Defining the social minimum: Legal and social policy perspectives

In different capacities, various social rights aim at guaranteeing that individuals receive a social minimum as a way to ensure a decent standard of living. What is less clear is how to define such social minimum. In this article, we look precisely at this question from the twofold perspective of law and social policy primarily looking at the EU level. The first exercise studies how different recent instruments delineate income adequacy while the second perspective studies the more multi-faceted view on effectiveness of social protection measures offered by socioeconomic literature. The article also offers a concrete illustration of the discussion with the Belgian case. The conclusion underlines common features of both perspectives and some potential learning opportunities.