This book summarizes four years of research on social inclusion and income distribution across the European Union carried out in the framework of the European Observatory on the Social Situation and Demography, which has been established by the Directorate–General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission. It gives an overview of the comparative information that is available for the EU Member States on income distribution, poverty and its causes, access to benefits and social services and material deprivation. It also offers a good insight into the potential of European surveys and notably the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the main survey used for the analysis presented in this publication.
Over four years, the consortium — consisting of Applica in Brussels (leader), the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research in Vienna, ISER at the University of Essex in the UK and TÁRKI Social Research Institute in Budapest — analysed various issues relating to income distribution and poverty, including the effect on inequalities of aspects other than income, such as benefits in kind, or social services more generally, or the need to cover essential costs like housing.
