Skip to main content
Scheduled maintenance on Monday, June 3rd, with potential service disruption. Find out more.
Intended for healthcare professionals
Restricted access
Other
First published online May 1, 2008

Are the poor socially integrated? The link between poverty and social support in different welfare regimes

Petra BöhnkeView all authors and affiliations
Volume 18, Issue 2
https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928707087590

Abstract

Cultures of support vary across enlarged Europe. This article examines the link between poverty and social integration in countries characterized by different economic, cultural and welfare state regimes. Its object is to determine whether being materially disadvantaged increases the likelihood of social disintegration (accumulation) or whether poor people can count on receiving more support (compensation). In addition it will examine the conditions under which material and social disadvantages accumulate. The empirical analysis thus combines a micro- with a macro-sociological perspective and focuses particular attention on the context in which people are poor. Although poverty is closely connected to social disintegration, the degree of accumulation varies from one country to the next. Of decisive importance is household composition, which is strongly related to country-specific social policy design. Contextual factors such as the prevalence of poverty also play a role, as do general attitudes to religion and family solidarity.

Get full access to this article

View all access and purchase options for this article.

Get Access

References

Alber, J., Delhey, J., Keck, W. and Nauenburg, R. (2004) (eds) Quality of Life in Europe. First European Quality of Life Survey 2003. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications for the European Communities.
Google Scholar
Andreß, H-J. (1999) Leben in Armut. Analysen der Verhaltensweisen armer Haushalte mit Umfragedaten. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
Google Scholar
Atkinson, R. and Davoudi, S. (2000) The Concept of Social Exclusion in the European Union: Context, Development and Possibilities, Journal of Common Market Studies 38 (3): 427-48.
Google Scholar
Böhnke, P. (2004) Perceptions of Social Integration and Exclusion in an Enlarged Europe. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications for the European Communities.
Google Scholar
Bonoli, G. (1997) Classifying Welfare States: a Two-dimensional Approach, Journal of Social Policy 26 (3): 351-72.
Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1983) Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, soziales Kapital, in R. Kreckel (ed.) Soziale Ungleichheiten. Göttingen: Schwartz.
Google Scholar
Clark, A.E. (2003) Unemployment as a Social Norm: Psychological Evidence from Panel Data, Journal of Labour Economics 21 (2): 323-51.
Google Scholar
Coleman, J.S. (1988) Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital, American Journal of Sociology 94 (Supplement): S95-S120.
Google Scholar
Crow, G. (2004) Social Networks and Social Exclusion: an Overview of the Debate, in C. Phillipson, G. Allan and D. Morgan (eds) Social Networks and Social Exclusion. Sociological and Policy Perspectives. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Google Scholar
Deacon, B. (2000) Eastern European Welfare States: the Impact of the Politics of Globalization, Journal of European Social Policy 10 (2): 146-61.
Google Scholar
Diewald, M. (1986) Sozialkontakte und Hilfeleistungen in informellen Netzwerken, in W. Glatzer and R. Berger-Schmitt (eds) Haushaltsproduktion und Netzwerkhilfe. Frankfurt a. M. and New York: Campus.
Google Scholar
Diewald, M. (1991) Soziale Beziehungen: Verlust oder Liberalisierung? Soziale Unterstützung in informellen Netzwerken. Berlin : edition sigma.
Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Oxford: Polity Press.
Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1999) Social Foundations of Post-industrial Economies . Oxford: Oxford University Press .
Google Scholar
European Commission (2004) Joint Report on Social Inclusion. Brussels: Council of the European Union.
Google Scholar
Eurostat (2005) Income Poverty and Social Exclusion in the EU25. Statistics in Focus, Population and Social Conditions 13/2005.
Google Scholar
Ferrera, M. (1996) The "Southern" Model of Welfare in Social Europe, Journal of European Social Policy 6 (1): 17-37.
Google Scholar
Fischer, C.S. (1982) To Dwell among Friends. Personal Networks on Town and City. Chicago, IL and London : Chicago University Press.
Google Scholar
Freitag, M. (2000) Soziales Kapital und Arbeitslosigkeit. Eine empirische Analyse zu den Schweizer Kantonen, Zeitschrift für Soziologie 3: 186-201.
Google Scholar
Gallie, D., Paugam, S. and Jacobs, S. (2003) Unemployment, Poverty and Social Isolation. Is There a Vicious Circle of Social Exclusion?, European Societies 5 (1): 1-32.
Google Scholar
Granovetter, M.S. (1973) The Strength of Weak Ties, American Journal of Sociology 78 (6): 1360-80.
Google Scholar
Granovetter, M.S. (1985) Economic Action and Social Structure: the Problem of Embeddedness, American Journal of Sociology 91: 481-510.
Google Scholar
