Child Poverty and Equity:

Concepts, methods and action

Content1. Multidimensional Child Poverty. The experience in LA

- Conceptual, Methodological and Political Issues2. Equity and Poverty

- Framework- Equity for Children- New School Program (EFC)- CROP & EFC program- Research on equity: some results

3. Final Comments

Multidimensional Child Poverty:

Recent LA experience and debateConceptual and Methodological decisions

are Political decisions- Rights approach, capability approach- Thresholds and social protection floor / Redistribution

and social justice/Childhood and citizenship/ Inter-generational and gender equity

- Multidimensional poverty or wellbeing?

• Which Dimensions, Indicators and Thresholds?• Intersection or Union? Weights? • Poverty cutoff = Number of deprivations

Indicator : EducationDifferent Options

Threshold Options Threshold Age % Not Attending

1. Basic Education 7-15 years 6% 2. Preschool and Basic Education 4-15 years 12%

3. Preschool, Basic and Secondary Education

4-17 years 17%

Multidimensional household survey in El Salvador (Pilot study, 2013)

What is the ‘social minimum’?

49% of children housing deprived

Dimension: HousingUnion or intersection?

ROOF Deprive

d

FLOOR Deprive

d

WALL Deprived

No Yes

No No 51% 7%No Yes 7% 7%Yes No 16% 4%Yes Yes 3% 4%

Impact on Total Multidimensional Child Poverty

Union = 73.6%Intersection (2 or 3 deprivations) =

63.0%

2 or 3 depriv.= 18% of

children;3 depriv. =

4% of children

Union (1 or more

depriv.)=

Intersection

Multidimensional household survey in El Salvador (Pilot study, 2013)

7 6 or + 5 or + 4 or + 3 or + 2 or + 1 or +0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

2019.6320664731899

4.11502091347512

1.77293895207649

25%

41%

63%

47%

65%

81%

2%

16%

45%

Gap T1/T3 National T1 (poorest) T3 (richest)

K

Intersection (2 or 3 depriv.) in Housing Materials

7 6 or + 5 or + 4 or + 3 or + 2 or + 1 or +0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

13.1

2.548428181520211.38125218126004

34%

48%

74%

58%

73%

86%

4%

28%

62%

Gap T1/T3 National T1 (poorest) T3 (richest)

K

Union in Housing Materials

Total Multidimensional Child Poverty:

Impact of Union or Intersection

Multidimensional household survey in El Salvador (Pilot study, 2013)

Total Child Poverty number of deprivations by Income and Relative Gap

Multidimensional Child Poverty:

Recent LA experience and debateMethodologies:

1. Rights Approach: CEPAL- UNICEF (2012)

2. Capability- OPHI K > 1 (Chile, Colombia, Mexico)

3. Well-Being

What is poverty to a child?

“I feel bad. I feel like the odd one out…You lack self-esteem. You feel like you shouldn’t talk wherever you are, like you shouldn’t be expressing your ideas. You feel lonely. You feel ashamed. Like if you have only two underpants and you have to wear one and wash the other and hang it up to dry everyone will always see that you have only two – the red one and the green one – and you are alternating between them.”

16 year-old girl, Rusinga, KenyaChristian Children’s Fund Study

How Children Experience Poverty:

Three interrelated domainsDeprivation: A lack of material conditions and services

Exclusion: A result of unjust processes through which children’s dignity, voice, and rights are denied

Vulnerability: An inability of society to cope with existing or probable threats to children in their environment

D

V

E

Equity & PovertyA Conceptual Framework

Sources of InequityMaterial DeprivationsVertical Inequalities

(income and basic social services)

Yes No

Discrimination

Horizontal Inequalities(gender, ethnicity,

disability, noncitizen,

refugee, etc.)

Yes

No

Vulnerable groups

Multidimensional child poverty• Overlapping categories of inequity but different causes

• Call for different policies

How? Research| Events | Engaging Students, Practitioners, Governmental & Non-Profit Organizations

Our Actions• Create and disseminate knowledge• Promote awareness• Increase communication and action

Our Vision• Social, economic, cultural and political rights for all children worldwide• Societies based on social justice and human rights• Fair distribution of power and resources for all children and their families• All children protected from harm and discrimination

February 2014: ‘Child Poverty, Democracy and Public Policy’ International Seminar in DF, Mexico

ObjectiveTo evaluate critically the

current knowledge and

public policy that impact the  prevention and eradication of child poverty

and inequality.

Equity for Children: Key partnership with CROP

Equity for Children: ‘Approaches to Equity’ Project

• 24 month study from 2013 to 2015

• Interviews, key documents, analyses of leading practitioners about views of equity, equality, and challenges faced– Phase I International Organizations: World Bank, UNICEF,

Save the Children, MDGs Group, WHO, UN Women, Equity for Children and Oxfam International.

• Key Goals:1. Understand needs for realization of social justice and human

rights2. Indentify key actors’ concepts, research, evidence, policies

about equity and equality3. Create debate platform to address those findings

Main Objective of Phase I • To identify key equity approaches, best practices and successful local policies

• Key Questions of Research Phase I: 1. What are the current equity concepts and approaches?

2. What are the major challenges and possible strategies to push forward equity on the international development agenda?

Overall Findings• Equity concepts are well positioned on the

agenda as an approach to analyze social issues and to design and implement interventions and policies

• References to theoretical concepts are rarely made

• Equity definitions vary from organization to organization but embrace commonalities

Common Understandings

of Equity:1. Addressing the most marginalized and

disadvantaged populations first

2. Acting on unjust deprivations based on horizontal inequalities

3. Providing equal opportunities for all

4. A question of fairness (fair treatment)

Different Understandings of Equity:

• Uneven emphasis on outcomes versus opportunities: What should be measured?

• Outcomes: Measuring impact on the lives of disadvantaged populations, not only access

• Equal Opportunities: Measuring improved access to services

• How to reduce the gap/debate about focalized policies vs universal policies

Main Challenges1. Lack of disaggregated data and equity analysis

2. Confusion on how to translate deprivation evidence into policies with impact

3. Lack of political will and budgetary allocation

4. Donor priorities focus on short term impact resulting in spending on small vertical projects

5. Lack of shared strong advocacy

The Way Forward: 9 Suggestions

1. Measure multidimensional child poverty and inequities

2. Measure outcomes and opportunities in disaggregated data

3. Develop a more holistic vision of society rather than focusing on the most disadvantaged to generate social change

4. Analyze the determinants of how society as a whole produces and reproduces inequalities

The Way Forward: 9 Suggestions

5. Strengthen governance through local participatory planning and social accountability

6. Promote local action and broad public policy

7. Promote and ensure children’s and adolescents’ participation and agency

8. Develop transparent public budgets for social policies and fair taxation

9. Focus on structural causes and inequity at a

macroeconomic level