Working Poor: Low-paid Earners or Workers living in Poor Households? Evidence Before and After the Crisis in Italy

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Marianna Filandri, Emanuela Struffolino
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/131 Language Italian
Pages 16 P. 190-205 File size 813 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2013-131012
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Since the Eighties, the definition of working poor it has been used to study, on the one hand, the population of low paid workers and, on the other hand, earners who receive a (relatively) good salary but live in poor households. However, few studies have been conducted on the intersection of the two competing definitions. The aim of the paper is twofold. In order to provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between the individual and the familiar levels, firstly we wonder if the different definitions identify distinct subpopulation of workers at risk of poverty. Then we consider weather and to what extent the role of individual and familiar variables determining the likelihood to be a working poor according to the diverging definitions has changed after the crisis of 2008. The analysis on Eu-Silc cross-sectional data (European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, waves from 2005 to 2010) reveal that pointing out alternatively the individual level rather than the familiar one lead to distinguish heterogeneous subpopulations exposed to distinct risk of poverty. However, the phenomenon seems to have structural features that endure despite the crisis.

Keywords: Working poor, household poverty, low wage, labour market, crisis, Eu-Silc

  1. Airio I. (2010), In-Work Poverty and Unemployment in Finland: Dual Labour Market or Reserve Workers?, Luxembourg: ISSA.
  2. Allègre G. (2008), Working Poor in the EU: an Exploratory Comparative Analysis, Document de Travail - OFCE.
  3. Anastasia B. (2009), “Salari e stipendi in Veneto 2002-2004. Esplorazioni sui link tra due basi dati: ‘Giove’ e ‘Saper’”, in I Tartufi, 34.
  4. Andreß H.J. e Lohmann H. (2008), Introduction: the Working Poor in Europe in Andreß
  5. H.J. e Lohmann H. (a cura di), The Working Poor in Europe: Employment, Poverty and Globalisation, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 1-16.
  6. Atkinson A., Cantillon B., Marlier E. e Nolan B. (2002), Social indicators: the EU and social inclusion, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  7. Bane M.J. e Ellwood D.T. (1991), “Is American Business Working for the Poor?”, in Harvard Business Review, 69, 5: 58-66.
  8. Bardone L. e Guio A.C. (2005), In-Work Poverty. New Commonly Agreed Indicators at the EU Level, Eurostat - Statistics in focus, Population and Social ConditionsStatistics in focus, Population and Social Conditions.
  9. Bartus T. (2005), “Estimation of Marginal Effects Using Margeff”, in Stata
  10. Journal, 5, 3: 1-23.
  11. Biolcati Rinaldi F. e Podestà F. (2008), Two Countries in One: the Working Poor in Italy, in Andreß H.J. e Lohmann H. (a cura di), The Working Poor in Europe: Employment, Poverty and Globalisation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 203-26.
  12. Brandolini A., Rosolia A. e Torrini R. (2011), “The Distribution of Employees’ Labour Earnings in the European Union: Data, Concepts and First Results”, in ECINEQ, 198.
  13. Burkhauser R.V., Couch K.A. e Glenn A.J. (1995), “Public Policies for the Working Poor: the Earned Income Tax Credit Versus Minimum Wage Legislation”, in Institute for Reserach on Poverty Working Paper Series, 1074-95.
  14. Cappellari L. (2002), “Do the ‘Working Poor’ Stay Poor? An Analysis of Low Pay Transitions in Italy”, in Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 64, 2: 87-110.
  15. Cappellari L. e Jenkins S.P. (2002), “Who Stays Poor? Who Becomes Poor? Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey”, in The Economic Journal, 112, 478: 60-7, DOI: 10.1111/1468-0297.00028
  16. Cies (2010), Rapporto sulle politiche contro la povertà e l’esclusione sociale, Roma: Rapporto annuale.
  17. Crettaz E. e Bonoli G. (2011), Worlds of Working Poverty: National Variations in Mechanisms, in Fraser N., Gutiérrez R. e Peña-Casas R. (a cura di), Working Poverty in Europe. A Comparative Approach, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  18. Eurostat (2010), In-Work Poverty in EU, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
  19. Fraser N., Gutiérrez R. e Peña-Casas R., a cura di (2011), Working Poverty in Europe. A Comparative Approach, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  20. García Espejo M.I. e Ibáñez Pascual M. (2007), “Los trabajadores pobres y los bajos salarios en España: un análisis de los factores familiares y laborales asociados a las distintas situaciones de pobreza”, in Empiria: Revista de metodología de ciencias sociales, 1441-67.
  21. Gardiner K. e Millar J. (2006), “How Low-paid Employees Avoid Poverty: an Analysis by Family Type and Household Structure”, in Journal of Social Policy, 35, 3: 351-69, DOI: 10.1017/S0047279406009822
  22. Glaude M. (1998), La pauvreté, sa mesure et son évolution’ in Pauvreté et exclusion, Conseil d’Analyse Economique, Paris: La Documentation Française, Rapports du CAE.
  23. Kenway P. (2008), Addressing In-work Poverty, New York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
  24. Klein B.W. e Rones P.L. (1989), “A Profile of the Working Poor”, in Monthly Labour Review, 1123-13.
  25. Leisering L. e Leibfried S. (2001), Time and Poverty in Western Welfare. United Germany in Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  26. Lohmann H. (2008), The Working Poor in European Welfare States: Empirical Evidence from a Multilevel Perspective, cura di), The Working Poor in Europe: Employment, Poverty and Globalisation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 47-76.
  27. Lohmann H. e Marx I. (2008), The Different Faces of In-Work Poverty Across Welfare State Regimes, in Andreß H.J. e Lohmann H. (a cura di), The Working Poor in Europe: Employment, Poverty and Globalisation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 17-46.
  28. Lucifora C. (1998), Working Poor? An analysis of Low-Wage Employment in Italy, in Asplund R., Sloane P.J. e Theodossiou I. (a cura di), Low Pay and Earnings Mobility in Europe, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 185-208.
  29. Lucifora C., McKnight A. e W.S. (2005), “Low-wage Employment in Europe: a Review of the Evidence”, in Socio-economic Review, 3, 2: 259-92.
  30. Maitre B., Nolan B. e Whelan C.T. (2011), “Low-Pay, In-Work Poverty and Economic Vulnerability: a Comparative Analysis using Eu-Silc”, in The Manchester School, 80, 1: 99-116, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9957.2011.02230.x
  31. Marlier E. e Ponthieux S. (2000), Low-wage Employees in EU Countries. Statistics in Focus: Population and social conditions, Luxembourg: Eurostat.
  32. Marx I. e Verbist G. (2008), Combating In-Work Poverty in Europe: the Policy Options Assessed, in Andreß H.J. e Lohmann H. (a cura di), The Working Poor in Europe: Employment, Poverty and Globalisation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 273-92.
  33. Meo A. (2012) “I working poor Una rassegna degli studi sociologici”, in La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, 2.
  34. Nolan B. e Marx I. (2000), Low Pay and Household Poverty, in Gregory M., Salverda W. e Bazen S. (a cura di), Labour Market Inequalities: Problems and Policies of Low-Wage Employment in International Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  35. Peña-Casas R. e Latta M. (2004), Working poor in the European Union, Denmark: Eurofound.
  36. Rosolia A. e Torrini R. (2006), “The Generation Gap: an Analysis of the Decline in the Relative Earnings of Young Male Workers in Italy”, in Bank of Italy.
  37. Rowntree B.S. (2000), Poverty: A Study of Town Life, Bristol: Policy Press.
  38. Saraceno C., a cura di (2002), Social Assistance Dynamics in Europe: National and Local Poverty Regimes, Bristol: Policy Press.
  39. Sgritta G.B. (2011), “Nuovi poveri, vecchie povertà”, in La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, 233-59.
  40. Strengmann-Kuhn W. (2005), Working poor in Europe: a partial basic income for workers?, in Standing G. (a cura di), Promoting Income Security as a Right: Europe and North America, London: Anthem Press.
  41. Wooldridge J.M. (2002), Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, Cambridge and London: MIT Press.