Kääriäinen, J. and Lehtonen, H. (2006) The Variety of Social Capital in Welfare State Regimes - a Comparative Study of 21 Countries, European Societies 8 (1): 27-57.
Google Scholar
Kern, S. (2003) Führt Armut zu sozialer Isolation? Eine empirische Analyse mit Daten des sozio-ökonomischen Panels. Universitätsbibliothek Trier.
Google Scholar
Kohler, U. (2006) Technical Assistance in Preparing Second European Quality of Life Survey. Interim Methodological Report, unpublished manuscript, Social Science Research Centre Berlin.
Google Scholar
Kohler, U. (2007) Quality Assessment of European Surveys. Towards an Open Method of Coordination for Survey Data, in J. Alber, T. Fahey and C. Saraceno (eds) Social Conditions and Quality of Life in the Enlarged Europe. London: Routledge.
Google Scholar
Künemund, H. and Rein, M. (1999) There is More to Receiving than Needing: Theoretical Arguments and Empirical Explorations of Crowding in and Crowding out, Ageing and Society 19: 93-121.
Google Scholar
Leibfried, S. (1992) Towards a European Welfare State? On Integrating Poverty Regimes into the European Community, in Z. Ferge and J. E. Kolberg (eds) Social Policy in a Changing Europe. Frankfurt a. M.: Campus.
Google Scholar
Lin, N. (1999) Social Networks and Status Attainment, Annual Review of Sociology 25: 467-87.
Google Scholar
Nolan, B. and Whelan C.T. (1996) Measuring Poverty Using Income and Deprivation Indicators: Alternative Approaches, Journal of European Social Policy 6 (3): 225-40.
Google Scholar
Paugam, S. and Russell, H. (2000) The Effects of Employment Precarity and Unemployment on Social Isolation, in D. Gallie and S. Paugam (eds) Welfare Regimes and the Experience of Unemployment in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar
Prisching, M. (2003) Solidarität: Der vielschichtige Kitt gesellschaftlichen Zusammenlebens, in S. Lessenich (ed.) Wohlfahrtsstaatliche Grundbegriffe. Historische und aktuelle Diskurse. Frankfurt a. M. and New York: Campus.
Google Scholar
Putnam, R.D. (2000) Bowling Alone. The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Google Scholar
Ringen, S. (1988) Direct and Indirect Measures of Poverty, Journal of Social Policy 17 (3): 351-65.
Google Scholar
Room, G. (1995) Poverty and Social Exclusion: the New European Agenda for Policy and Research, in G. Room (ed.) Beyond the Threshold. The Measurement and Analysis of Social Exclusion. Bristol: Policy Press.
Google Scholar
Russell, H. and Whelan, C.T. (2004) Low Income and Deprivation in an Enlarged Europe . Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Google Scholar
Saraceno, C. (2004) De-familization or Re-familization? Trends in Income Tested Family Benefits, in T. Knijn and A. Komter (eds) Solidarity Between the Sexes and the Generations: Transformations in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Google Scholar
Saraceno, C. (2006) Family-work Systems in Europe, in J. Alber and W. Merkel (eds) Europas Osterweiterung: Das Ende der Vertiefung? . Berlin: edition sigma.
Google Scholar
Saraceno, C. and Olagnero, M. (2006) Social Networks and Patterns of Informal Support. Do Welfare Regime Patterns Make a Difference?, unpublished manuscript.
Google Scholar
Scheepers, P., Te Grotenhuis, M. and Gelissen, J. (2002) Welfare States and Dimensions of Social Capital. Cross-national Comparisons of Social Contacts in European Countries, European Societies 4 (2): 185-207.
Google Scholar
Siaroff, A. (1994) Work, Welfare and Gender Equality. A New Typology, in D. Sainsbury (ed.) Gendering Welfare States. London: Sage.
Google Scholar
Sik, E. and Wellman, B. (1999) Network Capital in Capitalist, Communist and Post-communist Countries, in B. Wellman (ed.) Networks in the Global Village. Life in Contemporary Community. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Google Scholar
Silver, H. (1994) Social Exclusion and Social Solidarity: Three Paradigms, International Labour Review 133 (5-6): 531-78.
Google Scholar
Townsend, P. (1979) Poverty in the United Kingdom: a Survey of Household Resources and Standard of Living. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Google Scholar
Townsend, P. (1987) Deprivation, Journal of Social Policy 16 (2): 125-46.
Google Scholar
Tsakloglou, P. and Papdopoulos, F. (2002) Identifying Population Groups at High Risk of Social Exclusion: Evidence from the ECHP, in R. Muffels, P. Tsakloglou and D. Mayes (eds) Social Exclusion in European Welfare States. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Google Scholar
Turner, R.J. (1983) Direct, Indirect and Moderating Effects of Social Support on Psychological Distress and Associated Conditions, in H. B. Kaplan (ed.) Psychological Stress . New York: Academic Press.
Google Scholar
van Oorschot, W. and Arts, W. (2005) The Social Capital of European Welfare States: the Crowding out Hypothesis Revisited, Journal of European Social Policy 15 (1): 5-26.
Google Scholar
van Oorschot, W., Arts, W. and Gelissen, J. (2006) Social Capital in Europe. Measurement and Social and Regional Distribution of a Multifaceted Phenomenon, Acta Sociologica 49 (2): 149-67.
Google Scholar
Wegener, B. (1989) Soziale Beziehungen im Karriereprozeß, Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 41: 270-97.
Google Scholar
Wilkinson, R.G. (1996) Unhealthy Societies: the Afflictions of Inequality . London: Routledge.
Google Scholar

