Javier RamosDaz

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Social Exclusion in Barcelona

• Javier Ramos-Díaz
• Unitat de Recerca sobre Exclusió Social
• Occupational Health Research Unit
• Universitat Pompeu Fabra
• Barcelona, 2005

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• Purpose of our analysis
• Distinctiveness to understand exclusion by
  focusing on excluded individuals only. Excluded
  are those who i) attend public or private
  institutions that provide services for excluded
  people ii) consider themselves to be excluded
• Reverse causation To check whether homelessness
  is both, predictor and cause of exclusion.
• Method Probabilistic (logistic model) of the
  probability of being in consolidated phases of
  exclusion (value 1) versus being in initial
  phases of exclusion (value 0). Predictors age,
  gender, income, educational attainment and
  housing.

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What is Social Exclusion?

• An individual is socially excluded if
• he or she for reasons beyond his or her
  control cannot participate in the normal
  activities of citizens in that society (whether
  he or she actually desires to participate or
  not). (Barry, 2002)
• Individual and Social incapacity
• Citizenship (Integration is focused on
  participation and exercise of rights)

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• Dimensions of exclusion (Burchardt et al, 2002)
• Production (position in the labour market)
• Consumption (income)
• Political engagement (unions, associations)
• Social Interaction (family and social networks)
• Lack of sufficient incomes is not a pre-requisite
  for exclusion. The lack of two of the above
  dimensions is the precondition to be excluded
• The main limitation of this survey common to
  all household surveys is the omission of
  institutional (prisoners, mental illness and
  homeless). However they form a small proportion
  of the population as a whole. (Burchardt, Le
  Grand and Piachaud, D., 2002(2) 33)

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Exclusion as the lack of Capital (Piachaud, 2002)

• Social inclusion is determined by
• Financial Capital (financial assets, income)
• Physical Capital (properties(dwelling, car,etc)
• Human Capital (educational level and labour
  skills)
• Social Capital (social networks)
• Public Infrastructures (hospitals,motorways, etc)
• Hypotheses
• Higher capital levels, lower likelihood of
  exclusion
• Lower capital levels, higher likelihood of
  exclusion

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• Problems
• Homeless are excluded from the database
• The definition of exclusion is more focused on
  the output (non-participation) rather than the
  causes (social origin, family backgrounds,
  labour market and state failures)
• Database used in these studies BHPS/ECHP are
  useful for understanding poverty and inequality.
  However are those who are actually excluded part
  of the sample? Are homeless included in the
  sample?
• The results from these database allow us to
  identify groups of potential excluded and
  situation of vulnerability rather than exclusion.
  
• Is Political engagement a sign of inclusion?

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• Findings in the literature
• Age
• Households headed by individuals aged 50 years
  are less likely to become homeless (Early, 2004).
  
• Elderly homeless are a fragile and vulnerable
  group that suffers from high rates of physical
  and mental problems as well as increased
  mortality( Barak Cohen, 2003)
• Age Mean41.63 years old. 51 of individuals
  between 31-50 (Cabrera, 1999).
• Gender
• Women tend to be a minority group within
  homeless populations( between10-15) Cabrera,
  1999 in fact, households headed by women are
  less likely to be homeless (Early, 2004)
• They use to have higher levels of social capital
  than can ameliorate the course of homeless
  (Lindsey 1997)
• But they tend to be more vulnerable to
  homelesness conditions abuse, mental health,
  etc. (specially those unaccompanied by children)
  (Metraux Culhane, 1999)

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• Housing
• OFlaherty(1995, 1996, 2004) being both the
  wrong person (personal vulnerability) and the
  wrong place (tight housing market) are the
  determinants of homelessness.
• Early, 2004 reducing benefits to low-income
  subsidized households would lead 5 of them into
  homeless.
• Providing Housing to individuals in drug-abuse
  treatment has a powerful effect in their success
  (tengo q buscar el articulo)
• Educational Level
• As the main component of human capital it should
  prevent individuals from being excluded,
  according to Piachaud.
• Although homeless have statistically lower
  educational levels than the rest of population
  (15 of illiteracy and 56 of primary school in
  Cabreras 1999 survey), having attended (or not)
  high school proves to be unsignificant as a
  determinant of homelessness(Early, 2004)

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• Income
• Income and unemployment prove to be insignificant
  to explain why individuals become homeless.
  (Early, 2004)
• Income transferences by public offices(RMI or
  unconditional benefits), begging or employment
  provided by social organizations are the main
  sources of funding for homeless individuals.
• Social Capital
• Positive social capital, especially with
  included networks encourages the creation of
  more social capital and prevents exclusion.
  Negative social exclusion, tends to worsen and
  deepen in social exclusion. (homeless with
  homeless social networks might be
  contraproductive)(source Piachaud i comentarios
  de los trabajadores de arrels)
• De Haan (año??) argues that Social capital might
  be correlated with other capitals, especially
  linking poverty with a downfall in social
  capital.

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Target Group

• Those people who benefit from the assistance of
  Arrells
• Media de edad 48 años
• Gender Men 87.51 Women 12.49
• Income No income 36.48
• PNC/RMI 36.04
• Public Benefits 21.98
• Regular/temporary job 2.21
• Educational Attainment
• Illiteracy 11.05
• Primary level 73.30
• Secondary level 13.34
• University or similar 2.21
• Media de edad 48 años
• Sexo
• Hombres 87.51

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• Marital Status
• Single 92.37
• Married and others 7.63
• Housing
• Homeless 71.81
• Other not regularly being homeless 28.19

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Source Own elaboration with data from the Arrels
database
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Conclusions

• Our results accord with those highlighted in the
  literature regarding gender, age, educational
  levels and income.
• The novelty is the unexpected effect of not being
  homeless, regarding being homeless, on the risk
  of being in consolidated state of exclusion. This
  result suggests that public and private resources
  tend to benefits those in consolidated exclusion
  rather than those in initial phases in Barcelona.