Poverty Inequality and Poverty Mobility in Germany in the 1990’s>

Abstract

Using panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), this contribution compares poverty patterns Germany in the 1990s to that in the 1980s. Defining poverty line at half the median equivalent disposable income the paper analyzes income inequality and mobility below the poverty line as well as poverty duration for men and women aged 20 through 50 years. The socio-economic determinants of poverty duration are investigated with a logistic regression model. The empirical results point to an increasing feminization of poverty inequality and immobility in the 1960’s. The influence of gender and educational status on poverty duration is more pronounced in this decade.