Evaluating the impact of social transfers on income poverty and material deprivation in European countries (provisional title)

The research project concerns the evaluation of the impact of social
transfers on income poverty and material deprivation in European countries.
Despite the large empirical comparative literature about the relationship between
the welfare state and poverty and the links between social expenditure and the
reduction of poverty (Brady, 2005; Korpi and Palme, 1998; Kenworthy, 1999;
Avraam, 2013), relatively little is known about the impact of social transfers on
both income poverty and material deprivation. Most research has focused on
examining the impact of social transfers on income poverty and inequality, whereas
the effect of social transfers on material deprivation has only recently attracted the
attention of some scholars (Notten and Guio 2019; 2021). Although a number of
studies have shown that income and material deprivation are complementary
because they reflect related but different concepts of material well-being (Notten
and Guio, 2016) and they address the need to capture the multidimensional aspects
of poverty and social exclusion (Marlier et al., 2007; Nolan and Whelan, 2010;
Battiston et al., 2013) , it appears that a very limited number of studies have been
carried out to date on the effect of social transfers on both income poverty and
material deprivation across countries and that there is no single correct
methodology established to evaluate the effect of social transfers. As such, there
are currently gaps in the evidence on the impact of social transfers, especially as
regards comparative evidence on the actual effect of social transfers on both
income poverty and material deprivation.
By employing a quantitative approach based on secondary longitudinal data
analysis, this study seeks to explore changes in the impact of social transfers on
poverty and deprivation. It focuses on the EU-27 member-states and the UK,
covering the period 2015-2019. The main objective of this research is to
investigate and assess the impact of social transfers on both income poverty and
material deprivation cross-nationally and to provide comparative quantitative
relevant evidence for the EU-27 member-states and the UK. The findings of this
research are expected to improve the understanding of the impact of social
transfers by providing quantitative evidence regarding the effect of social transfers
on both income poverty and material deprivation cross-nationally. In this respect, it
is expected to contribute to enriching literature concerning the impact of social
transfers and to provide useful insights in measuring its impact that may constitute
new opportunities for comparative research and in-depth country case study
analyses. Overall, the project is expected to improve our knowledge and provide a
better understanding of the impact of social transfers and their role in social
protection. At the same time, the findings of this research will be useful for
designing more effective social policies.