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This book examines experiences of Romani political participation in eastern and western Europe, providing an understanding of the emerging political space that over 8 million Romani citizens occupy within the EU, and addressing issues related to the socio-political circumstances of Romani communities within European countries.

Economic arrangements of Romanies are complexly related to their social position. The authors of this volume explore these complexities, including how economic exchanges forge key social relationships of gender and ethnicity, how economic opportunities are constructed and seized, and how economic success and failure are transformed into attributes of social persons. They explore how, despite — or perhaps because of — their unstable and ambiguous position within the market economy, shared today with a growing number of people facing precarity and informalisation, Roma and Gypsy communities continuously re-create more or less viable economic strategies. The ethnographically based chapters share accounts of socially and economically vulnerable populations that face their situation with self-determination and creativity.

Poverty among the Roma minority is one of the most challenging development issues facing the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Conditions have deteriorated more severely for Roma than for others, and Roma have been poorly positioned to take advantage of emerging economic and civic opportunities. Poverty among Roma is multi-dimensional and related to a broad range of factors, including poor health and educational status, and limited chances in the labor market, as well as discrimination and unique aspects of the social organization of Roma society, which together contribute to their exclusion. Addressing the challenges facing the Roma is central to the success of economic transition and is an integral part of the process of building cohesive and inclusive societies in the region. In particular, the European Union accession process is focusing attention on the conditions of the Roma and increasing international involvement, providing an unprecedented window of opportunity for tackling issues through programs and projects. This report represents the World Bank ' s first significant contribution to Roma issues. It was written in the context of a broader study of poverty in the transitional countries and brings together the existing data to develop a picture of the poverty and human development challenges facing the Roma. It also draws upon new qualitative studies of Roma communities to bring the experiences and perspectives of Roma themselves into the discussion.

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.

Economic arrangements of Romanies are complexly related to their social position. Authors explore these complexities, including how economic exchanges forge key social relationships of gender and ethnicity, how economic opportunities are constructed and seized, and how economic success and failure are transformed into attributes of social persons. They explore how, despite -- or perhaps because of -- their unstable and ambiguous position within the market economy, shared today with a growing number of people facing precarity and informalisation, Roma and Gypsy communities continuously re-create more or less viable economic strategies. The ethnographically based chapters share accounts of socially and vulnerable populations that face their situation with self-determination and creativity. - Provided by publisher

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.

How do objects mediate human relationships, and possess their own social and political agency? What role does material culture – such as prestige consumption as well as commodity aesthetics, biographies, and ownership histories – play in the production of social and political identities, differences, and hierarchies? How do (informal) consumer subcultures of collectors organize and manage themselves? Drawing on theories from anthropology and sociology, specifically material culture, consumption, museum, ethnicity, and post-socialist studies, Materializing Difference addresses these questions via analysis of the practices and ideologies connected to Gabor Roma beakers and roofed tankards made of antique silver. The consumer subculture organized around these objects – defined as ethnicized and gendered prestige goods by the Gabor Roma living in Romania – is a contemporary, second-hand culture based on patina-oriented consumption. Materializing Difference reveals the inner dynamics of the complex relationships and interactions between objects (silver beakers and roofed tankards) and subjects (Romanian Roma) and investigates how these relationships and interactions contribute to the construction, materialization, and reformulation of social, economic, and political identities, boundaries, and differences. It also discusses how, after 1989, the political transformation in Romania led to the emergence of a new, post-socialist consumer sensitivity among the Gabor Roma, and how this sensitivity reshaped the pre-regime-change patterns, meanings, and value preferences of prestige consumption.

Background Infant mortality rates are reliable indices of the child and general population health status and health care delivery. The most critical factors affecting infant mortality are socioeconomic status and ethnicity. The aim of this study was to assess the association between socioeconomic disadvantage, ethnicity, and perinatal, neonatal, and infant mortality in Slovakia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The associations between socioeconomic disadvantage (educational level, long-term unemployment rate), ethnicity (the proportion of the Roma population) and mortality (perinatal, neonatal, and infant) in the period 2017–2022 were explored, using linear regression models. Results The higher proportion of people with only elementary education and long-term unemployed, as well as the higher proportion of the Roma population, increases mortality rates. The proportion of the Roma population had the most significant impact on mortality in the selected period between 2017 and 2022, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022). Conclusions Life in segregated Roma settlements is connected with the accumulation of socioeconomic disadvantage. Persistent inequities between Roma and the majority population in Slovakia exposed by mortality rates in children point to the vulnerabilities and exposures which should be adequately addressed by health and social policies.

The Roma are the most significant ethnic minority in the EU, subject to severe discrimination, social exclusion, and poverty. Due to their deplorable living conditions, isolation, and widespread antigypsyism, Roma are among the most affected by the socioeconomic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article aims to assess the impact of this crisis on the Roma population from a multidimensional perspective. A thematic review of recent studies and reports on the pandemic’s effects on the Roma ethnic minority in Europe was carried out. In this work, the COVID-19 pandemic has been identified as a new global factor that influences the pre-existing exclusion dynamics and Roma mobility within Europe. Results show that these precarious living conditions have deteriorated to alarming levels in most European countries, leading to increased food insecurity and new forms of discrimination and stigmatization. The Roma ethnic minority has been disproportionately affected by mobility restrictions imposed by COVID-19. In all European nations, racist and xenophobic attitudes toward the Roma ethnic minority have increased during the socioeconomic and health crisis. The pandemic has intensified a process of ethnicization, fostering anti-Roma sentiment among the general population.