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Roma are the largest minority group in Europe and are the major poverty risk group in Central and Eastern Europe. Poverty rates from recent World Bank poverty studies are striking. In Bulgaria, Roma were found to be ten times more likely to be poor than ethnic Bulgarians. Roma also comprise an increasing share of the population in ECA countries, because of higher birth rates. These dynamics have gained international attention, and the European Union accession process, in particular, has focused attention on the issue. Governments and international institutions have been eager to support initiatives to address the needs of Roma. However, the lack of credible information on the actual living conditions of Roma and the absence of program evaluations have provided substantial obstacles.This book brings together original sociological research, evaluations of programs, and the first comparative cross-country household survey on ethnicity and poverty. It finds that Roma poverty is multi-faceted and can only be addressed by a comprehensive policy approach that attends to all dimensions of Roma social exclusion. It proposes an inclusive policy approach which would expand and promote Roma involvement and participation in mainstream society, while maintaining cultural and social identity and autonomy. Policy mechanisms include those which make existing policies more accessible to Roma and identifying areas where targeted initiatives are needed.

Many Roma are among the poorest and most vulnerable Europeans, facing poverty, exclusion, and discrimination. In European Union member countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) with substantial Roma populations, inequalities between Roma and non-Roma start early and are striking. Some of these inequalities reflect hard-wired family circumstances. For example, a Roma child is much more likely to grow up in a household at the very bottom of the income distribution, or have parents with little or no education. Other inequalities reflect limited opportunities such as access to basic goods and services (e.g., quality education and adequate living conditions), which are necessary not only for realizing ones potential in life, but also for living with dignity. This book focuses on identifying pathways to promote fair chances for disadvantaged Roma in CEE countries. Investing early, by promoting good nutrition, cognitive child development, and access to quality education is a policy with recognized high returns, especially for disadvantaged children.

This study examines general life satisfaction and happiness as two indicators of subjective well-being among Roma and non-Roma populations in Central and Southeastern Europe. Using a sample of 11,997 participants (Roma N = 8,399, non-Roma N = 3,598) from the Regional Roma Survey in 2011 we test a structural equation model which considers self-rated health, income, education, quality of housing, perceived (ethnic) discrimination, and ethnic group identification as mediators of the relationship between Roma/non-Roma group membership and subjective well-being. Well-being was found to be lower among Roma compared to non-Roma and this was fully due to Roma's lower health status, lower income, lower education, lower quality of housing, lower ethnic identification, and higher perceived discrimination. The findings confirm that Roma have fewer resources for the attainment of need-gratification which negatively affects their happiness and life satisfaction, thereby, refuting the romanticized image of the Roma as 'poor but happy people'.

The Roma more than anyone else lost out in the transition to the market economy in the countries of Central and South Eastern Europe. Their unemployment rate is 100 per cent in some rural areas and the Roma's dependence on government benefits is widespread. This article takes a look at unemployment and employment among the Roma on the basis of two surveys completed in 2002 and 2004. It is shown that lack of formal education cannot provide a full explanation of the relatively high unemployment rates faced by Roma and that at least part of the problem arises from discrimination in employment. Roma are also disproportionately employed in low-quality jobs in the informal sector. The paper argues that programmes aimed at combatting labour market and income disadvantages of the Roma must be based on the development of opportunities for autonomous income generation rather than the public works temporary employment programmes currently prevalent.