Poverty and social exclusion of the elderly AIM Work Package 8

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Poverty and social exclusion of the elderlyAIM
Work Package 8

• Cok Vrooman
• WP 8.1 Social exclusion of the elderly a
  comparative study of EU Member States,
• G. Jehoel-Gijsbers C. Vrooman (2008) Enepri
  Research Report No. 57
• WP 8.2 Poor elderly in the EUs New Member
  States, J.C. Vrooman (ed.), forthcoming
• www.enepri.org, www.ceps.eu

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Components of Work Package 8

• WP 8.1 Social exclusion (EU-25) among the
  elderly (55), cross- comparative, 2005 ?
  Jehoel-Gijsbers Vrooman (SCP)
• WP 8.2 Poverty (NMS) among the elderly (55),
  ca.1990-2005
• a) cross comparative analysis 2005 Stropnik
  Kumpf (IER)
• b) in-depth country studies of trends Estonia,
  Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia
  (CASE, TARKI, BIER, IER)
• c) conclusions and policy implications (SCP)
• ? single publication (forthcoming)
• Presentations
• Cok Vrooman 1, 2b/c
• Nada Stropnik 2a

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Research issues WP8.1(social exclusion)

• 1 Differences in social exclusion of the elderly
  among countries
• 2 Differences between old and young within
  countries
• 3 Individual risk factors for social exclusion of
  the elderly
• 4 Country traits determining social exclusion of
  the elderly

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Methodology

• Application of conceptual model and methodology
  developed for the Netherlands (Jehoel-Gijsbers,
  2004 Jehoel-Gijsbers Vrooman, 2007) to
  EU Member States
• Secondary analysis of existing comparative data
  (EU-SILC 2005 ESS 2002) ? more limited
  measurement of social exclusion than in original
  dedicated Dutch dataset
• Basic premise social exclusion ? poverty

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Social exclusion

• Social exclusion
• - Direct definition, no proxy variables/risk
  factors (income, education, unemployment )
• - Multidimensional concept, with 4 theoretical
  dimensions
• a) material deprivation (actual hardship)
• b) inadequate access to social rights (mainly
  services)
• c) insufficient social participation
• d) insufficient cultural/normative integration
• a, b economic or structural exclusion
  (Anglo-Saxon tradition)
• c, d socio-cultural exclusion (mainly French
  tradition)

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Social exclusion indicator variables

• Material deprivation
• Deficiencies in relation to basic needs and
  material goods problematic debts payment
  arrears (a.o. housing costs) lifestyle
  deprivation.
• Lack of social rights
• Waiting lists, financial impediments and other
  obstacles to
• health care, education, housing, legal aid,
  social services, debt assistance, employment
  agencies, social security, commercial services
  (banking and insurance) insufficient safety.
• Insufficient social integration
• Low participation in formal and informal social
  networks, including leisure activities
  inadequate social support social isolation.
• Insufficient normative integration
• Weak work ethic abuse of the social security
  system delinquent behaviour deviating views on
  the rights and duties of men and women no active
  citizenship in local neighbourhood and society at
  large.

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Social exclusion measurement model(Overals)
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Social exclusion explanatory model

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Social exclusion in the EU material deprivation
(55)
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Social exclusion in the EU limited access to
social rights (55)
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Social exclusion in the EU low social
participation (55)
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Social exclusion in the EU combined index (55)
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Individual risk factors (I)

• Between age groups, elderly are
• less materially deprived than younger cohorts
• (all countries)
• more often lacking in social rights in Eastern en
  Southern EU member states but in most other
  countries elderly are better off in this respect
• more socially isolated than younger cohorts
• (all countries)

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Individual risk factors (II)

• Within the age group 55,
• health is the dominant risk factor for social
  exclusion in
• each country
• income level especially important for material
  deprivation
• Results country-specific logistic regression
  analyses

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Some regional differences(NUTS-1 level)
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Multilevel analysescountry traits and
economic-structural exclusion
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Conclusions WP 8.1

• The degree of social exclusion among the elderly
  clearly differs between EU member states
• NMS (Baltic, Poland) gt Mediterranean gt
• ContinentalAnglo-Saxon gt NordicNL
• Elderly are less materially deprived but more
  socially isolated than younger cohorts in all
  Member States in NMS/Mediterranean elderly also
  lack more often in terms of social rights
• Health is the best predictor of social exclusion
  among the elderly at the individual level
• Country differences in SE are partly related to
  varying institutional arrangements, but
  indirectly (through income inequality best
  predictor at country level)

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Research issues WP8.2(poverty in NMS)

• 1 Current level of income/degree of poverty of
  the elderly (55) in the NMS that entered EU
  since 2004
• 2 Relation with institutional, demographic and
  socio-economic context
• Specific problems of marginal elderly groups in
  the NMS

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WP8.2 design

1. Cross-comparative analysis EU-SILC 2005
2. In-depth country chapters on Estonia, Hungary,
   Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia trends since
   early 1990s, mainly based on national household
   budget surveys
3. No forecasting/modeling of adequacy and
   sustainability, but some policy implications

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WP 8.2 some general conclusions

• Currently elderly in NMS are not worse off than
  non-elderly in terms of absolute/relative poverty
  and income satisfaction
• Yet elderly in the NMS are worse off than the
  elderly in OMS according to most indicators
• And the future income position of the elderly can
  be expected to be on the decline in most NMS, due
  to
• - implementation effect of new pension formulae
• - the impact of ageing and external migration
• - after-effects of the transition period of the
  1990s (high unemployment, low accrual of pension
  rights)
• - decline of the extended family (less economies
  of scale)