Income Poverty in Selected Countries of the European Union

The presented article focuses on the assessment of the state of poverty in selected countries of the European Union on the basis of methodologies of European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC). Selected states are the representatives of areas of cultural affinity -specifically, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. The reference is between years 2005 and 2011. The basic variable is the monthly disposable income of an equivalised member. For the methodology, it is important that the basic unit is the household. The poverty threshold is defined as 60% of median equivalised income. Poverty is monitored also due to the economic activity of the population, which heavily relies on the head of household. In addition to poverty, it is essential to determine which populations are at risk of poverty. For this purpose, the Poverty Risk Index is used. Furthermore, it is essential to analyze the depth of poverty. It is also genuinely assumed that poverty is closely related to income inequality. This article makes use of simple regression analysis.