This policy brief addresses the simultaneity of self-employment and dependency of live-in carers in Austria based on empirical data collected in the frame of the JUSTMIG project.

The policy brief summarises the key findings of a related study funded by the ÖNB-Jubiläumsfonds (project number 18785). Analysis of EU-SILC data showed that at-risk-of-poverty and material deprivation of children increased during the pandemic, and that the effects intensified for traditionally vulnerable children. However, tax-benefit microsimulation (model EUROMOD) proved that COVID-19-induced policies and automatic stabilisers were partly effective in preventing a steeper increase in child poverty. Analysis of hypothetical reforms revealed that a transfer to children in low-income families would have been most cost-effective in preventing it further, pointing to a characteristic trade-off in policy design between means-tested and universal benefits.

This policy brief summarises the findings from the project Informal Care and Employment in Upper Austria and discusses possible future support measures for informal carers in employment.

This policy brief examines child poverty trends and the expansion of social protection programs in Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It concludes with recommendations for strengthening these interventions to effectively address child poverty, especially in times of crisis.

This policy brief presents key findings of the mutual learning activities implemented by the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research together with its Bridge Building (BB) countries for the period 2021-2024 and shares insights on participants’ lessons learnt. It also includes a reflection on the methodological challenges faced by the European Centre as facilitator of the activities and results of the project evaluation.