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The Great Wake-Up Call? Social Citizenship and Minimum Income Provisions in Europe in Times of Crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2014

SARAH MARCHAL ,
IVE MARX  and
NATASCHA VAN MECHELEN
SARAH MARCHAL
Affiliation:
Ph.D. Fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and University of Antwerp, Sint Jacobsstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium email: [email protected]
IVE MARX
Affiliation:
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn and University of Antwerp, Sint Jacobstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium email: [email protected]
NATASCHA VAN MECHELEN
Affiliation:
University of Antwerp, Sint Jacobsstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium email: [email protected]
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Abstract

When the 2008 crisis hit, social safety nets in Europe were not in the best of shape. This article examines what, if anything, governments did to adjust minimum income protection after two decades of relative neglect. In view of the hardship brought on by the crisis, this question is of importance in itself. In addition, there is a long-standing interest in the role crises play in re-shaping policies, possibly in a radical way. Building on purpose-collected data for twenty-four European countries, this article shows that many countries introduced supportive measures during the first years of the crisis, particularly in the form of additional benefit increases and more generous child benefits. Behavioural requirements imposed on minimum income recipients were not relaxed but in some countries activation efforts were intensified. Although the evidence shows that the crisis did trigger a response, there is little evidence for a structural change of course towards more adequate safety nets.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 247 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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