Absolute Poverty in Europe

“This is a rich text and a goldmine of data as well as of real-life stories and, as such, the present book review cannot do justice to all its qualities… a worthwhile read to all social workers.” European Journal of Social Work

“A landmark text. It will be vital reading for anyone seeking an understanding of the circumstances, extent and impacts of absolute poverty in contemporary Europe, and the urgency of tackling it.” Gideon Calder, Swansea University

Helmut P Gaisbauer is Senior Scientist at the Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, Salzburg University, with research interests in normative philosophy and political theory. He is also President of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Social Ethics in Salzburg.

Gottfried Schweiger is Senior Scientist at the Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, University of Salzburg. He works in social and political philosophy.

Clemens Sedmak is Professor of social ethics and holds a joint appointment in the Keough School of Global Affairs and the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the FM Schmölz OP Professor for Social Ethics and Head of the Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, University of Salzburg.

Introduction ~ Helmut P. Gaisbauer, Gottfried Schweiger and Clemens Sedmak;

Section I: Conceptual and methodological challenges;

Reconceptualising Poverty in Europe: Exclusion, marginality and absolute poverty reframed through participatory relational space ~ Lena Dominelli;

Measures of extreme poverty applied in the European Union ~ Jonathan Bradshaw and Oleksandr Movshuk;

The uncounted poor in EU-SILC: A statistical profile of the income and living conditions of homeless people, undocumented immigrants and travelers in Belgium ~ Ides Nicaise, Ingrid Schockaert and Tuba Bircan;

Measuring Absolute Poverty: Shame is all you need ~ Robert Walker;

Section II: Key issues for the absolute poor;

Health care for the absolute poor ~ Ursula Trummer;

Housing deprivation ~ Patricia Kennedy and Nessa Winston;

Food poverty and the families the state has turned its back on: The case of the UK ~ Rebecca O´Connell and Julia Brannen;

Back to the origins: Early interpersonal trauma and the intergenerational transmission of violence within the context of urban poverty ~ Carlos Pitillas;

Unravelling the complexities of poverty in Northern Ireland, a New Immigration Destination ~ Ruth McAreavey;

High accompaniment needs: Absolute poverty and vulnerable migrants ~ Clemens Sedmak;

Section III: Policy responses to absolute poverty in Europe;

Absolute poverty and social protection in the EU: A cross-country comparison ~ Stefanos Papanastasiou;

Faith based organizations as actors in the charity economy: A case study of food assistance in Finland ~ Tiina Silvasti and Anna Sofia Salonen;

Absolute poverty and the EU Social Policy Agenda ~ Helmut P. Gaisbauer;

Penalising homelessness in Europe ~ Guillem Fernàndez Evangelista;

Protection from poverty in the European Court of Human Rights ~ Elena Pribytkova;

Section IV: Ethical perspectives on absolute poverty in Europe;

Dignity, self-respect and real poverty in Europe ~ Christian Neuhäuser;

Justice and Absolute Poverty ~ Gottfried Schweiger;

Conclusion: Responding to the dark reality of absolute poverty in European welfare states ~ Helmut P. Gaisbauer, Gottfried Schweiger and Clemens Sedmak.