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Since January 2022, Bernhard Ebbinghaus is Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at University of Mannheim, Germany. After five years at University of Oxford, he returns to the Chair of Macrosociology teaching comparative sociology in the Mannheim sociology (BA, MA, PhD) programmes and he continues his research on the reforms of European welfare states, facilitated by the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)

During his five years at Oxford, he was Professor of Social Policy and Senior Research Fellow of Green Templeton College at University of Oxford from January 2017 until December 2022. From October 2017 until December 2020, Prof Ebbinghaus was Head of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI) at University of Oxford. In addition, he is currently Associate Member of Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

He has been visiting Mercator Fellow (2018-21) at the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 884) Political Economy of Reform and MZES External Fellow, University of Mannheim. In 2021 Prof Ebbinghaus was on sabbatical, working on the projects at University of Mannheim and visiting as OxPo Fellow the European research centre (CEE) at Sciences Po Paris. Since November 2021 Professor Ebbinghaus is member of the European Commission’s High-Level Group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU.

 

After five years as Professor of Social Policy and Head (2017-21) of the Department of Social Policy & Intervention at University of Oxford, Bernhard Ebbinghaus returned as Professor of Sociology to the University of Mannheim, leading the Macrosociology Chair at the School of Social Sciences as of January 2022. He will continue teaching comparative sociology and conducting research on welfare state reforms in Europe. Over the last twelve years he had been co-PI in the joint research centre Political Economy of Reform (SFB884) and had recently completed a project on Crisis Corporatism or Corporatism in Crisis at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES).

While the sustainability of pension systems facing demographic ageing has been widely discussed, the adequacy of retirement income has often been neglected in current debate. However, considerable poverty and income inequality in old age exists across Europe. Using recent EU‐SILC data (2017/18), the comparative analysis of poverty rates and income inequality in old age shows important cross‐national variations that need to be seen in context of market‐related inequalities but also the specific pension system. Beveridge basic security is not always capable of effectively reducing poverty despite the explicit goal to do so. In addition, private funded pensions may generate social inequality. Some contributory Bismarckian systems are better suited to reduce poverty, but given their focus on status maintenance also reproduce inequality. Poverty rates are low due to encompassing basic pensions in Dutch and some Nordic multipillar systems and in core Central and Eastern European countries. Bismarckian pensions such as in Germany are generating some inequality and medium level of poverty, while France and some Southern European countries perform better on poverty but reproduce larger inequalities. Beveridge systems such as in the United Kingdom and Switzerland with rather meagre basic multipillar systems have relatively medium to high poverty risks. In addition, the Baltic countries and new EU member states in the periphery have the highest poverty rates across Europe. The analysis shows that the minimum income provision of public pension systems matters most for poverty risks, while the overall pension architecture has an impact on reproducing inequality in old age acquired during working life.

Ebbinghaus, Bernhard (2021) “Inequalities and poverty risks in old age across Europe: The double‐edged income effect of pension systems”, Social Policy & Administration, 55(3): 440–455 (open access). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spol.12683

Part of a special issue:  Inequalities in pension and retirement: Life‐courses and pension systems in comparative perspective, Social Policy & Administration, 55(3), May 2021, edited by Kati Kuitto, Susan Kuivalainen, and Katja Möhring. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14679515/2021/55/3