Poverty and the Determinants of Welfare for Roma and Other Vulnerable Groups in Southeastern Europe

This article analyses different poverty patterns and coping strategies between Roma and other vulnerable groups that live in households with less than 4.3$PPP equivalent expenditures a day. The findings are based on a new survey, completed in 2004 in Southeast Europe, of Roma, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the majority living in close proximity to the Roma. The data reveal that poor households are behind non-poor households in terms of educational achievement, employment opportunities, access to secure housing, outstanding payments and access to health care. But the differences between poor and non-poor within the Roma sample is often less substantial than within the other two vulnerable groups. A multivariate analysis of poverty demonstrates that besides socio-economic determinants of welfare, the Roma identity significantly influences welfare levels in Southeast Europe. Comparative Economic Studies (2006) 48, 20–35. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100148