Economic Poverty: Does the Break-Up of Families Matter?

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the relationship between family structure and poverty for European countries using Eurostat and OECD data. In particular, we focus on the change in living arrangements, with the traditional type of household—couple with children—being partially replaced by single and extended families. The results of our econometric analysis show that the decline in the traditional family type affects individual poverty: the marriage rate and the share of couples, both with and without children, are inversely related to poverty; the divorce rate, the shares of extended families and singles with children are, instead, positively related to poverty.