Country differences in the gender effect on poverty in Europe

Abstract

This paper evaluates to what extent differences in population and structural characteristics between countries can explain country differences with respect to the gender effect on poverty. Our study aims to advance research on the structural dimension in the predominantly individually-oriented study field of poverty. To facilitate an approach that integrates individual and structural context dimensions we take advantage of multilevel techniques to test differences among a large number of countries regarding the effect of the gender gap on the risk of being poor, entering into poverty, and exiting from poverty. We use the European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions for the years 2007-2008. From our analyses, we conclude that structural effects seem to be more relevant than individual effects in explaining country differences with regard to the gender poverty gap.