Poverty and material deprivation in the crisis: Italy and Spain

This paper assesses the impact of the economic downturn on income poverty and deprivation in Italy and Spain to identify the most vulnerable groups and to guide policy makers. We consider the main socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of individuals impacting on their labour market status. The analysis is carried out separately for male and females to detect possible gender differences. Our results show the growth of deprivation. Furthermore, the higher exposure of females to income poverty and deprivation is verified in both countries despite of the efforts made to close the gender gaps in their labor markets.