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Decomposing Youth Poverty in 22 Countries
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Although social provisions reduce youth poverty, the
advantage of Western social welfare is offset by more independent
living arrangements and higher BTST income poverty levels in
Western societies. The dramatic increase in poverty following
young adults’ leaving the parental home indicates not only the
tremendous impact of household composition, but also the
marginalization of young adults in welfare states. Major welfare
programs still operate on standard transitions (Furstenberg,
Rumbaut, & Settersten, 2004) when adulthood transitions have
been increasingly diversified due to prolonged education and
postponed entry into the labor market and marriage.
School-leavers, first-time job seekers, and young adults cycling
between education and work may cease to be eligible for
unemployment benefits or social assistance. Thus, young adults are
likely to meet economic needs by living with their parents, pooling
their household income, and sharing living expenses. Not
surprisingly, the prevalence of coresidence with parents is critical
for the economic well-being of East Asian and Southern European
young adults. If Taiwanese young adults had the same living
arrangements as young adults in Scandinavian countries, the
poverty level of Taiwanese young adults would increase by 5 to 9
percentage points (or 5 to 10 percentage points according to the
results based on the resamples).
The relative deprivation in the BTST income distribution is
another factor that undermines the economic security of young
adults. Compared to Taiwan, the higher levels of BTST income
poverty in Western countries enhance the poverty risk for young
adults by 9-16 percentage points (or 10-17 according to the results
based on the resamples) in social democratic countries, by 12-13
percentage points in France and Germany, and by 12-14
percentage points in Spain, the UK, and the US.
Of course, the family, the market, and welfare systems are
not independent of each other. Living arrangements are
interrelated with social welfare and market income when we