Work places with stipend programme and its impact on poverty risk decrease: Case of Latvia

The aim of the paper is to analyze theoretical concepts of poverty risk and to estimate the impact of the Workplaces with Stipend Programme (hereinafter WWS) on poverty risk decrease in Latvia. In order to assess the effects of the WWS three different surveys were carried out: of households with WWS participants, of experts in Latvian labour market issues, and of municipality representatives. The results were analyzed, together with analysis of statistical data. The paper concludes that in general the WWS has a very positive impact on WWS participants’ household budgets (more than 95% of the WWS participants in all Latvian regions noted a significant impact of the WWS on their household budgets). In cases where the WWS participant is the single representative of the household, he/ she escapes the status of a deprived person. At the same time participation in the WWS does not allow for exceeding the poverty threshold set in Latvia.