The effectiveness of minimum income benefits in poverty reduction in Spain
Date
2020Version
Acceso abierto / Sarbide irekia
Type
Artículo / Artikulua
Version
Versión aceptada / Onetsi den bertsioa
Impact
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10.1111/ijsw.12447
Abstract
One of the greatest peculiarities of the Spanish system of minimum income benefits is its complex organisation. There is a wide variety of specific means-tested benefits whose management and financing depend on the central government. They are designed to protect different contingencies, providing very different levels of protection. On the other hand, the general risk of poverty is covered by re ...
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One of the greatest peculiarities of the Spanish system of minimum income benefits is its complex organisation. There is a wide variety of specific means-tested benefits whose management and financing depend on the central government. They are designed to protect different contingencies, providing very different levels of protection. On the other hand, the general risk of poverty is covered by regional governments without any coordination and financing from the central government. In this article, we provide a picture of the possibilities and limits of the current set of welfare benefits, focusing especially on its effectiveness in terms of reducing poverty. Our findings show that most benefits are clearly insufficient to cover the risk of poverty in terms of both incidence and intensity. The results show the need for the redesign of the system to better articulate existing benefits in order to prevent new forms of poverty and to respond to emergency situations. [--]
Subject
Minimum income benefits,
Poverty,
Poverty reduction,
Mediterranean welfare states,
Spain
Publisher
Wiley International Journal of Social Welfare
Published in
International Journal of Social Welfare, 2020, 1-18
Departament
Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Sociología y Trabajo Social /
Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Soziologia eta Gizarte Lana Saila
Publisher version
Sponsorship
The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Commission and the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality (Review of the Minimum Income schemes in Spain from the perspective of cost‐effectiveness, VS/2015/0180). Luis Ayala acknowledges financial support from the Comunidad de Madrid Project 'Desigualdad, pobreza e igualdad de oportunidades' (H2019/HUM‐5793). Lucía Martínez acknowledges financial support from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CSO2014‐51901‐P).