Maria Petmesidou and Christos Papatheodorou are respectively professor and assistant professor of Social Policy at Democritus University of Thrace.

"This collection of essays lucidly addresses major issues related to poverty in the Mediterranean area. Empirical measurements of poverty reduced to a meaningless ?one or two dollars of daily expenditure?, as suggested by the World Bank, are meant to escape the political economy analysis of the processes that generate the phenomenon. Eradicating poverty implies implementing a programme of social security for all citizens, whatever level of development is reached by the country, in accordance with the basic human rights approach cogently suggested in this book" Samir Amin, Director of Third World Forum, Dakar & Paris "This is a most welcome addition to the literature on poverty. It is not just another book but a different and innovative book. It offers a comparative analysis of poverty for a region -the Mediterranean- which is a microcosm of the global economy comprising a range of countries from the very poor to the rich, countries torn by war and genocide as well as havens of stability, with cultures offering a diverse mixture of family types and ethnic groups. The approach is hard headed and insists on taking the removal of poverty not just as an economic or social policy but as a human rights issue. It should interest students, researchers and policy makers across the world as it has lessons for everywhere and for everyone." Lord Meghnad Desai, London School of Economics, UK 'The volume has a number of key strengths. One of the most strong features is the level of information provided. It reflects rigorous scholarship with a wealth of empirical material and extensive use of footnotes. This is a very useful contribution to knowledge of the nature and extent of poverty and understanding of underlying structural causes. The book is an important source of information on particular countries. It should be of interest to a wide audience of students, academics, practitioners, policy makers and anyone with an interest in the advancement of human rights and the eradication of glaring inequalities.' David Storey, University of Worcester

• List of Tables and FiguresAcknowledgementsList of Contributors1. Introduction: Comparing Poverty Phenomena in the Mediterranean Area - Maria Petmesidou and Christos PapatheodorouPart I: The Southern EU Member states, the Balkan transition countries and Turkey2. Poverty Profiles and trends. How do Southern European Countries Compare with Each Other? - Christos Papatheodorou and Maria Petmesidou3. Poverty and Poverty Discourses in Italy in Comparative Perspective - Chiara Saraceno4. Poverty and Anti-Poverty Policies in Portugal: The Experience of the Guaranteed Minimum Income - Jose Pereirinha5. Absolute Poverty of Illegal Immigrants in Spain: A Growing Problem - Ubaldo Martinez Veiga6. Poverty Reduction Strategies and Well-being in Albania and Former Yugoslavia - Gerry Redmond7. The Poor, Excluded and Transition Losers in the South-eastern European Transition Economies - Ivo Bicanic and Vojmir Franicevic8. Dynamics of Poverty in Turkey: Gender, Rural/Urban Poverty, Social Networks and Reciprocal Survival Strategies - Sibel KalayciogluPart II: The Middle East and North Africa9. Poverty in Israel: Taking a Multidimensional Approach - Jacques Silber And Michael Sorin10. The Making of Poverty in Palestine - Jamil Hilal11. Social Stratification Obstacles to Reducing Inequality and Alleviating Poverty: the Case of Lebanon - Sylvia Haladjian-Henriksen12. Understanding Recent Trends in Poverty and Inequality in the Maghreb (with Emphasis on Morocco) - Mina Baliamoune-Lutz13. Poverty Evaluation in Algeria: A Logit-Probit Model Applied to a Multidimensional Field Survey in the Region of Tlemcen - Abderrezak Benhabib, Tahar Ziani and Samir Baha-Eddine Maliki14. Concluding Commentary: Poverty in the Mediterranean Region: Applying a Human Rights Strategy - Peter Townsend

Maria Petmesidou and Christos Papatheodorou are respectively professor and assistant professor of Social Policy at Democritus University of Thrace.

"This collection of essays lucidly addresses major issues related to poverty in the Mediterranean area. Empirical measurements of poverty reduced to a meaningless ?one or two dollars of daily expenditure?, as suggested by the World Bank, are meant to escape the political economy analysis of the processes that generate the phenomenon. Eradicating poverty implies implementing a programme of social security for all citizens, whatever level of development is reached by the country, in accordance with the basic human rights approach cogently suggested in this book" Samir Amin, Director of Third World Forum, Dakar & Paris "This is a most welcome addition to the literature on poverty. It is not just another book but a different and innovative book. It offers a comparative analysis of poverty for a region -the Mediterranean- which is a microcosm of the global economy comprising a range of countries from the very poor to the rich, countries torn by war and genocide as well as havens of stability, with cultures offering a diverse mixture of family types and ethnic groups. The approach is hard headed and insists on taking the removal of poverty not just as an economic or social policy but as a human rights issue. It should interest students, researchers and policy makers across the world as it has lessons for everywhere and for everyone." Lord Meghnad Desai, London School of Economics, UK 'The volume has a number of key strengths. One of the most strong features is the level of information provided. It reflects rigorous scholarship with a wealth of empirical material and extensive use of footnotes. This is a very useful contribution to knowledge of the nature and extent of poverty and understanding of underlying structural causes. The book is an important source of information on particular countries. It should be of interest to a wide audience of students, academics, practitioners, policy makers and anyone with an interest in the advancement of human rights and the eradication of glaring inequalities.' David Storey, University of Worcester

