Title: Working poor, labour market and social protection in the EU: a comparative perspective

Authors: Yannis Dafermos; Christos Papatheodorou

Addresses: Labour Institute, Greek General Confederation of Labour, 71A Emmanouil Benaki str., 10681, Athens, Greece; Department of Economics, University of Athens, 14 Evripidou str., 10559, Athens, Greece. ' Department of Social Administration, Democritus University of Thrace, 1 P. Tsaldrari str., 69100, Komotini, Greece; Labour Institute, Greek General Confederation of Labour, 71A Emmanouil Benaki str., 10681, Athens, Greece

Abstract: This paper offers some crucial insights into the incidence and determinants of in-work poverty in the EU. It shows that in-work poverty plays a principal role in the determination of overall poverty, and it explores the impact of the social protection system and labour market conditions on the incidence of in-work poverty. The comparative analysis illustrates that higher flexibility in the labour market may have an unfavourable impact on in-work poverty. It also brings to the fore the prominent role of the social protection system in the alleviation of poverty among the working population.

Keywords: in-work poverty; labour market conditions; social protection; welfare regimes; European Union; working poor; labour flexibility.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2012.047208

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2012 Vol.6 No.1/2, pp.71 - 88

Published online: 17 Apr 2015 *

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