A multidimensional comparative analysis of poverty statuses in European Union countries

The main purpose of this paper is to compare the poverty statuses of European Union countries in 2010 and 2018. The specific purpose is to assess levels of poverty and material deprivation for EU countries. The study relied on the positional TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) approach. With these methods, it is possible to determine the poverty statuses: persistent conspicuous poverty, poverty without serious material deprivation, material deprivation without severe poverty, and no severe poverty. Three types of poverty status were identified in EU countries: persistent conspicuous poverty, transient unnoticeable poverty and no severe poverty. Central and Eastern European countries (especially Romania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Poland) witnessed a clear improvement in their statuses in 2010–2018. A large number of countries had a transient unnoticeable poverty status. In turn, no countries had experienced a clear deterioration their status. Eurostat data provided an empirical basis for this study.