The Poverty of the Czech Elderly - Myth or Reality?

Abstract

Poverty among the Czech elderly is considered from objective & subjective perspectives. Various indicators of objective poverty are analyzed, eg, the relation of average monthly income to average old-age pension, pension inequalities, structure of household expenditures, & structure of consumer durables ownership, as are representative survey data measuring subjective poverty. It is concluded that, from the objective point of view, Czech elderly are well above subsistence poverty. However, their subjective poverty seems quite extensive, affecting 30%-50%. This suggests that feelings of social exclusion are quite widespread among the Czech elderly population.