  • Proposta per una valutazione di efficacia delle politiche di reinserimento lavorativo Roberto De Vincenzi, in RIV Rassegna Italiana di Valutazione 56/2014 pp.280
    DOI: 10.3280/RIV2013-056013
  • Povertà e ricchezza tra le famiglie di lavoratori in Italia: trent'anni di svantaggio cumulativo Marianna Filandri, Emanuela Struffolino, in SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO 161/2021 pp.97
    DOI: 10.3280/SL2021-161006
  • Being Working Poor or Feeling Working Poor? The Role of Work Intensity and Job Stability for Subjective Poverty Marianna Filandri, Silvia Pasqua, Emanuela Struffolino, in Social Indicators Research /2020 pp.781
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-019-02174-0
  • Family demographic processes and in-work poverty: A systematic review Antonino Polizzi, Emanuela Struffolino, Zachary Van Winkle, in Advances in Life Course Research 100462/2022 pp.100462
    DOI: 10.1016/j.alcr.2022.100462
  • Lavoratori o lavoratrici povere? Disuguaglianze di genere nel mercato del lavoro in Europa Marianna Filandri, Emanuela Struffolino, in SOCIOLOGIA E RICERCA SOCIALE 118/2019 pp.67
    DOI: 10.3280/SR2018-117004
  • Care economy e strategie tardo-liberali. I professionisti della cura nella municipalità 3 di Napoli Stefania Ferraro, in SOCIOLOGIA DELLA COMUNICAZIONE 48/2014 pp.76
    DOI: 10.3280/SC2014-048008
  • Individual and household in-work poverty in Europe: understanding the role of labor market characteristics Marianna Filandri, Emanuela Struffolino, in European Societies /2019 pp.130
    DOI: 10.1080/14616696.2018.1536800
  • Lavoratori e famiglie straniere in Italia negli anni della crisi: profili di rischio e divisione di genere del lavoro Eugenia De Rosa, Elisa Marzilli, in MONDI MIGRANTI 3/2017 pp.131
    DOI: 10.3280/MM2016-003009
  • La configurazione spaziale delle politiche sociali in alcune aree del disagio napoletano Stefania Ferraro, in SOCIOLOGIA URBANA E RURALE 111/2017 pp.117
    DOI: 10.3280/SUR2016-111008

Marianna Filandri, Emanuela Struffolino, Working poor: lavoratori con basso salario o occupati che vivono in famiglie povere? Un’analisi del fenomeno in Italia prima e dopo la crisi in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 131/2013, pp 190-205, DOI: 10.3280/SL2013-131012