New edition of Economic Trends and Economic Policy

The latest issue of Economic Trends and Economic Policy brings research articles: “Income and Multidimensional Poverty of Children in Croatia” and “Child Poverty and Household Coping Strategies in Croatia: A Quantitative-Qualitative Study”. It also brings a review of Anthony Atkinson's book Inequality: What Can Be Done?
 
Marko Ledić brings the article “Income and Multidimensional Poverty of Children in Croatia”. Although there are numerous studies dealing with poverty and the problems it generates, this topic is not adequately represented in Croatian literature. In this paper, the author examines income and multidimensional poverty of children in Croatia in the period from 2010 to 2014. In addition, he compares indicators of child poverty in Croatia with other European countries based on EU-SILC data. The first part of the study focuses only on the analysis of income poverty of children, which means that it is assumed that children’s welfare is determined by their equivalent income. As there is an increasing number of studies that have recognized the multidimensional concept of well-being, in the second part of the paper the author uses the Alkire-Foster methodology, which allows him to measure multidimensional poverty taking into account the broader definition of human well-being. His multidimensional poverty measure includes the dimensions of income, quality of housing, material deprivation and deprivation associated with the necessary life needs (basic deprivation). The results show that the relative poverty rate of children increased from 2010 to 2012, but from 2012 to 2014 it decreased. Based on 2014 results, it can be concluded that Croatia belongs to a group of countries with higher relative poverty rates of children. Although in Croatia the poverty rates of children who have been in poverty for only one year are equal to the European average, Croatia nevertheless belongs to the group of countries with the highest rates of poverty for children who have spent four years in poverty. As was the case with income poverty, the rate of multidimensional poverty of children in Croatia increased from 2010 to 2012, but then the rate decreased by 2014. According to the indicators of multidimensional poverty in 2014, Croatia belongs to a group of countries with a higher percentage of poor children.
 
Authors Ivica Rubil, Paul Stubbs and Siniša Zrinščak bring the paper “Child Poverty and Household Coping Strategies in Croatia: A Quantitative-Qualitative Study”. Official poverty statistics, including child poverty statistics, based on the risk-of-poverty rate, is silent about how the poor really live and which coping strategies they use. To take that into account, one should start “from the bottom”, from the poor themselves, and gather information on actual hardships the poor face, using appropriate research instruments. This paper is focused on child poverty in Croatia, and attempts to gain insights into the coping strategies of households with children. The analysis consists of: a quantitative part based on a survey of parents and children from 207 households with school-age children that are beneficiaries of the guaranteed minimum benefit; and a qualitative part based on focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews with 20 previously surveyed parents. The results of both parts, which mostly confirm the existing findings, point to very adverse living conditions of poor households with children, which they try to cope with using various coping strategies, including borrowing, work in the shadow economy, asking others for help, prioritization in consumption, and the like. The findings also suggest that there are certain differences in the living conditions, coping strategies, and the poverty impact upon children, depending on the depth of poverty, settlement size and parents' education. Especially worrying is the parents' inability to afford for their children goods and services needed for them to be fully socially included, as well as education that would ensure them an upward social mobility.
 
In addition, Ivo Bićanić brings a book review of Inequality: What Can Be Done? by Anthony Atkinson.