This Book Aims To Shed New Light On Recent Poverty Trends In The European Union, Responses By European Welfare States, And How Progress Can Be Made To Realize A Decent Income For All. The Text Analyzes The Effect Of Social And Fiscal Policies Before, During, And After The Recent Economic Crisis And Studies The Impact Of Alternative Policy Packages On Poverty And Inequality. Furthermore, The Discussion Elaborates On How Social Investment And Local Initiatives Of Social Innovation Can Contribute To Tackling Poverty. There Are Reasons For Both Optimism And Pessimism. The Book Argues That There Are Indeed Structural Constraints On The Increase Of The Social Floor And Difficult Trade-offs Involved In Reconciling Work And Poverty Reduction. Differences Across Countries Are, However, Very Large. This Suggests That There Is Ample Room For Maneuver For Policy Makers. There Is Also No Evidence Of A Universal Deterioration Of Social Protection. Nonetheless, We Observe A Persistent And Almost General Inadequacy Of Minimum Income Protection For Jobless Households, Pointing To Structural Challenges For Realizing A Decent Minimum Income For All. To Overcome These Challenges, Unavoidably, Efforts To Raise The Wage And The Social Floor Should Be Increased Significantly Almost Everywhere. The Book Highlights That To Do So, Country-specific Policy Mixes Should Be Designed. Foreword: A Self-critical Flashback On The European Union's Anti-poverty Promise / Frank Vandenbroucke -- Part 1. Income Poverty In Europe: Setting The Scene: 1. What Does It Mean To Live On The Poverty Threshold? Lessons From Reference Budgets / Tim Toegemé [and 19 Others]; 2. Employment And Poverty Dynamics Before, During, And After The Crisis / András Gábos, Réka Branyiczki, Barbara Binder, And Istav́n György Tóth; 3. A Pan-european Perspective On Low-income Dynamics In The European Union / Tim Goedemé, Lorena Zardo, And Frank Vandenbroucke -- Part 2. The Role Of Social Protection: 4. The Impact Of Social Transfers On Income Poverty And Material Deprivation / Geranda Notten And Anne-catherine Guio; 5. Policy And Poverty In Seven European Union Countries In The Lisbon Decade: The Contribution Of Tax-benefit Policy Changes / John Hills, Alari Paulus, Holly Sutherland, And Iva Tasseva; 6. Distributive Effects Of The Crisis In The European Periphery / Manos Matsaganis And Chrysa Leventi; 7. Do Employment-conditional Earnings Subsidies Work? / Lane Kenworthy -- Part 3. New Policy Paradigms: What Can Be Expected?: 8. Improving Poverty Reduction: Lessons From The Social Innovation Perspective / Stijn Oosterlynck [and 6 Others]; 9. Social Investment At Crossroads: The Third Way Or The Enlightened Path Forward? / Axel Cronert And Joakim Palme -- Part 4. Toward A Decent Social Floor For All Europeans: 10. The End Of Cheap Talk About Poverty Reduction: The Cost Of Closing The Poverty Gap While Maintaining Work Incentives / Diego Collado, Bea Cantillon, Karel Van Den Bosch, Tim Goedemé, And Dieter Vandelannoote; 11. The Design Of In-work Benefits: How To Boost Employment And Combat Poverty In Belgium? / Dieter Vandelannoote And Gerlinde Verbist; 12. Toward Adequate Minimum Incomes: Which Role For Europe? / Bea Cantillon, Sarah Marchal, And Chris Luigjes; 13. Conclusion: How To Get There? / Bea Cantillon, Tim Goedemé, And John Hills. Edited By Bea Cantillon, Tim Goedemé, John Hills. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.