Search results

Undersøgelserne af fattigdom i Danmark har ikke ført til nogen fælles forståelse af, hvad fattigdom er her og nu. Tværtimod debatteres definitionen på fattigdom, og hvordan den måles hidsigt. På det politiske plan er debatten resulteret i en modsætning mellem dem, der vil have operationaliseret såkaldte fattigdomsindikatorer, og dem der vil have opstillet en officiel fattigdomsgrænse. Debatten har været præget af en manglende sondring mellem på den ene side, hvad der er en fattigdomssituation, og på den anden side fattigdommens årsager og dens konsekvenser. De kun vagt præciserede fattigdomsindikatorer handler tilsyneladende om mulige årsager til fattigdom, mens en officiel fattigdomsgrænse sigter på at opgøre, hvor mange der rent faktisk er fattige, og hvad der karakteriserer netop dem. Regeringen har nu besluttet, at der skal udarbejdes forslag til en mulig dansk fattigdomsgrænse. Hvilke af de fremherskende definitioner og metoder i fattigdomsforskningen kan en fattigdomsgrænse da bygge på? I artiklen præsenteres et svar herpå.


ENGELSK ABSTRACT:

Erik Jørgen Hansen: Poverty and Poverty Lines

There is no consensus in Denmark about the substance of poverty, despite considerable research into the topic. On the contrary there has been a heated public debate about the concept and measurement of poverty. At the political level this debate has resulted in a contradiction between adherents of introducing so-called poverty indicators and proponents of an official poverty line. This debate is characterized by a lack of distinction between, on the one hand, poverty as such, and its causes and effects on the other. The vaguely defined poverty indicators seem to deal with possible causes of poverty, whereas an official poverty line refers to counting, how many in fact are poor, and what characterizes these people. The Danish government has now resolved to work out proposals for an official Danish poverty line. So the question is which of the definitions and methods in poverty research can be used to develop a poverty line. The article presents an answer to this question.

Key words: Poverty definitions, poverty indicators, low income, deprivation, basic budgets, poverty line.

Discusses important aspects of the development of the welfare state in the Scandinavian countries and Iceland since the mid-1970s. It focuses on societal changes during a period of modest economic growth. Topics include labour market benefits, education and social mobility, class and inequality, income distribution and trajectories and health.