Possible changes over time: poverty among migrants in the European Union

Abstract

Over the past decade, the countries of the European Union have faced an increase in immigration flows from less developed and politically stable countries. The movement of migrants created new socio-economic challenges that affected their well-being. Thus, it is fair to ask: what influences the income level of migrants? The aim of the article is to study the influence of the selected determinants on the probability of poverty among migrants in the European Union. Using EU-SILC data for 2014 and 2018, we also explore possible changes in the strength of the determinants of poverty, depending on the pre-crisis and post-crisis periods associated with an increase in immigration. We report that immigrant status expressed by the birth outside the EU or holding other than EU citizenship increases the likelihood of being poor. The applied logistic model show that migrant poverty is associated with the level of education achieved, marital status, occupation, and housing ownership. Using macroeconomic variables, we find that the ratio of migrants to population, population size, and social-democratic welfare regime reduce the likelihood of poverty among migrants.