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Konsummuster und Konsumarmut von SGB-II-Leistungsempfängern. Eine Untersuchung auf Basis der Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe
Christoph, Bernhard | Pauser, Johannes | Wiemers, Jürgen
Journal of Contextual Economics – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Vol. 134 (2014), Iss. 4 : pp. 415–450
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Bernhard Christoph, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt und Berufsforschung (IAB), Regensburger Straße 104, 90478 Nürnberg
Johannes Pauser, Technische Universität Dortmund, Fakultät für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Volkswirtschaftslehre Vogelpothsweg 87, 44227 Dortmund
Jürgen Wiemers, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Regensburger Straße 104, 90478 Nürnberg
Abstract
Despite the importance of consumption patterns for setting benefit levels, up until now, knowledge on consumption of those receiving unemployment benefit II, the means-tested basic security payment in Germany, is rather restricted. To close this gap, we analyze the amount and structure of benefit recipients" consumption spending as well as consumption poverty. We can show that those unable to draw on resources besides benefit payments have to restrict their private consumption and face a higher risk of being consumption-poor. One advantage of using consumption data is the fact that by doing so one is able to identify the domains in which material restrictions have the strongest effect. What we can see from our analyses is that restrictions are rather moderate for goods covering basic needs, like food, clothes, or accommodation. In return, they are much more significant in the domain of social and cultural participation. The reason for this appears to be that recipients concentrate their resources on their basic needs at the expense of what they might spend in other domains.