Sărăcia și inegalitățile socioeconomice. Provocări pentru politicile sociale în România postdecembristă

Abstract

Poverty or social exclusion programs, under their multiple forms, are of decision makers' concerns at global, European, regional, and local levels. They emerge as the primary objectives of sustainable development strategies.

The deepening of economic and social inequalities multiplied the risk of poverty or exclusion for highly vulnerable groups. Monitoring groups at risk of poverty and social marginalization, especially children and youth, is imperative today. Monitoring reports have been included in all country strategies and EU recommendations. In this context, measuring poverty in all its complexity using social indicators defined according to a common methodology at the European level might help identify specific cases of vulnerable persons, and provide effective support measures for groups exposed to the marginalization risk.

In Romania, particular attention is paid currently to children, the group most exposed to poverty. Romania is ranked first with the highest percentage of children exposed to poverty or social exclusion, followed by Bulgaria and Greece. Finding social balance in a modern economic system presupposes promoting a highly equitable society with benefits and investments in essential sectors for equality and human development such as education, health, culture, social work, civic and political participation, etc. Sectorial social policies might increase the efficiency of social transfers for poverty or social exclusion reduction in an integrated modern vision. They might also ensure future increases in the quality of life for vulnerable groups or persons.