Expert workshop: ‘Minimum income protection in Europe … and how to study it’

General information

The occasion for the seminar is the approaching launch of a state-of-the-art tax-benefit hypothetical household tool (HHOT) based on EUROMOD. This new research tool will without doubt give a boost to current research in minimum income protection as it allows to analyse the impact of the interaction of various tax and benefit policies on disposable incomes for an unlimited number of hypothetical households in a cross-country and longitudinal perspective. A distinguishing feature of HHOT is that it provides the possibility (1) to define flexibly household structure and individual characteristics, (2) to simulate the effect of policy change on the income situation of clearly defined hypothetical household types on the basis of the purposefully designed EUROMOD software. In addition to an expanded scope for research possibilities, the new tool also offers the opportunity to pause and think about the future perspectives of minimum income protection both as a policy route and as a research topic.

The aim of the expert workshop is to map the state of the art in knowledge on minimum income protection in Europe and to draw an agenda for future research. We encourage both papers that deal with issues that are commonly addressed with simulation tools (e.g. the adequacy of minimum income benefit payments, work incentives, …) and research that aims to contextualize the results of simulations (e.g. non-take up, the role of discretionary benefits). We encourage to submit in particular scholarly papers offering fresh ideas on minimum income protection research and/or addressing one of the following items:

The non-take up of social rights
The coverage of minimum income protection
Regional or local variations in minimum income protection
The design and administration of means tests
The trade-off between generosity and work incentives
The role of discretion in minimum income protection
The role of publicly available goods, services and cost-compensating measures
The social, economic and psychological effects of minimum income protection

Course leader

Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, UAntwerp

Target group

We particularly welcome papers that highlight innovative approaches to data collection or analysis and take a cross-country comparative perspective. We invite submission of abstracts of no more than 300 words, to be submitted no later than 6 September 2015. Criteria for selection will include academic quality, originality, and relevance to current debates in social policy. Where papers are based on empirical research, preference will be given to abstracts showing evidence of research results. International contributions are particularly encouraged. Please submit your abstract through the online application form. Applicants will be informed soon after the submission deadline about acceptance of their abstract (by 14 September 2015). Full papers are expected by 30 October.