Poverty In Germany Research Articles

Exploring food poverty experiences in the German Twitter-Sphere

BackgroundThis study investigates the subjective perceptions of food poverty in Germany by analysing Twitter discourse using the German-language hashtag #IchBinArmutsbetroffen (#IamPovertyAffected) and examines the extent to which various dimensions of a multidimensional theoretical model of food poverty are represented in the discourse.MethodsEmploying a combination of computational social science and qualitative social research methods, the research identifies, and analyses tweets related to nutrition by applying a hierarchical dictionary search and qualitative content analysis. By examining the narratives and statements of individuals affected by food poverty, the study also investigates the interplay among different subdimensions of this phenomenon.ResultsThe analysis of 1,112 tweets revealed that 57.96% focused on the material dimension and 42.04% on the social dimension of food poverty, suggesting a relatively balanced emphasis on material and social aspects of food poverty in the narratives of those affected. The findings reveal that tweets on material food poverty underscore economic challenges and resource scarcity for food. Social food poverty tweets demonstrate widespread deprivation in social participation, leading to isolation, exclusion, and social network loss. Overall, the results elucidate intricate interconnections among subdimensions and multidimensional manifestations of food poverty.ConclusionsThis study contributes methodologically by presenting an approach for extracting food-related textual social media data and empirically by providing novel insights into the perceptions and multifaceted manifestations of food poverty in Germany. The results can aid in a better understanding of the phenomenon of food poverty as it currently manifests in Germany, and in developing targeted social, health-promoting, and political measures that address more effectively the empirically evident multidimensionality of the phenomenon.

New measurement approaches to identifying spatial concentrations of poor and low-income households in German city regions

The question of whether 21st-century urbanization dynamics are leading to a suburbanization of poverty in Western city regions has been on the agenda of spatial researchers and housing policymakers for over a decade now. Persistent reurbanization trends are putting increased pressure on inner-city housing markets, resulting in affordability problems for low-income households. Evidence from the US and the UK shows that financing mechanisms in the real estate sector were severely disrupted in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2009 and subsequent years, with many households losing their homes and being forced to move. Though social security systems and social housing policies generally have a moderating effect, they vary widely across Western countries. Against this background, this paper presents three spatial observation methods tailored to the spatial analysis of poverty concentrations in Germany. The methods are based on three popular conceptualizations of poverty: material poverty, relative poverty, and the concept of neighbourhood deprivation. The main novelty presented in this paper is a cold-spot analysis of purchasing power in 33 city regions using interactive map visualizations and complemented by socioeconomic indicators. Expert feedback verifies the validity of the approach which addresses a ‘blind spot’ in assessing poverty in Germany, where many low-income households are increasingly exposed to risks of poverty despite not qualifying for social benefits.

“Usually, I Do Not Quarrel”: What Type of Ties Do We Find when We Ask about Conflicts Using a Name-generator Approach?

In a mixed-methods study on poverty in Germany, we conducted qualitative interviews and collected quantitative data on ego-centered networks using a name-generator approach and a single set of respondents. Based on the qualitative data, we first developed a typology of negative ties and then evaluated which of these ties the name generator (on conflicts) had measured. To some extent, the conflict name-generator (CNG) captured the complexity of the negative ties in the typology, but it captured only a small fraction of the negative ties mentioned in the narrative interviews and it missed some specific ones. Discussing the limitations of the CNG in the light of our typology of negative ties allows us to learn more about being nuanced in formulating appropriate questions for eliciting negative ties.

Atypical work, financial assets, and asset poverty in Germany

Atypical work, financial assets, and asset poverty in Germany

Germany: The Self-Sufficient Entrepreneur Trope and the Pandemic Gnawing Away at It

The German response to the threat which the Covid-19 crisis has posed to self-employed workers reflects an approach which so far has largely focused on the prevention of bogus self-employment. While this approach has been further reinforced, to the point where the use of self-employed contractors has been banned outright in individual occupations, plummeting incomes of the ‘genuine’ self-employed remained unaddressed in the government’s crisis response for almost one year. The contribution describes the evolution of this approach as the pandemic progressed, and discusses whether the experience of this crisis may constitute a turning point in a policy tradition which has so far relegated the self-employed to the bare minimum of fully means-tested social assistance benefits when facing macroeconomic shocks as well as individual social risks. In-Work Poverty in Germany, Self-Employed Workers, Bogus Self-Employment, Covid-19 Income Support Schemes, Social Assistance Benefits, Macroeconomic Shocks

To what extent can community energy mitigate energy poverty in Germany?

