Abstract

The social impact of this crisis varies in each European country depending on several factors including labour market regulation, social protection systems and the functioning of family structures. A comparative perspective with other countries (Denmark, France, United Kingdom) is used to understand how Spain has reacted to economic crisis. We try to explain why the social impact has been much bigger in Spain than in other European countries and why severe poverty has significantly grown. We focus the role of social policy and, specifically, the social protection oriented to guaranteeing a minimum income. The limits and inefficiencies of Spanish social assistance to face the new needs raised during these past five years are shown in this analysis. Data presented in this paper comes from a direct analysis of EU-LFS and EU-SILC databases, during the period 2006-2012, depending on available data.