases in wage inequality in the last two decades, and the functioning of the labour market is not the only factor that explains this evolution in the short term. The countries with the highest income per capita have increased their well-being the most, while in Spain this variable has barely changed. Gains in the mean wage have been offset by rising wage inequality. In addition to being far from the labour productivity figures of our more developed neighbours, we have a convergence problem in wage inequality.

A majority of developed countries have adopted minimum wage laws. A large literature aims at determining whether those laws cause employment's losses. The issue remains contentious even though studies that finds negative effects only identify very small impact, possibly close to zero. There is, however, a growing literature showing that minimum wages have a visible and larger impact on wage inequality. Minimum wage laws will reduce wage inequality in countries where a substantial part of the workforce is paid very low wages directly. This will typically be the case for countries with greater wage inequality. And the reduction in wage inequality will also be larger, when firms tend to increase the wages of employees situated higher up that at the minimum level. Recent work have found that indeed employers tend to increases wages of workers who earn wages up to the 25% percentile of the distribution.

This chapter briefly examines the historical background to adult social care sector in the United Kingdom and the factors that contribute to low pay and in- work poverty for care workers employed in the sector. The chapter presents research findings from interviews conducted with care workers examining their role, pay, working conditions and understanding of pay rates such as the National Living Wage. The results show that care workers are highly committed and enjoy their job and working with residents, but their terms and conditions of work are being eroded. The additional pay for working unsocial hours and bank holidays has been stopped and only part time hours of work offered. As a result, care workers experience reductions in their pay and conditions and in-work poverty.

Dual or multiple earnership has been considered an important factor to prevent in-work poverty. The aim of this paper is to quantify the impact of second earnership on the risk of in-work poverty and the role of the tax-benefit system in moderating this risk. Our analysis refers to 2014 and employs EUROMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for the European Union and the United Kingdom. In order to assess the role of second earners in preventing in-work poverty we simulate a counterfactual scenario where second earners become unemployed. Our results show that the effect of net replacement rates (i.e. the ratio of household income before and after the transition of second earners to unemployment) on the probability of in-work poverty is negative and statistically significant, but in relative terms it appears to be small compared to the effects of individual labour market characteristics, such as low pay and part-time employment.

Using data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), this paper investigates wage inequality and wage mobility in Europe. Decomposing inequality into within and between group inequality, we analyse to what extent wage inequality and mobility can be explained by observable characteristics. Furthermore, we investigate which individual and household characteristics determine transitions within the wage distribution. Finally, we examine the importance of institutions for wage inequality, wage mobility, and wage transitions. We find that overall, mobility reduces wage inequality. While a large part of wage inequality is due to unobservable characteristics, the equalizing effect of mobility mainly occurs within groups. Furthermore, both personal and household characteristics play an important role for wage transitions. Finally, our findings reveal large cross-country differences across Europe, which are partly linked to the institutional set-up of the national labour markets.

Poverty among ethnic minorities and the majority in rural China for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 is investigated taking a dynamic view and using a large sample covering 22 provinces. Based on the National Bureau of Statistics' low income line, almost one-third of the ethnic minorities experienced poverty during the three years studied while the corresponding proportion among the ethnic majority was only about half as high. Still, by far most of the poor in rural China belong to the ethnic majority. The relatively high poverty rates for ethnic minorities in rural China are found to be due to higher rates of entry than for the majority, while differences in exit rates across ethnicities are few. To a large extent, ethnic poverty differences can be attributed to differences in location together with temporary and persistent poverty in rural China having a very clear spatial character. Poverty is concentrated to the western region and villages with low average income. Determinants of persistent and temporary poverty in rural China differ due to location as well as household characteristics.