• List of Tables and FiguresAcknowledgementsList of Contributors1. Introduction: Comparing Poverty Phenomena in the Mediterranean Area - Maria Petmesidou and Christos PapatheodorouPart I: The Southern EU Member states, the Balkan transition countries and Turkey2. Poverty Profiles and trends. How do Southern European Countries Compare with Each Other? - Christos Papatheodorou and Maria Petmesidou3. Poverty and Poverty Discourses in Italy in Comparative Perspective - Chiara Saraceno4. Poverty and Anti-Poverty Policies in Portugal: The Experience of the Guaranteed Minimum Income - Jose Pereirinha5. Absolute Poverty of Illegal Immigrants in Spain: A Growing Problem - Ubaldo Martinez Veiga6. Poverty Reduction Strategies and Well-being in Albania and Former Yugoslavia - Gerry Redmond7. The Poor, Excluded and Transition Losers in the South-eastern European Transition Economies - Ivo Bicanic and Vojmir Franicevic8. Dynamics of Poverty in Turkey: Gender, Rural/Urban Poverty, Social Networks and Reciprocal Survival Strategies - Sibel KalayciogluPart II: The Middle East and North Africa9. Poverty in Israel: Taking a Multidimensional Approach - Jacques Silber And Michael Sorin10. The Making of Poverty in Palestine - Jamil Hilal11. Social Stratification Obstacles to Reducing Inequality and Alleviating Poverty: the Case of Lebanon - Sylvia Haladjian-Henriksen12. Understanding Recent Trends in Poverty and Inequality in the Maghreb (with Emphasis on Morocco) - Mina Baliamoune-Lutz13. Poverty Evaluation in Algeria: A Logit-Probit Model Applied to a Multidimensional Field Survey in the Region of Tlemcen - Abderrezak Benhabib, Tahar Ziani and Samir Baha-Eddine Maliki14. Concluding Commentary: Poverty in the Mediterranean Region: Applying a Human Rights Strategy - Peter Townsend

Maria Petmesidou and Christos Papatheodorou are respectively professor and assistant professor of Social Policy at Democritus University of Thrace.

"This collection of essays lucidly addresses major issues related to poverty in the Mediterranean area. Empirical measurements of poverty reduced to a meaningless ?one or two dollars of daily expenditure?, as suggested by the World Bank, are meant to escape the political economy analysis of the processes that generate the phenomenon. Eradicating poverty implies implementing a programme of social security for all citizens, whatever level of development is reached by the country, in accordance with the basic human rights approach cogently suggested in this book" Samir Amin, Director of Third World Forum, Dakar & Paris "This is a most welcome addition to the literature on poverty. It is not just another book but a different and innovative book. It offers a comparative analysis of poverty for a region -the Mediterranean- which is a microcosm of the global economy comprising a range of countries from the very poor to the rich, countries torn by war and genocide as well as havens of stability, with cultures offering a diverse mixture of family types and ethnic groups. The approach is hard headed and insists on taking the removal of poverty not just as an economic or social policy but as a human rights issue. It should interest students, researchers and policy makers across the world as it has lessons for everywhere and for everyone." Lord Meghnad Desai, London School of Economics, UK 'The volume has a number of key strengths. One of the most strong features is the level of information provided. It reflects rigorous scholarship with a wealth of empirical material and extensive use of footnotes. This is a very useful contribution to knowledge of the nature and extent of poverty and understanding of underlying structural causes. The book is an important source of information on particular countries. It should be of interest to a wide audience of students, academics, practitioners, policy makers and anyone with an interest in the advancement of human rights and the eradication of glaring inequalities.' David Storey, University of Worcester

• List of Tables and FiguresAcknowledgementsList of Contributors1. Introduction: Comparing Poverty Phenomena in the Mediterranean Area - Maria Petmesidou and Christos PapatheodorouPart I: The Southern EU Member states, the Balkan transition countries and Turkey2. Poverty Profiles and trends. How do Southern European Countries Compare with Each Other? - Christos Papatheodorou and Maria Petmesidou3. Poverty and Poverty Discourses in Italy in Comparative Perspective - Chiara Saraceno4. Poverty and Anti-Poverty Policies in Portugal: The Experience of the Guaranteed Minimum Income - Jose Pereirinha5. Absolute Poverty of Illegal Immigrants in Spain: A Growing Problem - Ubaldo Martinez Veiga6. Poverty Reduction Strategies and Well-being in Albania and Former Yugoslavia - Gerry Redmond7. The Poor, Excluded and Transition Losers in the South-eastern European Transition Economies - Ivo Bicanic and Vojmir Franicevic8. Dynamics of Poverty in Turkey: Gender, Rural/Urban Poverty, Social Networks and Reciprocal Survival Strategies - Sibel KalayciogluPart II: The Middle East and North Africa9. Poverty in Israel: Taking a Multidimensional Approach - Jacques Silber And Michael Sorin10. The Making of Poverty in Palestine - Jamil Hilal11. Social Stratification Obstacles to Reducing Inequality and Alleviating Poverty: the Case of Lebanon - Sylvia Haladjian-Henriksen12. Understanding Recent Trends in Poverty and Inequality in the Maghreb (with Emphasis on Morocco) - Mina Baliamoune-Lutz13. Poverty Evaluation in Algeria: A Logit-Probit Model Applied to a Multidimensional Field Survey in the Region of Tlemcen - Abderrezak Benhabib, Tahar Ziani and Samir Baha-Eddine Maliki14. Concluding Commentary: Poverty in the Mediterranean Region: Applying a Human Rights Strategy - Peter Townsend