On the International day for the eradication of poverty, the European Commission (Eurostat) published a book on Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe. This book was edited by Anne-Catherine Guio and Eric Marlier (from LISER) and Brian Nolan (University of Oxford). It reflects the results of almost 5 years of research involving a network of researchers from various EU countries.

This book seeks to improve our understanding of various substantial challenges facing “Social Europe” and to better understand the determinants and dynamics of income and living conditions.
The many questions it addresses include:
• Are children deprived mainly due to their parents’ situation or because of their country’s level of affluence?
• What is the probability for someone unemployed to escape poverty when finding a job?
• Which regions and cities are the poorest?
• Has the 2008-2009 economic and financial crisis and the subsequent recovery years increased or decreased the inequality?
• Are individuals living in foreign-born households poorest than native people in all EU countries?
• To what extent do poor people have a life expectancy disadvantage?
• Are women and men living together equally deprived or are there systematic gender differences?

As explained in the foreword jointly signed by EU Commissioners Paolo Gentiloni and Nicolas Schmit, the book is intended not only for policy-makers, researchers and statisticians, but also, more broadly, for all those concerned with ensuring that economic and social progress in Europe go hand in hand.