Abstract
At a research in the Biharkeresztes micro-region (conducted via semi-structured interviews) weasked family households living in poverty. Roma households were mostly among the respondents.We also found that that estimated number of Roma population in the settlements correlated tothe number of people working in public service. The examination of age structure diagrams atthe settlements showed that the ones the mayors estimated to have a higher Roma population,are the younger settlements. The fact that there can be a causal relationship between thesephenomena is supported by numerous previous researches (Kemény, 2004; Molnár, 2007). Theseresearches pointed out the effect of poverty ethnicisation in Hungary (Ladányi – Szelényi, 2004).Furthermore, a research conducted in 2007 at the neighbouring Szabocs-Szatmár-Bereg Countyalso confirmed the ethnicisation theory (Fónai et al.). The aim of this study is to examine thepossibility of poverty ethnicisation at the five settlements of the Biharkeresztes micro-region,with the help of the implemented qualitative inquiry, previous researches, and databases fromCSO and TeIR .