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Using data from 22 European countries this paper examines intra-household inequality between children and adults. Households allocate resources according to dynamic rules that consider age, gender, kinship and labor market participation. Parents and the unemployed are the most likely to experience deprivation. Extended co-residency is a helpful but limited strategy to reduce child poverty: extended households are more likely to protect children, but also to be poorer. The prioritization of children is nearly universal, with no evidence of an association between income or education and the prioritization of children. Individual deprivation data provide valuable information on intra-household inequality.

Entities wanting to communicate purposefully should have insight into the different frames and counter-frames that give meaning to an issue. Therefore, this research introduces a Framing Counter-framing Theory (FCT). A conceptual distinction is made between frames that define an issue as a problem and frames that deproblematize it. An experimental study (N = 1,000) was conducted in Belgium regarding the effects of an awareness-raising campaign on child poverty. It demonstrated that using deproblematizing frames can render such a campaign more effective. There was an increased willingness to donate in the condition in which the campaign used deproblematizing frames as counter-framing strategy. Furthermore, the results highlight how the internal coherence of a deproblematizing frame can be disrupted by priming an alternative problematizing frame mitigating the intended effect. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings and FCT are discussed. ispartof: International Journal of Strategic Communication vol:15 issue:5 pages:425-439 status: published

Childhood poverty matters—not only because of the disturbingly high number of children affected, but also because of the deleterious impact on their human flourishing, both now and in the future. E...

Most of the existing surveys and poverty studies in Nigeria are, understandably, quantitative in approach, generating data and statistics that are currently guiding development planning. Issues tha...

Talk of poverty is always moralised. Sometimes the moralising is explicitly judgemental, whether about the characters and choices of people in poverty, or about its harmful effects. Sometimes it is...

This paper analyses the factors central to the practices and realities of historical educational support for destitute and neglected children in the Manchester Certified Industrial Schools (MCIS) t...

This study aims to understand how student teachers think about poverty in the context of rising rates of child poverty as they begin their initial teacher education (ITE). Globally, increasing numb...

There is an increased understanding of the importance of high-quality early years education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, in relation to their future attainment and future life chanc...

As part of the 2030 Agenda, much effort has been exerted in comparing multidimensional child poverty measures both technically and conceptually. Yet, few countries have adopted and used any of these measures in policymaking. This paper explores the reasons for this absence from a political economy perspective. It develops an innovative political economy framework for poverty measurement and a hypothesis whereby a country will only produce and use reliable and sustainable multidimensional child poverty (MDCP) measures if and only if three conditions coalesce: consensus, capacity and polity. We explore this framework with two relevant case studies, Mexico and Uganda. Both countries satisfy the capacity condition required to measure MDCP but only Mexico satisfies the other two conditions. Our proposed political economy framework is normatively relevant because it identifies the conditions that need to change across multiple contexts before the effective adoption and use of an MDCP measure becomes more likely.

A powerful discursive formation claims ‘bad parenting’ amongst the poor predisposes their children to educational underachievement. A small number of children in poverty succeeding within early edu...

In the context of a dramatic rise in food bank use in Scotland, the A Menu for Change project, delivered by Oxfam Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Nourish Scotland and The Poverty ...

Within the framework of the CaixaProinfancia programme, networks have been developed in 18 regions of Spain which promote intersectoral cooperation to combat the social and educational exclusion of...

This paper provides evidence on the predicted benefits of maternal education, in terms of reduced child malnutrition at age 1 and age 5, focusing specifically on the complementarities of maternal education with early life interventions across contexts. Using data from the Young Lives Longitudinal Study for Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam, results show the expected strong association of maternal education with a reduced likelihood of malnutrition both at ages 1 and 5. However, the benefits of maternal education via access to early life interventions, in this case antenatal care, are found only in some countries and for some levels of maternal education. Inequalities in the risk of malnutrition between those with the highest endowments of maternal education and access to antenatal services, and those without these, are significant within countries. We conclude that programmes which aim to reduce the risks of malnutrition should consider local knowledge and realities in order to understand more fully the expected benefits.

