IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v10y2021i6p224-d572804.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Poverty: Does the Break-Up of Families Matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Alessandra Antonelli

    (Department of Legal and Economic Studies, Faculty of Law, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Valeria De Bonis

    (Department of Legal and Economic Studies, Faculty of Law, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the relationship between family structure and poverty for European countries using Eurostat and OECD data. In particular, we focus on the change in living arrangements, with the traditional type of household—couple with children—being partially replaced by single and extended families. The results of our econometric analysis show that the decline in the traditional family type affects individual poverty: the marriage rate and the share of couples, both with and without children, are inversely related to poverty; the divorce rate, the shares of extended families and singles with children are, instead, positively related to poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Alessandra Antonelli & Valeria De Bonis, 2021. "Economic Poverty: Does the Break-Up of Families Matter?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:6:p:224-:d:572804
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/6/224/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/6/224/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stacey H. Chen & Yen-Chien Chen & Jin-Tan Liu, 2019. "The Impact of Family Composition on Educational Achievement," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(1), pages 122-170.
    2. Maria Iacovou & Alexandra J. Skew, 2011. "Household composition across the new Europe: Where do the new Member States fit in?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(14), pages 465-490.
    3. Verónica Amarante & Martín Brun, 2018. "Cash Transfers in Latin America: Effects on Poverty and Redistribution," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2018), pages 1-31, November.
    4. Eleni Karagiannaki, 2017. "The empirical relationship between income poverty and income inequality in rich and middle income countries," CASE Papers /206, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    5. Hofmarcher, Thomas, 2021. "The effect of education on poverty: A European perspective," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    6. Tess Penne & Tine Hufkens & Tim Goedeme & Berenice M L Storms, 2018. "To what extent do welfare states compensate for the cost of children? A hypothetical household approach to policy evaluations," JRC Working Papers on Taxation & Structural Reforms 2018-08, Joint Research Centre.
    7. Atkinson, A B, 1992. "Measuring Poverty and Differences in Family Composition," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 59(233), pages 1-16, February.
    8. Robert Schoen & Nancy Landale & Kimberly Daniels, 2007. "Family transitions in Young Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(4), pages 807-820, November.
    9. Peter Saunders, 2002. "The Director and Indirect Effects of Unemployment on Poverty and Inequality," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 5(4), pages 507-530, December.
    10. Maria Giovanna Monti & Simone Pellegrino & Achille Vernizzi, 2015. "On Measuring Inequity in Taxation Among Groups of Income Units," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(1), pages 43-58, March.
    11. Andrew Goudie & Paul Ladd, 1999. "Economic growth, poverty and inequality," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(2), pages 177-195.
    12. Karagiannaki, Eleni, 2017. "The empirical relationship between income poverty and income inequality in rich and middle income countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86917, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Olivier Thévenon & Thomas Manfredi & Yajna Govind & Ilya Klauzner, 2018. "Child poverty in the OECD: Trends, determinants and policies to tackle it," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 218, OECD Publishing.
    14. Meenakshi, J. V. & Ray, Ranjan, 2002. "Impact of household size and family composition on poverty in rural India," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 539-559, October.
    15. Burtless, Gary, 1999. "Effects of growing wage disparities and changing family composition on the U.S. income distribution," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(4-6), pages 853-865, April.
    16. Åslund, Olof & Grönqvist, Hans, 2010. "Family size and child outcomes: Is there really no trade-off?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 130-139, January.
    17. LaFave, Daniel & Thomas, Duncan, 2017. "Extended families and child well-being," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 52-65.
    18. Kakwani, Nanak, 1993. "Poverty and Economic Growth with Application to Cote d'Ivoire," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 39(2), pages 121-139, June.
    19. Bruce Bradbury & Markus Jantti, 1999. "Child Poverty across Industrialized Nations," Papers iopeps99/70, Innocenti Occasional Papers, Economic Policy Series.
    20. Barham, Vicky & Boadway, Robin & Marchand, Maurice & Pestieau, Pierre, 1995. "Education and the poverty trap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1257-1275, August.
    21. Barham, Vicky & Boadway, Robin & Marchand, Maurice & Pestieau, Pierre, 1995. "Education and the poverty trap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1257-1275, August.
    22. Sen, Amartya K, 1976. "Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(2), pages 219-231, March.
    23. Lorenzo Cappellari & Stephen P. Jemkins, 2002. "Who Stays Poor? Who Becomes Poor? Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(478), pages 60-67, March.
    24. Arnstein Aassve & Maria A. Davia & Maria Iacovou & Stefano Mazzuco, 2007. "Does Leaving Home Make You Poor? Evidence from 13 European Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 315-338, October.
    25. Chiara Mussida & Maria Laura Parisi, 2020. "Risk of poverty in Southern Europe," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 294-315, May.
    26. Anna Aizer & Shari Eli & Joseph Ferrie & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2016. "The Long-Run Impact of Cash Transfers to Poor Families," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 935-971, April.
    27. Alina Jędrzejczak & Dorota Pekasiewicz, 2020. "Changes in Income Distribution for Different Family Types in Poland," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 26(2), pages 135-146, May.
    28. Dollar, David & Kleineberg, Tatjana & Kraay, Aart, 2016. "Growth still is good for the poor," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 68-85.
    29. Anna, Petrenko, 2016. "Мaркування готової продукції як складова частина інформаційного забезпечення маркетингової діяльності підприємств овочепродуктового підкомплексу," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 2(1), March.
