Eurostat Essay

2012. Those worst-off are in households in which nobody works. In 2012 Eurostat reported that in the EU 9.9 % of children and adults were living in jobless households (i.e., in households with zero or very low work intensity), against 9% in 2008.

Children growing up in poverty and social exclusion are less likely to do well at school, to enjoy good health or to realise their full socio-economic potential later in life.

Health status is also strongly linked to poverty, and this causes a vicious downward cycle. Ill health may sometimes be a cause of poverty as health problems might hinder participation in the abour market, however it is also a fact that poverty is also often a causal factor of poor health due to malnutrition and lack of healthcare, amongst other factors.

Eurostat figures of 2012 show that students who have attended pre-primary education do better than those who have not. This is a strong indication that early education can improve education outcomes and overall

One of the main contentions is that high-quality external care during early childhood is of the essence. Pre-school programmes are expected to mitigate mechanisms of intergenerational inheritance.

Diminishing electoral support for a redistributive conception of social welfare based on notions of need, altruism, and social rights poses what is arguably the greatest challenge to social policy today as pressure to shed pressure off the public coffers through cutting off from the welfare state is gathering momentum.

Reforms of the welfare state seem to undermine society’s social safety net for poor women and their children, for low-income elderly immigrants, and for disabled