for others such as the lowskilled it may become increasingly difficult to escape poverty understanding how changes in family structure particularly among those at risk of low income might evolve over the next years is therefore of considerable importance for policy makers it starts by reviewing the current state of lowincome families looking at their evolution over recent decades and at the factors that have driven these changes the next section then looks at the influence that the policy environment has had on lowincome families across countries examining the role of taxes and transfers institutions and policies towards families with children on poverty outcomes three specific issues are addressed in the following section how the persistence of poverty the experience of young people and migration influence social cohesion