Economics and Society aims to use the tools of economics to look at the whole of society. One part of that society that is often forgotten - or even neglected and ignored – are people who beg. Hidden in plain sight, visible but largely unseen. And often uncounted, until now.
Economic Sociologist Stef Adriaenssens and his PhD researcher Teodora Soare, both from KU Leuven’s Economic research group, have charted the lives and lived experiences of people who beg on the streets of Brussels. Moreover, they examined which so-called ‘deservingness criteria’ passersby employ to decide whether or not to give to people who beg.