Der Pyrrhussieg des Egalitarismus. Einkommensungleichheiten in Europa

This article discusses the evolution of poverty and income inequality in Europe before and during the eurozone crisis. Based on a European micro data set (EU-SILC), the substantial stability of income inequality at the national and European level is demonstrated and explained by the continuing impact of the egalitarian institutions of the postwar period (particularly the welfare state, trade unions, education and industrial work), by a higher female employment rate and by developments in southern and eastern Europe in opposite directions: While the economic and social convergence of eastern and western European countries continues, between-nation inequalities are increasing particularly between the countries of northern and southern Europe. Also the institutional rigidities of the Economic and Monetary Union contribute not only to largely stable patterns of income inequality in Europe, but also to mass unemployment in the south of Europe. In sum, cross-border conditions and transnational perceptions of living situations are becoming increasingly central to an understanding of inequality in Europe.