Cite article

Cite article

Cite article

OR

Download to reference manager

If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice

Share options

Share

Share this article

Share with email
EMAIL ARTICLE LINK
Share on social media

Share access to this article

Sharing links are not relevant where the article is open access and not available if you do not have a subscription.

For more information view the Sage Journals article sharing page.

Information, rights and permissions

Information

Published In

Volume 18, Issue 2
Pages: 133 - 150
Article first published online: May 1, 2008
Issue published: May 2008

Keywords

  1. crowding-out
  2. Europe
  3. poverty
  4. social integration
  5. welfare state

Rights and permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Petra Böhnke
Social Science Research Center Berlin, Germany, [email protected]
View all articles by this author

Metrics and citations

Metrics

Journals metrics

This article was published in Journal of European Social Policy.

VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICS

Article usage*

Total views and downloads: 2800

*Article usage tracking started in December 2016

Altmetric

See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores


Articles citing this one

Receive email alerts when this article is cited

Web of Science: 80 view articles Opens in new tab

Crossref: 0

  1. Locked Down: The Gendered Impact of Social Support on Children’s Well-...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  2. Effect of Poverty on Services Export Concentration in Developing Count...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  3. Upward track mobility into academic upper secondary education: effects...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  4. Bibliographie
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  5. A study on the long-term effects and mechanisms of internet informatio...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  6. A Moderated Mediation Model of the Relationship Between Multidimension...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  7. Unemployment and Social Integration: Analysing the Impact of Financial...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  8. Testfall Armut. Zum Zusammenhang von Ungleichheitseinstellungen und so...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  9. Determinants of Accountability for The Management of Funds Vis-À-Vis V...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  10. Social Exclusion
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  11. Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: a population s...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  12. Socio-demographic characteristics associated with perceived social sup...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  13. Introduction
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  14. Measuring Parental Involvement in Dual-Earner Qatari Families
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  15. The standard of living among the poor across Europe. Does employment m...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  16. Poverty and Sources of Income Support Among Older People With Disabili...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  17. Einsamkeitserfahrungen junger Menschen – nicht nur in Zeiten der Pande...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  18. Mobility Based on GPS Trajectory Data and Interviews: A Pilot Study to...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  19. How material deprivation impacted economic stress across European coun...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  20. Two Sides of the Coin: The Link Between Relational Exclusion and Socio...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  21. New Measures of Economic Insecurity Reveal its Expansion Into EU Middl...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  22. Differential Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Poverty on Child Behavi...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  23. Well-Being and Health of Children in Rural China: the Roles of Parenta...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  24. Unemployment and political trust across 24 Western democracies: Eviden...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  25. Can money buy friends? Evidence from a natural experiment
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  26. Precarious Employment and Stress: The Biomedical Embodiment of Social ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  27. Socio-economic inequalities in suffering at the end of life among adva...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  28. Association between poverty indicators and social relations
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  29. Do Networks Help People To Manage Poverty? Perspectives from the Field
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  30. The effect of social assistance on kin relationships: evidence from Ro...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  31. Comparing income poverty gap and deprivation on social acceptance: A m...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  32. Neighbourhood-based social integration. The importance of the local co...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  33. Exploring the Relationship between Socio-Demographic Background and Em...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  34. Satisfaction with democracy and perceived performance of the welfare s...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  35. Freiwilligenarbeit von Psychiatrie-Erfahrenen: Soziale Inklusion als T...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  36. Indicators of Social Isolation: A Comparison Based on Survey Data from...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  37. A qualitative study of disengagement in disadvantaged areas of the UK:...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  38. Employment patterns and family satisfaction in Europe
