Identifying the effects of country and of social policy regime on individual outcomes, Social Europe will provide new insights for social scientists, especially those involved in European comparative research, or whose interests lie in the fields of family, employment, income or social exclusion.
By examining poverty through local regional averages instead of national benchmarks, this report reveals significant variations in poverty patterns across Europe. Utilizing new EU-wide data, it highlights that poverty is predominantly concentrated in Portugal, southwestern Spain, southern Italy, and Greece. The research challenges the traditional reliance on national poverty lines for international comparisons, suggesting that local measures may provide a more accurate depiction of social exclusion. These findings are crucial for understanding poverty's spatial distribution and shaping effective anti-poverty policies.
This special edition of „Schmollers Jahrbuch“ highlights the value of comparative European studies. As Melvin Kohn notes, cross-national research is crucial for validating findings from single-nation studies and for prompting revisions in interpretations based on cross-national differences. Such comparisons are significant for various stakeholders in Europe: - EU institutions benefit from a detailed overview of social and economic variations across countries and groups. - National policymakers gain insights into how local social and economic issues are mirrored in other European nations. - Social scientists can better understand change processes and outcomes, particularly when influences in one country do not apply universally. - Analysts of social policy seek general conclusions regarding government impacts on individuals' lives across Europe. The approaches to cross-country research vary widely, from summary macro-data comparisons to in-depth studies of policy effects in a few countries. The papers in this compilation focus on micro-level data from individuals and households across most EU countries, primarily utilizing the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) and contributed mainly by members of the European Panel Analysis Group (EPAG).