Towards a method for cross-country comparable reference budgets: first results of the ImPRovE project
8 April 2014, 10:00 am -12:00 pm, Antwerp
Chair: Prof. Bea Cantillon (University of Antwerp)
Abstract:
Reference budgets are priced baskets of goods and services that represent a certain living standard for clearly defined household types. If developed in a cross-country comparable setting, reference budgets could, for instance, be used to evaluate the adequacy of minimum income support, to facilitate cross-national learning and the identification of best practices of how the cost of living for people living on low incomes can effectively be reduced by making core public services more accessible; and to contextualise the at-risk-of-poverty threshold. As part of the ImPRovE project, we are developing for the first time cross-country comparable reference budgets that correspond to a minimum acceptable living standard in Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Finland, Spain and Italy. The main purpose of the ImPRovE exercise is to evaluate the feasibility of developing reference budgets in several countries on the basis of the same theoretical and methodological framework. During the workshop we will explain the particularities of the ImPRovE method and compare it with other approaches to constructing reference budgets employed in the EU. Subsequently, we will present the first results of our endeavours and will reflect upon how the method could be improved to maximise cross-national comparability.
Presentations:
- dr. Karel Van den Bosch (University of Antwerp, Federal Planning Bureau): The ImPRovE method for constructing reference budgets: a comparative perspective
- dr. Bérénice Storms (University of Antwerp, Thomas More University): First results of the ImPRovE method: Belgium, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Italy and Spain
- dr. Tim Goedemé (University of Antwerp): Quality criteria for reference budgets: how could the ImPRovE method be improved?
Discussants:
Prof. dr. Jonathan Bradshaw (University of York), Prof. dr. Christopher Deeming (University of Bristol) and dr. Istvan Vanyolos (European Commission)
Workshop organisers: Tim Goedemé, Bérénice Storms, Karel Van den Bosch, and Bea Cantillon (University of Antwerp)
More information on the specific work package and first outputs can be found here.