To the list of articles28 august 2017
Poverty and socially vulnerable groups in Belarus: the cosequences of 2015-2016 recession
This issue of the “Poverty and Socially Vulnerable Groups in Belarus” Bulletin examines the various aspects of absolute and relative poverty in Belarus’s constituent regions. The research relied on the data generated under the Household Budget Survey in 2013-2016.
Bulletin highlights:
- 2015-2016 recession led to increased poverty risks in Belarus due to falling employment and salaries;
- Poverty growth occurred primarily among the population most sensitive to labor market deterioration. Low-wage, part-time and laid-off workers as well as residents of small towns and rural communities (as recession impacts manifested themselves most sharply specifically there) ended up in the risk group. Falling incomes of the population also propelled the risk of children falling below the poverty line;
- The scale of growing poverty could be worse if the population didn't support the consumption level by tapping into their savings and didn’t have the opportunity of relying on assistance from relatives and their subsistence farms;
- The influence of social policy on incomes of socially vulnerable groups during recession didn’t increase.
The Bulletin was executed within the framework of the “Development of the Kastryčnicki Economic Forum" International Technical Assistance Project implemented with the EU assistance.