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  39. Does Poverty Increase the Risk of Social Isolation? Insights Based on ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  40. An Island of Bliss—For Everyone? Perceptions and Experiences of the Cr...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  41. Regionale und sozialstrukturelle Aspekte freiwilligen Engagements im A...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  42. Poverty and the Dynamics of Social Networks: An Analysis of German Pan...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  43. Did Food Insecurity rise across Europe after the 2008 Crisis? An analy...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  44. Network dilemmas. Supplements when income doesn’t cover family expense...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  45. Economic Hardship and Well-Being: Examining the Relative Role of Indiv...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  46. Sozioökonomischer Status und freiwilliges Engagement
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  47. More than Cash: Societal Influences on the Risk of Material Deprivatio...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  48. Bodybuilding as a subcultural lifestyle of peripheral youth
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  49. The Social Consequences of Poverty: An Empirical Test on Longitudinal ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  50. Social exclusion in the context of welfare models: cross-country compa...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  51. Determinants of Well-being Among Legal and Illegal Immigrants: Evidenc...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  52. Applications
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  53. Cultural diversity in the workplace
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  54. Social Exclusion
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  55. Do poorer youth have fewer friends? The role of household and child ec...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  56. Low socioeconomic status and perceptions of social inadequacy and sham...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  57. Unemployed and alone? Unemployment and social participation in Europe
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  58. Engel and Simmel: sharing meals at home in Cyprus
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  59. Getting support in polarized societies: Income, social networks, and s...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  60. The Contexts of Social Inclusion
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  61. Poverty and Psychology
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  62. The Spatial Context of Social Integration
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  63. European feelings of deprivation amidst the financial crisis...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  64. Welfare regime, welfare pillar and southern Europe
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  65. Host National Identification of Immigrants in the Netherlands
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  66. Composite Indicator of Social Inclusion for European Countries
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  67. The Impact of Macro-Economic Circumstances and Social Protection Expen...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  68. Welfare regime and inter-household food provision: The case of Cyprus
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  69. Social differences in postponing a General Practitioner visit in Fland...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  70. The coping model: what is it and what might be its implications for so...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  71. Références bibliographiques
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  72. Homeownership, family and the gift effect: the case of Cyprus
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  73. Evaluating contemporary social exclusion in Europe: a hierarchical lat...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  74. On Social Exclusion and Income Poverty in Israel: Findings from the Eu...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  75. L’isolement social des familles en situation de négligence : ce qu’en ...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  76. Intergenerational transfers and social class: Inter-vivos transfers as...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  77. Financial inequality and gender in older people
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  78. Framing Social Inclusion Policies - Draft Background Paper for the Wor...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  79. Welfare state expenditure and inequalities in voluntary association pa...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  80. Constructions of Social Exclusion Among Young People From Interface Ar...
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar
  81. Une approche de la pauvreté par le non-recours aux droits sociaux
    Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar

Figures and tables

Figures & Media

Tables

View Options

Get access

Access options

If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:

Alternatively, view purchase options below:

Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.

Subscribe to this journal

Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.

Start 2 week free trial
Need help?

View options

PDF/ePub

View PDF/ePub
Download PDF

Also from Sage