The reduction of energy poverty and the expansion of citizen-led community energy projects are two important issues for a just energy transition in the European Union. While some socio-economic aspects of community energy are well researched, there is a dearth of literature on its potential to include vulnerable households and eventually reduce the risk of energy poverty. Through the lens of energy vulnerability thinking, this paper examines current and future drivers of energy poverty in Germany, as well as factors that may limit or facilitate the inclusion of vulnerable consumers in community energy. It draws on previous studies and on 12 semi-structured interviews conducted in the Summer of 2021 with experts in the fields of energy poverty or community energy. Using a three-tenet conceptualization of energy justice, the article argues that community energy projects can mitigate energy poverty in Germany by providing affordable renewable electricity to vulnerable and energy-poor consumers, as well as by establishing fair procedures that consider various vulnerability contexts. Yet, deep-rooted distributional injustices in housing and social transfer schemes that drive energy poverty are likely to remain. In order to advance energy justice, community energy projects hinge on a collaborative multi-level and multi-actor environment.

The dynamics of relative poverty in China in a comparative perspective

I use household panel data to study the dynamics of relative poverty in China, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Compared to the three Western countries, not only is relative poverty more common in China, it is also deeper and more severe. Transient poverty accounts for less than half of the total poverty in Germany or the US, but about two-thirds of that in China or the UK. Over three waves, 87% of Germans, 78% of Britons, 71% of Americans, but only 46% of Chinese were never poor. Using a multinomial logistic regression model, the determinants of poverty are found to be very similar across the four countries. But the variance explained by that model is much smaller for China than for the three Western countries. The findings of this paper also challenge some existing understanding of poverty dynamics in general.

Determinants, persistence, and dynamics of energy poverty: An empirical assessment using German household survey data

We examine the determinants, persistence, and dynamics of energy poverty using seven waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). Employing a dynamic random effects probit model we find evidence of genuine state dependence effects in energy poverty with households being up to 7.5% more likely to face energy poverty if they were energy poor in the previous period. Energy poverty is associated with household composition, educational attainment, labour force status, energy-inefficient housing, and the heating system in place. We document common predictors of perceived and objectively measured energy poverty. Our results suggest that energy poverty in Germany is mostly a transitory state, with 78% of the energy poor households in our sample only temporarily facing energy poverty.

Rising housing costs and income poverty among the elderly in Germany

Housing costs have been increasing rapidly in Germany in recent years. Given the importance of housing for the elderly, one may expect many to be forced to dedicate ever-larger shares of their income to housing costs. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we examine how changes in housing costs between 1996 and 2017 have affected income poverty among Germany’s over-65s. Our results reveal that higher costs have indeed contributed to increased income poverty in old age in that period. Our pooled probit regression models as applied to Germany’s elderly show that increased housing costs mean tenants, homeowners with outstanding mortgages, single-person households and people with migration background all suffer a higher risk of poverty, while the risk remains lower for outright homeowners. Since the relative income position of the elderly is expected to further deteriorate in future, our study suggests a need for policy action to avoid a worsening in figures for old-age income poverty in Germany.

Coverage Error in Data Collection Combining Mobile Surveys With Passive Measurement Using Apps: Data From a German National Survey

Researchers are combining self-reports from mobile surveys with passive data collection using sensors and apps on smartphones increasingly more often. While smartphones are commonly used in some groups of individuals, smartphone penetration is significantly lower in other groups. In addition, different operating systems (OSs) limit how mobile data can be collected passively. These limitations cause concern about coverage error in studies targeting the general population. Based on data from the Panel Study Labour Market and Social Security (PASS), an annual probability-based mixed-mode survey on the labor market and poverty in Germany, we find that smartphone ownership and ownership of smartphones with specific OSs are correlated with a number of sociodemographic and substantive variables. The use of weighting techniques based on sociodemographic information available for both owners and nonowners reduces these differences but does not eliminate them.

Understanding lone mothers' high poverty in Germany: Disentangling composition effects and effects of lone motherhood.