This study introduces a multidimensional child poverty index (MCPI) for Iran. It comprises 10 indicators in three dimensions: health, education, and living standards. Based on MCPI scores 3...

This paper estimates child income poverty in rural China and evaluates the pro-poor nature of income growth during the period 2005–2015. The results show that the growth is absolutely pro-poor but ...

The Children Future Education and the Development Accounts (CFEDAs) are the first anti-poverty policy in Taiwan developed to provide incentives for the poor to accumulate assets for their future. U...

This paper analyzes the socio-economic correlates of multiple child deprivations in Kenya using the 1993-2014 KDHS. Conventionally, child well-being is examined from the perspective of income poverty. However, numerous studies have argued that income is just one of the defining characteristics of poverty. Furthermore, examining child well-being only through monetary lens risk leaving behind millions of children because children are not economic agents. Despite global recognition of the importance of having a comprehensive measure of child well-being, there is a dearth of literature on multiple child deprivations. This study utilized data on seven child-specific dimensions of well-being. First, we counted the number of dimensions each child was deprived and then ranked them from those who were not deprived to those who are deprived in four or more dimensions. Second, we examined the distribution of multiple child deprivations by various characteristics. Finally, we investigated factors associated with multiple child deprivations using an ordered logit regression model. The results reveal that rural children, male children and children living in households without access to electricity and under female headship, on average, suffer higher incidence of multiple deprivations than their counterparts. Children with higher birth orders, twins and from rural residence had higher probability of suffering multiple deprivations while higher maternal education, employment of the respondent were associated with lower chances of a child suffering multiple deprivations. The findings of the study suggest the need for integrated policies targeting multiple forms of deprivation and strategies to ensure access to public services in remote areas.

In Torfaen, situated in the South-East of Wales during the first lockdown there were seven 'hubs' supported by the Play Service Well-being Playworkers. The Well-being Playworkers have continued to support schools post-lockdown. Interviews were undertaken with nine headteachers from all seven of the 'hubs'. Thematic analysis of the data identified three themes: Strong Relationships with children and the school, becoming part of the School Team, and the Well-being Playwokers offering a Quality Service. The support the Well-being Playworkers have provided to both the children and the school has contributed to the Welsh Government's drive for a 'Whole School Approach' to support children's well-being, as well as implementing the themes within the 'Play Policy Implementation Play' and tackling child poverty. The presence of playworkers, or well-being playworkers in all aspects of a school, both within and outside of the school curriculum is a service other schools across the UK should consider when supporting children's well-being.

An ongoing issue with Federal child nutrition programs is lack of meal availability for low income children on weekends. Food banks and schools fill this void with “backpack” programs, food...

Children consist of one-third of the population of Turkey that has the second highest level of child poverty among the OECD countries. Child labour is widely observed, especially in the poor famili...

This conceptual paper provides a critical analysis of the current convergence of major policy initiatives in Scotland to improve learning and teaching, promote greater equity and close the attainment gap through systems level leadership and change. It is neither an empirical study nor a literature review but synthesises across a range of fields – social justice, poverty, social mobility, school improvement, leadership and policy – in order to cast light on the problem and to inform public policy and practice. However system level leadership is not unproblematic, with the terms system and leadership seen as malleable concepts (Boylan 2016), nor can it be seen as a panacea for all ills. The paper argues that educational policy needs to be seen as residing within wider social policy. Without recourse to addressing systemic inequalities in society and building the infrastructure and support structures around schools, schools, on their own, are unlikely to rise to the challenge. The paper argues for a melding of distributive leadership (with emancipatory intent and purpose) with systems leadership, characterised by meaningful collaboration and partnerships from 'within – to between – and beyond' schools (Chapman 2014), imbued with moral purpose.

Complex challenges such as toxic stress and childhood adversity require cooperation and collaboration between organizations – particularly schools – and communities in order to be addressed. Howeve...