    30. Anders Björklund & Donna Ginther & Marianne Sundström, 2007. "Family structure and child outcomes in the USA and Sweden," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 20(1), pages 183-201, February.
    31. Iacovou, Maria, 2001. "Family composition and children’s educational outcomes," ISER Working Paper Series 2001-12, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    32. Marla Cancian & Deborah Reed, "undated". "Family Structure, Childbearing, and Parental Employment: Implications for the Level and Trend in Poverty," Mathematica Policy Research Reports c54934d6dfb5438485437cf48, Mathematica Policy Research.
    33. Ferreira, Francisco H.G. & Leite, Phillippe G. & Ravallion, Martin, 2010. "Poverty reduction without economic growth?: Explaining Brazil's poverty dynamics, 1985-2004," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 20-36, September.
    34. Nanak Kakwani, 1993. "Poverty And Economic Growth With Application To Côte D'Ivoire," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 39(2), pages 121-139, June.
    35. Arnstein Aassve & Maria Iacovou & Letizia Mencarini, 2006. "Youth poverty and transition to adulthood in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 15(2), pages 21-50.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Salustri & Valeria De Bonis & Maria Alessandra Antonelli & Angelo Castaldo, 2023. "Poverty and social exclusion: which relationship with non-traditional household models?," Public Finance Research Papers 58, Istituto di Economia e Finanza, DSGE, Sapienza University of Rome.
    2. Jabulile Lindiwe Makhalima, 2022. "An Analysis of Poverty in Households Headed by Millennials in South Africa," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(6), pages 38-44, November.
    3. Ana Maria Nicoriciu & Mark Elliot, 2023. "Families of children with disabilities: income poverty, material deprivation, and unpaid care in the UK," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrea Salustri & Valeria De Bonis & Maria Alessandra Antonelli & Angelo Castaldo, 2023. "Poverty and social exclusion: which relationship with non-traditional household models?," Public Finance Research Papers 58, Istituto di Economia e Finanza, DSGE, Sapienza University of Rome.
    2. Gaurav Datt & Martin Ravallion & Rinku Murgai, 2020. "Poverty and Growth in India over Six Decades," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(1), pages 4-27, January.
    3. Sabina Alkire & Suman Seth, 2015. "Identifying destitution through linked subsets of multidimensionally poor: An ordinal approach," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-151, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. ALi Abdel Gadir Ali, "undated". "Poverty in the Arab Region: A Selective Review," API-Working Paper Series 0402, Arab Planning Institute - Kuwait, Information Center.
    5. Sara Ayllón, 2009. "Modelling State Dependence and Feedback Effects between Poverty, Employment and Parental Home Emancipation among European Youth," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 235, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Cimpoeru Smaranda, 2020. "What Triggers Poverty of Young Nationals and Young Migrants? A Comparative Macroeconomic Approach," Journal of Social and Economic Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 9(2), pages 13-29, December.
    7. Dorothée Boccanfuso & Samuel Tambi Kaboré, 2004. "Croissance, inégalité et pauvreté dans les années quatre-vingt-dix au Burkina Faso et au Sénégal," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 12(2), pages 9-35.
    8. Edgar J. Wilson & Kankesu Jayanthakumaran & Reetu Verma, 2022. "Urban poverty, growth, and inequality: A needed paradigm shift?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 941-961, May.
    9. Ferreira, Francisco H.G. & Ravallion, Martin, 2008. "Global poverty and inequality : a review of the evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4623, The World Bank.
    10. Sabina Alkire & Suman Seth, 2015. "Identifying destitution through linked subsets of multidimensionally poor: An ordinal approach," WIDER Working Paper Series 151, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Ibrahima Sy, 2014. "La pauvreté monétaire au Sénégal entre 2002–2006: Disparités régionales et effets de décomposition de la pauvreté," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 26(2), pages 384-396, June.
    12. Florent Bresson, 2022. "Comparing Poverty Variations: A Robustness Assessment of the MDGs’ Achievements with Respect to Poverty Alleviation," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(4), pages 1007-1031, December.
    13. Asongu, Simplice A. & Nwachukwu, Jacinta C., 2017. "Quality of Growth Empirics: Comparative gaps, benchmarking and policy syndromes," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 861-882.
    14. Aiyemo, Babatunde, 2020. "Recessions and the vulnerable," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    15. Antonella Biscione & Dorothée Boccanfuso & Raul Caruso, 2020. "A Hypothesis on Poverty Change in Albania (2007-2016)," Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, Vita e Pensiero, Pubblicazioni dell'Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, vol. 128(3), pages 301-320.
    16. Gustavo A. Marrero & Angel S. Marrero-Llinares & Luis Servén, 2022. "Poverty Convergence Clubs," Working Papers 619, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    17. Raul Caruso & Antonella Biscione, 2020. "Static and Dynamic Analysis of Poverty in Albania (2007-2016)," Working Papers 1007, European Centre of Peace Science, Integration and Cooperation (CESPIC), Catholic University 'Our Lady of Good Counsel'.
    18. Ouyang, Yusi & Shimeles, Abebe & Thorbecke, Erik, 2019. "Revisiting cross-country poverty convergence in the developing world with a special focus on Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 13-28.
    19. Chand,S.K., 2001. "Poverty alleviation as a central objective of developing country macroeconomic policy," Memorandum 15/2001, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    20. Ran Abramitzky & Roy Mill & Santiago Pérez, 2020. "Linking individuals across historical sources: A fully automated approach," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 94-111, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:6:p:224-:d:572804. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.