Lone mothers are among the groups most affected by income poverty in Germany. Previous research shows that both lone mothers' social composition (e.g. employment status, age, number of children) and the institutional context (e.g. family and labour market policies) are crucial for explaining this high vulnerability. Yet we know little about the underlying mechanisms. Hence, this study develops a theoretical framework that disentangles effects of composition (selection into lone motherhood) and lone motherhood per se (shaped by institutional contexts) on lone mothers' poverty. Three major routes to lone motherhood can be identified that differ regarding their timing, selectivity and related risk of poverty: lone motherhood after marriage, after cohabitation, and out-of-relationship child birth. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this study first analyses the relationship between the three routes and poverty before and during lone motherhood. Second, conditional difference-in-differences models are used to identify the lone motherhood effect on lone mothers' poverty controlling for composition. Results reveal that two years prior to the transition, all, but particularly cohabiting to-be lone mothers, already show notably higher poverty rates than women who do not experience lone motherhood. Moreover, divorced lone mothers face the highest poverty-enhancing effect of lone motherhood on poverty.

Bayesian inference for TIP curves: an application to child poverty in Germany

TIP curves are cumulative poverty gap curves used for representing the three different aspects of poverty: incidence, intensity and inequality. The paper provides Bayesian inference for TIP curves, linking their expression to a parametric representation of the income distribution using a mixture of log-normal densities. We treat specifically the question of zero-inflated income data and survey weights, which are two important issues in survey analysis. The advantage of the Bayesian approach is that it takes into account all the information contained in the sample and that it provides small sample credible intervals and tests for TIP dominance. We apply our methodology to evaluate the evolution of child poverty in Germany after 2002, providing thus an update the portrait of child poverty in Germany given in Corak et al. (Rev. Income Wealth 54(4), 547–571, 2008).

Trends in the demographic composition of poverty among working families in Germany and in Israel, 1991–2011

While the working poverty rate in advanced economies is about 7%, the demographic composition of the working poor varies considerably across countries. Providing an in-depth look at the demographic composition of working poverty, this paper builds on a typology of three major antecedents of poverty among workers – age, household structure, and minority status - and documents their changing association with the likelihood of poverty in Germany and Israel for a 21-year span during which both countries underwent major labor market and welfare reforms. The paper utilizes data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the Israeli Income Survey, 1991–2011, and includes logistics models and a decomposition analysis of the demographic components of trends in working poverty. Results document a pronounced increase in poverty risks among the Arab population and households with more than two children in Israel since 2000. Contrastingly, the most pronounced changes in Germany have occurred among single-headed households.

Being poor from children's point of view. The potential of childhood theory and qualitative methods for child poverty research: Findings from two qualitative studies of poverty in Germany

This paper reports findings from qualitative poverty research with children in Germany. The research has an explorative aim and the focus is on children's experiences in everyday life. It shows the findings about material domains like clothing, food, and accommodation along with important social domains such as friendships and relationships in the family. The article argues that analyses of the phenomenon of child poverty should be sensible when treating children's everyday lives equal to those of their adult relatives. Drawing on empirical findings from qualitative research, it confirms the particular relevance of analyzing the perspectives of children themselves. We thus suggest that child poverty always has to be viewed in relation to socio-spatial and infrastructural conditions.

Income and Wealth Poverty in Germany

In general, poverty measures are estimated by applying income information. However, only using income data for calculating relative poverty might lead to an incomplete view. For example, a household can be under a poverty threshold even if a household member owns real estate or equity. In this thesis, at risk of income poverty in Germany is estimated. In order to get a more complete picture of at risk of poverty, a multidimensional approach is applied. Not only at risk of income poverty, also at risk of wealth poverty is measured. Moreover, households that are both at risk of income and wealth poor are analyzed. Furthermore, several poverty groups are identified: twice-poor which are households that are, at risk of income and wealth poverty; protected-poor, households that are at risk of income poverty but not at risk of wealth poverty; vulnerable-poor, households which are at risk of wealth poverty but not at risk of income poverty; non-poor, households which are either at risk of income poverty nor at risk of wealth poverty. Poverty profiles in Germany and their changes over time are analyzed for the years 2002, 2007 and 2012. In fact, it is investigated to which degree at risk of poverty rates differ in socio-economic characteristics. A logit regression is applied for each dimension and each wave for estimation. For robustness checks, 95 percent bootstrap confidence intervals are calculated for all results. Findings suggest that young age, region East Germany, single, lone parent, unemployment and low education are factors that condition the at risk of poverty rates. The definition of a certain rate influences the percentage of households that are affected by at risk of poverty, however, has a limited effect on poverty profiles. Poverty profiles have not changed over time but some factors such as unemployment and low education have significantly increased.