Undocumented migrant families experience high levels of food poverty, exclusion from mainstream benefits, and sometimes from social work services. This is an under-researched area for social work i...

Socioeconomic status (SES) is known to have a considerable influence on the development of neuropsychological functions. In particular there is strong evidence for less efficient development of prefrontal-cortex-related functions in children raised in low-SES households. "Street children" are a common feature of low SES in many low- and middle-income countries, and some researchers have suggested that the unique life experiences of street children may drive their neurocognitive development. This study compares a group of 36 former street children in Quito, Ecuador with a control group of 26 never street-connected schoolchildren. All children were assessed with a range of neuropsychological tests. Although the street children group performed significantly below the level of the control group on all measures, they did not demonstrate a generalized lower ability. By controlling the effects of fluid intelligence it was found that there are relatively independent effects on visuospatial ability and executive planning ability. Furthermore, the executive function test scores in general are significantly less affected than the other cognitive functions and may be temporary effects caused by recent substance abuse within the street child sample. The findings generally support results from other countries suggesting that low SES is associated with negative effects on neuropsychological development. However, they also suggest that the local social and economic context, such as in the case of street children, might mitigate the harmful effects of low SES on the development of some executive functions.

Family support policies (FSP) refer to government policies that promote the well-being of families with children (e.g. job-protected paid leave, cash transfers, childcare). We developed an initial conceptual and theoretical framework of FSP and conducted a realist-scoping review to document the state of evidence regarding the influence of FSP on three child outcomes: poverty, development, and health. Based on the contexts and mechanisms through which FSP are hypothesized to affect child outcomes, we constructed a framework to guide a search of five electronic databases (OVID, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge). We analysed articles meeting our inclusion criteria (i.e. conceptualized FSP as a function of the welfare state; conceptualized child poverty, development, and health as outcomes; and conducted empirical analyses) in relation to our mechanisms and thematic concerns (context, developmental periods, and differential impacts). A total of 22 studies met our inclusion criteria, whic...

Social scientists have conceptualised poverty in multiple ways, with measurement approaches that seek to identify absolute, relative, subjective, and multi-dimensional poverty. The concept of pover...

This study examines the extent to which household income around the time of birth and income trajectory, influenced by the conditional cash transfer programme PROGRESA-Oportunidades, are associated with the physiological, cognitive, motor, and emotional well-being of pre-school children in rural Mexico. Using the ENCASEH/ENCEL, Structural Equation Models are developed to explore the association between household income over the course of the child’s life, taking part in the cash transfer programme, and indicators of well-being at 4–6 years of age. Results indicate that household income around the time of birth is positively associated with child outcomes at 4–6 years of age. This reinforces the evidence that early poverty has a scarring effect on children’s capabilities. Results also show that improving income trajectories were found to be positively associated with better child development, and PROGRESA-Oportunidades had an indirect positive impact on children the 5- and 4-year-old groups by infl...

This paper analyses the dynamics of child poverty in Turkey using a nationally representative four-year panel. The results show that 51.4% of 0–6-year-olds are touched by poverty over a four-year period, which is substantially higher than the cross-sectional head count ratio of 32.2%. Totally 30% of the poor children or 15.4% of the child population experience poverty for the entire observation window. Furthermore, nearly half experience severe material deprivation. Although we find substantial movements in and out of poverty, the exit rate is lower and the entry rate is higher than the rates reported for the total population and those reported in the literature for children in developed countries. The limited amount of social assistance available to children in Turkey means that children’s welfare depends heavily on the labour market outcomes of their parents. Children who live in households headed by younger and less-educated persons without work or in precarious employment are more likely to be...

