Indicators of Economic Exclusion among Croats and Ethnic Minorities in the Republic of Croatia

Glavni je cilj istraživanja bio analizirati raspodjelu kućanskog dohotka u Hrvatskoj između etničkih skupina (Hrvata i nacionalnih manjina) u donjem dijelu dohodovne distribucije. Drugi je cilj ovoga istraživanja bio analizirati osnovna sociodemografska obilježja kućanstava iz etničkih skupina koja se nalaze u donjih 20% dohodovne distribucije. Treći je cilj bio utvrditi razlike u položaju pripadnika etničkih skupina na tržištu rada. Izvor podataka bilo je Europsko istraživanje o kvaliteti života, koje je u Hrvatskoj proveo UNDP u 2006. godini. Zbog ograničenih subuzoraka manjinskih skupina, podaci za većinsku skupinu uspoređivani su s podacima za srpsku i »ostale nacionalne manjine« (12 nacionalnih manjina). Udio Srba koji žive u kućanstvima s niskim dohotkom oko dva i pol puta je veći od udjela Hrvata, dok je udio pripadnika ostalih nacionalnih manjina u kućanstvima s niskim dohotkom za otprilike 50% veći od udjela Hrvata. Dob, tip kućanstva, obrazovanje, broj zaposlenih u kućanstvu i regionalna pripadnost objašnjavaju oko dvije trećine ukupne razlike u broju osoba s niskim dohotkom između Hrvata i srpske nacionalne manjine i tri četvrtine razlike između Hrvata i ostalih manjina. Broj zaposlenih u kućanstvu objašnjava gotovo najveći dio spomenutih razlika. Srbi znatno češće od Hrvata i ostalih manjinskih skupina ostvaruju novčanu socijalnu pomoć ili means-tested naknade i imaju nepovoljniju poziciju na tržištu rada. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata predlažu se određene mjere socijalne politike radi smanjenja jaza u udjelu osoba s niskim dohotkom između većinske i manjinskih grupa.The main aim of the paper was to analyse the distribution of household income in Croatia among ethnic groups (Croats and ethnic minorities) in low-income households. The second aim was to analyse basic socio-demographic characteristics of low-income households from different ethnic groups. The third aim was to determine the differences between majority and minority groups in the non-monetary and cumulative deprivation indicators, and the fourth was to examine the differences in the position of ethnic minority groups on the labour market. The source of data was the European Quality of Life Survey, which was carried out in Croatia in 2006 by the UNDP Croatia. Due to small subsamples of ethnic minority groups, the data for the majority group was compared with the data for Serbian and other minority groups (12 ethnic minority groups). The share of the Serbs living in low-income households was about two and a half times the share of the Croats, while the share of persons from other ethnic minority groups living in low-income households was about 3% larger than the share of the Croats. Age, type of household, the number of employed household members, the region of residence and the size of town accounted for about two thirds of the gap in the overall number of persons with low income between the Croats and the Serbian ethnic minority (the number of employed household members accounted for almost one third of the mentioned difference). The Serbs more frequently than Croats or persons from other ethnic minority groups receive social assistance or means-tested benefits and have a less favourable position on the labour market. Based on the research findings, some policy measures are suggested in order to reduce the gap in the number of persons with low income between the majority group and ethnic minority group