Vijf jaar armoedebeleid in Nederland. Een balans

Samenvatting

This article analyzes the effects of Dutch antipoverty policies and comes to the following conclusions. First, we can establish that there was an explicit antipoverty program, though it was not very successful if we measure success only by the number and share of poor households in the Netherlands. This did not decline despite the favorable economic development and the antipoverty program. The purchasing power of low-income households in the Netherlands increased, but not enough to compensate for the 1980s-early 1990s income loss. Most surprising, however, is the paradox between job growth and persistent poverty in the Netherlands. Despite massive job growth in the late 1990s, the proportion of low-income households declined only modestly. Two explanations for this paradox are mentioned: (1) Most new jobs did not reach members of poor households, but rather, newcomers to the labor market (married women, young people) from households that were not poor. (2) Grade in social security for a job did not always means an escape from poverty. A growing share of the poor population in the Netherlands (25%) consists of working households that remain poor. 3 Tables, 4 Figures, 33 References. Adapted from the source document.