This study employs indicators of child poverty and social exclusion to examine the relationships between the risk of children falling into poverty and their chances of being socially excluded in Taiwan. This study defines ‘children in poverty’ as those in a household deprived of 60% of an equivalent median income. The dimensions of child social exclusion include necessities, health, leisure activities, local services, neighbourhood problems, and care. This study analyses the data of the ‘2012 Child Welfare and Needs Survey of Taichung City’, with a sample of 604 children randomly selected from the population under 18 years of age in Taichung City. It is found that 27% of the children are in income poverty; female, disabled, children in single-parent or grandparent-headed families, and children of rural areas have higher poverty rates. As for poor–non-poor children comparisons, children in poverty are significantly more likely to be deprived of common necessities, access to Internet, leisure activi...

Following recent trends in the literature, substantive representation does not only take place in parliament by elected actors, but in a wide range of arenas involving diverse actors. In this article we study substantive claims about ‘the poor’ in newspaper articles using Critical Frame Analysis. Our aim is twofold: exploring which actors represent the interests of poor people, and how ‘the poor’ as a group are giving meaning to. Our findings show that poor people depend largely on a broad range of non-elected actors, including actors usually not associated with interest representation, such as academics. As for defining the group at stake, about half of the claims framed ‘the poor’ as an abstract group, while the other half address a multiplicity of subgroups, with child poverty as most prominent one. Nevertheless, some subgroups (even those with a high risk on poverty) are not addressed at all.

In Zambia, the ways in which social change intersects with rural livelihoods to increase children’s workload and commodify their labour are poorly understood. In this article, changing patterns of rural children’s work are seen as necessitated by their evolving household roles and contributions in an increasingly rural cash-based economy. Drawing on child-focused qualitative research in rural Lundazi district in Zambia, it is explored how children use a traditional labour practice called ‘ganyu’ (piecework) to ameliorate poverty. The infiltration of the cash-based economy, amplified by the Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes, a predominantly adult-centred traditional informal socio-economic levelling mechanism of ganyu, and its evolution into more cash-oriented transactions increasingly involving children are discussed. Although ganyu has largely been seen as characterized by exploitative labour relations, the empirical findings from this research indicate the complex ways in which the practice is e...

This article investigates the extent of deprivation and vulnerability among children who live and work on the streets of Harare. A questionnaire survey was administered to 100 children in Harare's central business district; this was supplemented by in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study found that these children suffered severe deprivation, in particular in terms of shelter and education. The majority of the children obtained their income from begging and selling small items. They were exposed to verbal, physical, sexual and emotional abuse by the public, as well as by other children and adults on the streets. Poverty was the main reason for the children being on the streets, while social factors such as family disintegration or the death of their parents also played a role. These push factors can be addressed through providing more social protection, cash transfers to families, and education and health assistance.

Those engaged in debates about child poverty and social justice will find Gottfried Schweiger and Gunter Graf’s book useful and compelling. Their book is the definitive outcome of a major research ...

North America lags behind in the use of outcome-based indicators such as material deprivation to study child poverty. Instead, income indicators dominate research and policy making. A large body of international research concludes that income poverty and material deprivation are complementary indicators because each measures specific but related aspects of material well-being. For children this distinction is even more pertinent because children have specific needs and their material circumstances affect both their current and future well-being. This research uses data from Ontario to investigate whether material deprivation also contributes to a better understanding of child poverty in North America. It shows that the choice of poverty indicator affects estimates of the level of child poverty, its correlates, and the success of policy interventions in reaching poor children.

There is much debate within youth studies regarding whether or not, or to what extent, young people subjectively experience individualised life-pathways. This article suggests that alongside these debates, it might be fruitful to also explore if young people are being institutionally individualised ‘from above’. Using the current UK Government's child poverty policy as a case study, it explores the extent to which this policy individualises low-income young people, arguing that it strongly pushes them towards the project of self-making and choice-biographies. This is regardless of whether or not they subjectively see themselves as self-makers, or whether or not they are equipped for the task. Working with 38 young people around England, who were some of targets of this policy, this article then goes on to document how this individualisation ‘from above’ was actively rejected. Given the opportunity to write their own, ideal child poverty policy, created as part of this research, these young people instead ...

Is there a greater moral stain on America than its high child poverty rate? This author derives seven lessons from a summer conference on child poverty that we should all know.

