oa Financiële spanning en informeel sociaal isolement - De rol van macro-economische omstandigheden en sociale zekerheidsuitgaven in 32 Europese landen in het decennium na de eeuwwisseling

Financial strain and informal social isolation: The role of macro-economic circumstances and social protection expenditure in 32 European countries in the decade after the turn of the century.

This study examines to what extent financial strain, that is, difficulties to cope on one’s income, is related to informal social isolation, that is, lacking social contacts with friend, relatives and colleagues. We consider to what extent macro-economic conditions and social protection expenditure affect informal social isolation as well as the relationship between financial strain and informal social isolation. Moreover, we study to what extent the effect of social protection expenditure on informal social isolation is weaker or stronger under varying macro-economic conditions. We perform multilevel analyses, taking advantage of data derived from the European Social Survey (2002-2010). Our findings show that experiencing financial strain induces social isolation. In economically less developed countries, informal social isolation is higher; in nations with high levels of social security expenditure, it is lower. Finally, particularly financially strained people suffer in terms of informal social isolation when macro-economic conditions are disadvantageous and welfare state expenditure is low.