L'indicateur EU2020 de suivi de la pauvreté et de l'exclusion: une analyse critique

The reduction of poverty and social exclusion is one of the targets of the European Union's 2020 strategy. The appropriateness and success of such a policy require the choice of relevant indicators that not only highlight poverty gaps between countries but also identify the groups of individuals in each country that need particular attention from social policies. The target retained in the European strategy combines three criteria: people living in households below the monetary poverty threshold, poor people “in terms of standard of living” who live in a situation of severe material deprivation, and those who live in households with very low or zero work intensity. We first show that neither the combination nor the intersection of these three criteria produces an adequate measure of the fight against poverty, or an objective for it. We therefore propose an alternative concept, that of “consistent poverty”, which targets people who simultaneously live below the monetary poverty threshold and above a certain level of material deprivation. The special material deprivation module of the EU-SILC 2009 database allows us to examine two versions of this notion of deprivation: the measurement of “severe” deprivation currently used by the European Union, which adopts a threshold with four items, and an alternative measure of “elementary” material deprivation with a three-item threshold. The intersection between our three-item elementary deprivation criterion and the monetary poverty criterion produces more satisfactory results than those obtained by the European Union approach, in terms of both coherency and profile of the population identified.

Ireland after Rapid Immigration:The consequences of neglect

Essay review of:
Immigration and Schooling in the Republic of Ireland: Making a Difference?, by Dympna Devine . Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2012. 186pp. $24.95 paper. ISBN: 9780719081026.
Immigration and Social Cohesion in the Republic of Ireland, by Bryan Fanning . Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2011. 202pp. $24.95 paper. ISBN: 9780719084799.
Understanding Immigration in Ireland: State, Capital and Labour in a Global Age, by Steven Loyal . Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2011. 283pp. $24.95 paper. ISBN: 9780719078316.

Immigration and the demand for life insurance: evidence from Canada, 1911

This article analyses the determinants of the demand for life insurance using sample data from the 1911 Census of Canada. We find that immigrants' demand for life insurance was on average around 13 percentage points lower than that of native-born Canadians, with the effect varying by province of settlement. We interpret these findings as evidence suggesting a greater appetite for risk among self-selecting immigrants relative to native-born Canadians. We also uncover evidence of a slow assimilation of immigrants in terms of life insurance holdings, slower indeed than the process of assimilation in terms of earnings.

Legal Responses to Racism: Innovation and Retrenchment in Ireland

Following decades in which the absence of immigration allowed Governments to claim there was no problem of racism in Ireland, the 1990s saw Ireland adopt new equality measures to combat racism. Whilst these innovations are important and even innovative, paradoxically they are accompanied by policy initiatives which indicate the equality agenda is still very much a controversial one and possibly even in retreat. More radical reforms are needed than merely tinkering with the Equality laws.

Credit and community: working class debt in the UK since 1880

This book examines credit in working class communities since 1880, focusing on forms of borrowing that were dependent on personal relationships and social networks. It provides an extended historical discussion of credit unions, legal and illegal moneylenders (loan sharks), and looks at the concept of ‘financial exclusion’. Initially, the book focuses on the history of tallymen, check traders, and their eventual movement into moneylending following the loss of their more affluent customers, due to increased spending power and an increasingly liberalized credit market. They also faced growing competition from mail order companies operating through networks of female agents, whose success owed much to the reciprocal cultural and economic conventions that lay at the heart of traditional working class credit relationships. Discussion of these forms of credit is related to theoretical debates about cultural aspects of credit exchange that ensured the continuing success of such forms of lending, despite persistent controversies about their use. The book contrasts commercial forms of credit with formal and informal co-operative alternatives, such as the mutuality clubs operated by co-operative retailers and credit unions. It charts the impact of post-war immigration upon credit patterns, particularly in relation to the migrant (Irish and Caribbean) origins of many credit unions and explains the relative lack of success of the credit union movement. The book contributes to anti-debt debates by exploring the historical difficulties of developing legislation in relation to the millions of borrowers who have patronized what has come to be termed the sub-prime sector.

Recognising Ecological Contexts of Diverse Ethnic Groups: Experiences of British-Indian Adult Children of Divorce

The process of divorce as a family change process including outcomes and consequences has received considerable research attention in the western context. However, the experience of divorce for children within specific ethnic contexts has been rather limited leading to poor planning and practice provision with diverse families. By drawing upon an empirical qualitative study of British Indian adult children, this paper will make a case for recognising diverse needs within specific historical, socio-cultural and developmental contexts. There is a need to acknowledge these contexts in policy design to establish practice that is flexible, accessible and relevant to the needs of different and diverse communities. Results indicate that areas of impact may be similar to those identified by other studies within the literature review. However, the experiences, expressions, implications and larger consequences of impact are located within specific socio-cultural contexts. In support of this, major findings of the study (outlined below) will be discussed - Context: patriarchy, stigma, immigration; Impact: economic, social, emotional, career/education, physical; Coping: psychological strategies, physical strategies, social strategies, sources of support.

Escalators, Elevators and Travelators: The Occupational Mobility of Migrants to South-East England

In a meritocratic society it is assumed that the chance of achieving occupational mobility (OM) is not strongly influenced by one's starting position in terms of class or ethnicity. This paper seeks to explain the drivers of the high levels of OM achieved by one ethnically defined group: the Scots. Educational attainment is shown to be particularly important. A second level of interest is the changing role of internal migrants to a global city in the face of increased international skilled immigration. We investigate whether there is any evidence that the OM of internal migrants is being hindered as a result. The evidence points instead to immobile local labour being more disadvantaged occupationally than mobile labour from peripheral regions of the state.