This article draws on data from the second wave of the Taiwan Panel Study of Children and Youth survey to explore the relationship between deprivation and subjective well-being among children and young people in Taiwan using a child-centric approach. The survey data allows the deprivation status of disadvantaged children and young people to be identified using information that they themselves have provided. The results indicate that item-specific deprivation rates and the overall intensity of deprivation are generally higher among children. Further analysis reveals that deprivation is associated with lower levels of subjective well-being and poorer educational outcomes among both groups.

The year 2014 was the year for restricting EU nationals' access to benefits in the UK, with a series of measures introduced since 1 January. This paper assesses each measure's compatibility with EU law, examining the legal texts and the accompanying guidance, which may lead to infringements by administrative decision makers. The paper then analyses the cumulative programme of reforms, and identifies three societal concerns. First, the programme represents a departure from EU Treaty principles. Second, the effects of the new measures are felt by all EU migrants, not just the ‘economically inactive’, since they are subject to extra tests and delays, face amplified xenoscepticism, and are placed in a more precarious position, with greater risks attendant upon loss of work. Third, the measures represent a pure form of an individualist ideology, potentially lowering our resistance to child poverty and destitution.

Children are particularly vulnerable to structured inequalities in society. Building on the work of Erich Fromm (1900–1980), this article contends that modern (post)industrial capitalism corrupts the human capacity to operate in the ‘being mode’—that is, in altruistic and compassionate ways. Rather, within the individualistic logic of the ‘having’ mode of existence there are morally empty spaces where children become objectified, separated from caring communities, dominated and measured. The second part of this article will discuss these insights in relation to the significant impact of neoliberal regimes on children's social and physical wellbeing. In particular, it is argued that from the mid-1980s in New Zealand, the restructuring of the welfare state in line with neoliberal ideology has increased the vulnerability of young children to poverty and related issues. The narrow conception of poverty that is integral to the ‘having’ mode of existence merely serves to justify the ruling ideological n...

This article attempts to contribute to the historically relevant debate about the role of social work in poverty situations, focusing on the emblematic and radical question whether the poor actually need social work. In the context of the currently dominant policy framework in European welfare states, that is underpinned by the emerging paradigm of social investment, we argue that it is extremely relevant to readdress this question. Within this development, the eradication of child poverty has been considered a key target of poverty reduction strategies and child and family social work has consequently been assigned a pivotal role in the fight against the intergenerational transmission of poverty. We demonstrate that the rhetoric of social investment has found a practical implementation in social work constructing the problem of poverty in terms of education and activation of both the child and the individual parent. Based on an extensive review of literature, we discuss underlying assumptions, consequenc...

In recent decades, the deprivation approach to measuring poverty has been widely adopted around the world for its advantages over the conventional income approach. However, it has attracted little attention in China. This study is a response to this situation. Using data from the Family and Children Survey of Beijing in 2011, the authors construct a child poverty measure – child deprivation indicators (CDIs) – in the Chinese context. Using the CDIs, authors depicted a snapshot of child deprivation in Beijing and explored the association between income poverty measures and the CDIs. The findings indicate that around 12.7% of children in Beijing suffer from deprivation. The CDIs and income poverty measures are closely linked, although the overlap between them is not perfect. One suggestion is to use income and deprivation measures in concert to produce in-depth, comprehensive and practice-friendly data relating to the issue of child poverty.

Every developed country other than the United States offers parental leave for mothers and fathers paid out of the national budget. The authors say the payments directly reduce child poverty. Is it too costly for the United States? These two economists think not.

Child poverty constitutes a generalized global crisis in both so-called developing and advanced economies. The impact of neo-liberal policies and the impacts of the 2008/9 global economic crisis on...

