Reforms and in-work poverty in the EU

While employment protects most EU residents from economic hardship, a growing share of workers nonetheless experience in-work poverty or material deprivation. This reflects a complex interplay of factors, including work intensity, job quality, household composition, and the institutional context. This paper investigates how changes in policy and institutional frameworks affect in-work poverty. Using EU-SILC cross-sectional data, we construct a dataset at the demographic group level (by gender, age, education, and country) for 25 EU member states from 2006 to 2018. We examine the impact of reforms in the following domains: family policy, labour market institutions, social protection, and product market regulation. Our findings highlight the key role of family policies - especially those addressing the presence of children - in reducing in-work poverty, primarily through increases in both work intensity and labour income. By contrast, reforms in labour market institutions, social protection, and competition policy appear to play only a secondary role. • This paper investigates how changes in policy and institutional frameworks affect in-work poverty across 25 EU member states from 2006 to 2018. • We examine the impact of reforms in the following domains: family policy, labour market institutions, and social protection and product market regulation. • Our findings highlight the central role of family policy—especially those addressing the presence of children—in reducing in-work poverty, primarily through increases in both work intensity and labour income. • By contrast, reforms in labour market institutions, social protection, and competition policy appear to play only a secondary role.