독일 빈곤의 현황과 배경

독일 빈곤의 현황과 배경

Hidden and Neglected: Food Poverty in the Global North - The Case of Germany.

Although still a powerful economy, Germany faces rising income inequality and food insecurity. Quantitative data show that nutritional poverty in Germany has become a fact, especially for social welfare recipients. This contribution gives an overview and discusses the limits of results from different data sources, such as German food surveys, and addresses how affected population groups are systematically underrepresented. To give a more thorough impression of food insecurity in Germany, the article compares nutritional consumption data from the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions/Eurostat survey for Germany, the members of the European Union 27 (EU27), and Greece. The figures for Germans with incomes below 60% of the median equivalised income who cannot afford one proper meal every second day are worse than those in the remaining EU27 member nations, and the figures for their children are not so far from the figures for crisis-stricken Greece. As eating is not only about nutrition but also a means of social activity, we consider the ability to eat and drink with friends an issue of alimentary participation. The percentages of Germans who cannot afford a drink or meal with others at least once a month is very high compared to the rates of the remaining EU27 member nations and Greece. The provided quantitative figures prove that we see serious signs of food poverty in portions of Germany, despite its comparatively strong economy. Data from hundreds of qualitative interviews describing how people stricken by food insecurity try to cope with the situation complement these results. Such data are very important, as governments widely underestimate the problem and leave it to be dealt with by food banks as the only institutional solution.

Martin Luther oor oneerlikheid in die ekonomie

Martin Luther about dishonesty in the economy. This article is about Martin Luther’s economic ethics. Background information is given about the economic situation 500 years ago. The high levels of poverty in Germany were the main reason behind the health crisis experienced at that time. Luther reprimanded the heads of families to work diligently and honestly in order to ensure a stable income for the family. He prophetically also criticised the dishonesty on the market place. He exposed the many attempts by people to exploit the poor. An overview is given of the development of his economic thought. The focus falls, however, on his essay Von Kaufshandlung und Wucher (1524) [On trade and profiteering].

Multidimensional Poverty in Germany: A Capability Approach

The German government decided to use Amartya Sen's capability approach as the conceptual framework for the national ‘Poverty and Wealth Reports’ but concluded at the same time that the purely income-based at-risk-of-poverty rate (AROPR) is a satisfactory instrument to operationalise the capability approach. This decision made the latter the official measure to analyse poverty in Germany. This paper studies the question whether this conclusion is indeed justified by introducing two different multidimensional poverty measures to operationalise the capability approach. A thorough empirical analysis compares the poverty evaluations of the three poverty measures over time. It reveals that they differ considerably with regard to poverty trends, the identification of the most deprived and the impact of location, especially regarding West and East Germany, which may have considerable implications for targeting and demonstrates that there is indeed an urgent need for multidimensional poverty measures that complement the traditional AROPR.

Differences in the Patterns of in-work Poverty in Germany and the UK

ABSTRACTThis study analyses differences in individual-level working poverty determinants between Germany and the UK. These differences are linked to institutional patterns at the country level. Here, we observe that the two countries differ especially in bargaining centralisation, employment protection legislation and family policy. At the same time, the levels of decommodification and labour market regulation are no longer core differences in the institutional settings of Germany and the UK, which is interpreted as a consequence of Germany's departure from a traditional conservative regime since the mid-1990s. Adopting economic and sociological approaches, we explain how Germany's closed employment system channels the effects of deregulation policies to the periphery of the labour market. Additionally, we argue that open employment relationships that dominate in the UK put specifically older employees at risk. Finally, we identify country-specific differences in the economic dependency of women, resulting from a stronger male breadwinner orientation of family policy in Germany. Accordingly, multivariate analyses based on harmonised versions of the British Household Panel Study (2002–2005) and the Socio-Economic Panel Study (2003–2006) reveal that entrants and re-entrants to the labour market, women and – unexpectedly – low-educated persons are particularly affected by in-work poverty in Germany; whereas older workers are more likely to face precarious economic conditions in the UK.