Recent social policy discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand focus on vulnerable children’s well-being and the detrimental, long-term and costly impacts of child poverty. The discourse pervading much of the policy labels children and young people as ‘vulnerable’ or ‘at risk’ or ‘in crisis’, a view, which we argue, is both disempowering and marginalising. We propose a shift in focus which views children and young people as agentic, capable and competent. Drawing on several small-scale research projects and reports we demonstrate how, when asked, children and young people can participate effectively in discussions about policy matters that concern them (Article 12, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 [UNCROC]). We have much to learn from the insights children share with us when asked, but very often existing structures, at both government and community level, do not include adequate processes to hear their voices, let alone act on what has been communicated.

Under models of moral and global citizenship education, compassion and caring are emphasized as a counterpoint to pervasive, heartless, neo-liberal globalization. According to such views, these and related emotions such as empathy, sympathy, and pity, can cause people to act righteously to aid others who are disadvantaged through no fault of their own. When applied to the contemporary issue of alleviating child poverty, it seems such emotions are both appropriate and easily developed through education. However, emotional appeals increasing a sense of urgency regarding such a dire issue should not necessarily be prioritized in the face of competing possibilities. Emotions can be difficult to develop, regulate, and sustain. Their appropriate expression and application in global contexts can be problematic, as people’s valuation and understanding of feelings varies across societies. Additionally, there are tensions between discourses of emotional care and compassion and rational duty to social justic...

What do we mean when we say we want to put children at the centre of policy? What are the moral justifications for this approach? Has it become harder for us to understand this concept, when in practice paid work has been at the centre? In part confusion arises because the unpaid work of caring for children is invisible until it is marketized. In turn, the underlying problem is that we have forgotten our traditions of egalitarianism and adopted a powerful mindset that is proving to be paralyzing. Exploring New Zealand family policies such as paid parental leave (PPL), early childhood education, child tax credits (CTC) suggests that there is much room for improvement if the needs of children are to come first. But first and foremost we must have a very different, child-centric, colour-blind, non-judgmental change of heart.

A combination of policy changes and wider socio-economic trends led to a dramatic increase in child poverty in New Zealand during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Higher rates of child poverty have now become embedded in the system and show little sign of resolving themselves. For a country which once took pride in being comparatively egalitarian and, more particularly, a great place to bring up children, the tolerance of much greater child poverty is surprising. It is also concerning. Child poverty imposes many costs. This is especially the case, according to the available evidence, when poverty occurs during early childhood and when it is severe and/or persistent. These costs afflict not only the children directly exposed to poverty (e.g. in the form of lower educational achievement, reduced lifetime earnings and poorer health outcomes), but also the whole society. This article briefly explores the available evidence concerning the nature, magnitude, causes and consequences of child poverty in Ne...

The impacts of the 2008–2009 global economic crisis and various policy responses on child monetary and caloric poverty in Cameroon are simulated. For this purpose, a macro-micro methodology is adopted. A dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model takes into account the different transmission channels of the global crisis and macro policy responses to Cameroon's economy. The results of the CGE model are then introduced into a micro-econometric module to trace the ultimate impacts on households in general and children in particular. The global crisis is simulated to raise child monetary poverty by roughly two percentage points and caloric poverty by up to 0.56 percentage points. A targeted child cash transfer and school feeding programs are found to be the best policy responses in terms of cost-effectively protecting children from the crisis.

From the voices of teens, I heard painful and personal life stories of poverty, neglect and abuse, and social isolation. Motivated by a desire to elevate children’s voices, honor them with dignity and respect, and bring empathy to the social and political agenda, I found a profound depth of helplessness and hopelessness but also a spiritual hunger amid our failings to meet children’s rights to basic necessities, protection from harm, and participation in society. In their chronically negative and traumatic experiences, children’s autobiographies reveal creative struggles to be heard, receive help, feel worthy, and find hope; their status precludes them from adult-ordered systems, and they are left to choose actions that they know are harmful. Yet they search for transcendence from their material and temporal experiences; four of the over 50 voices spoke of newfound meaning and hope. I conclude with a need to invite and listen to children’s voices and experiences; to acknowledge the therapeutic benefit for...