Coping Strategies of Economically (Partially) Inactive Households: The Case of Croatia

Abstract

How do households with inactive or unemployed members face growing risks and uncertainty? The present study tackles this problem with a case study on Croatia, a country at the bottom of the European Union’s (EU) scale of economic activity rate. The low level of activity that has characterized Croatia for more than twenty years has been accompanied by a continuously high unemployment rate, which has further increased since 2009. In this context, households with (long-term) inactive or unemployed members have had to develop alternative coping strategies. In order to identify and examine these strategies, in 2014 we conducted a mixed-method study, including a quantitative survey of 453 households and 37 semi-structured interviews. We identified six household strategies, more or less ‘successful’ in terms of the household’s material position. In this essay we further examine these strategies’ characteristics and implications, with a focus on the profiles of households employing specific strategies.

Mogućnosti Unapređenja Socijalne Politike U Smanjivanju Siromaštva Djece: Perspektiva Ključnih Dionika

“…6 U prvi se plan eksplicitno ističe koncept socijalnog ulaganja koji ponajprije počiva na socijalnoj 6 Prije toga je 2011. godine donesena i preporuka Vijeća o politikama za suzbijanje ranog napuštanja školovanja (The Council of the European Union, 2011. ), koja ističe važnost obrazovnog sustava na području suzbijanja siromaštva djece te predlaže zemljama članicama izradu te implementaciju sveobuhvatnih strategija koje će prevenirati rano napuštanje školovanja.…”

“…To je opisano kroz pojmove: (1) »izostanak sustavne i sveobuhvatne politike prema siromašnoj djeci«; (2) »izostanak implementacije postojeće socijalne politike«; (3) »nedovoljna ulaganja u politike usmjerene suzbijanju siromaštva djece«; (4) »nedovoljna razvijenost sustava prava i usluga usmjerenih djeci u riziku od siromaštva«; (5) »regionalne razlike u pristupu pravima i uslugama«; (6) »nefunkcioniranje postojećeg sustava« te (7) »pogoršavanje postojećeg sustava prava«.…”

Patterns of welfare-to-employment transitions of Croatian Guaranteed Minimum Benefit recipients: a preliminary study

“…However, with very limited funds to procure goods and services on the market, GMB recipients are likely to adopt strategy of producing/providing them within the household themselves (cf. Bagić et al, 2017). Yet there is strong evidence from the general population that in Croatia women are still the prevailing providers of household work (Bijelić, 2011;Bartolac and Kamenov, 2013), as well as evidence of motherhood penalty on labour market participation (Dobrotić, Matković and Baran, 2010; Dobrotić, Matković and Zrinščak, 2013; Lucić; forthcoming).…”

“…Goods and services produced for own household provide substantial utility for the household, are not treated as income and thus do not involve risk of sanctions on GMB recipients. Therefore, substitution of household work/production for labour market participation is an attractive option for GMB recipients and a common survival strategy among households living in poverty (Bagić et al, 2017). Such a pattern is more likely to be found among women, when there is a partner within the household and dependent family members present.…”

“…Since national SILC data are unsuitable for the task 1 , this paper uses administrative data in order to establish the feasibility of such an effort, while providing basic insights about the incidence of transitions by GMB recipients to employment and the mechanisms involved. The paper is organized as follows.…”