2017 Results Report

2017 Results Report

Published: 2018 Innocenti Publications

Our latest annual Results Report presents a review of the Office of Research - Innocenti’s top-line results delivered in 2017. It contains an excellent summary of how our research contributes to impact for children. Selected key results are highlighted for all research and capacity-building areas, while ‘deeper dive’ case studies provide in-depth narratives. The report also highlights capacity building, promotion of ethical research, and communications and operations milestones in 2017. Importantly, the report describes the Office of Research’s expanding role as a physical and virtual convening space for dialogue and critical thinking on issues concerning children and adolescents, in support of UNICEF’s new global Strategic Plan.

Children of Austerity: Impact of the Great Recession on Child Poverty in Rich Countries

Children of Austerity: Impact of the Great Recession on Child Poverty in Rich Countries

AUTHOR(S)
Yekaterina Chzhen; Sudhanshu Handa; Brian Nolan; Bea Cantillon

Published: 2017 Miscellanea
The 2008 financial crisis triggered the worst global recession since the Great Depression. Many OECD countries responded to the crisis by reducing social spending. Through 11 diverse country case studies (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States), this volume describes the evolution of child poverty and material well-being during the crisis, and links these outcomes with the responses by governments. The analysis underlines that countries with fragmented social protection systems were less able to protect the incomes of households with children at the time when unemployment soared. In contrast, countries with more comprehensive social protection cushioned the impact of the crisis on households with children, especially if they had implemented fiscal stimulus packages at the onset of the crisis. Although the macroeconomic 'shock' itself and the starting positions differed greatly across countries, while the responses by governments covered a very wide range of policy levers and varied with their circumstances, cuts in social spending and tax increases often played a major role in the impact that the crisis had on the living standards of families and children.
Building the Future: Children and the Sustainable Development Goals in Rich Countries

Building the Future: Children and the Sustainable Development Goals in Rich Countries

Published: 2017 Innocenti Report Card

This Report Card offers an assessment of child well-being in the context of sustainable development across 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Specifically, this report seeks to bring the SDG targets for children in high-income countries into meaningful operation (while staying true to the ambitions of the global agenda) and to establish a point of departure for reviewing the SDG framework in these contexts. It focuses on those goals and targets with most direct relevance to the well-being of children in high-income settings. Where appropriate, it adapts the agreed SDG indicator, the better to reflect the problems facing children in such countries. The results therefore highlight the new challenges set by the SDGs.

Construire l’avenir : Les enfants et les objectifs de développement durable dans les pays riches

Construire l’avenir : Les enfants et les objectifs de développement durable dans les pays riches

Published: 2017 Innocenti Report Card
Le présent Bilan propose une évaluation du bien-être des enfants dans une perspective de développement durable dans 41 pays de l’Union européenne (UE) et de l’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE). Le rapport cherche notamment à exploiter de façon pertinente les cibles des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) visant les enfants des pays à revenu élevé (tout en restant fidèle aux ambitions du programme mondial) et à établir un postulat pour la révision du cadre des ODD dans ces pays. Il s’attache essentiellement aux objectifs et cibles touchant directement au bien-être des enfants dans les milieux à revenu élevé. Le cas échéant, il adapte l’indicateur relatif aux ODD convenu afin de mieux rendre compte des problèmes rencontrés par les enfants dans ces pays. Ces résultats mettent donc en évidence les nouveaux défis posés par les ODD.
Costruire il futuro: I bambini e gli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile nei paesi ricchi

Costruire il futuro: I bambini e gli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile nei paesi ricchi

Published: 2017 Innocenti Report Card
Questa Report Card offre una valutazione del benessere dei bambini nel contesto dello sviluppo sostenibile in 41 paesi dell’Unione europea (UE) e dell’Organizzazione per la cooperazione e lo sviluppo economico (OCSE). Nello specifico, il rapporto si propone di rendere operativi i traguardi Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDG) per i bambini dei paesi ad alto reddito (senza tradire le ambizioni del programma globale) e di stabilire un punto di partenza per rivedere il quadro SDG in tali contesti. Il rapporto si focalizza quindi sugli obiettivi e i traguardi più direttamente rilevanti per il benessere dei bambini nelle realtà ad alto reddito, modificando laddove appropriato l’indicatore SDG convenuto per rispecchiare al meglio i problemi che i bambini in questi paesi si trovano a dover affrontare. I risultati evidenziano pertanto le nuove sfide poste dagli SDG.
Sustainable Development Goal 1.2: Multidimensional child poverty in the European Union

Sustainable Development Goal 1.2: Multidimensional child poverty in the European Union

AUTHOR(S)
Yekaterina Chzhen; Zlata Bruckauf; Emilia Toczydlowska

Published: 2017 Innocenti Working Papers

The new universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for “reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions” by 2030. Since few European Union (EU) countries have an official national multidimensional poverty measure for monitoring progress towards the SDGs, this paper proposes and evaluates a child-specific multidimensional poverty measure using data from ad hoc material deprivation modules of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2009 and 2014. The proposed measure can be used both for national and EU-wide SDG monitoring without replacing either national or EU-wide indices of material deprivation. Comparing child multidimensional poverty rates between 2009 and 2014, the paper ranks EU countries based on the 2014 headcount rates and changes over time.

A revised version of this working paper has been published in the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice

Child Malnutrition, Consumption Growth, Maternal Care and Price Shocks: New Evidence from Northern Ghana

Child Malnutrition, Consumption Growth, Maternal Care and Price Shocks: New Evidence from Northern Ghana

AUTHOR(S)
Richard de Groot; Sudhanshu Handa; Luigi Peter Ragno; Tayllor Spadafora

Published: 2017 Innocenti Working Papers

Childhood malnutrition remains a significant global health concern. In order to implement effective policies to address the issue, it is crucial to first understand the mechanisms underlying malnutrition. This paper uses a unique dataset from Northern Ghana to explain the underlying causes of childhood malnutrition. It adopts an empirical framework to model inputs in the production of health and nutrition, as a function of child, household and community characteristics. The findings suggest that child characteristics are important in explaining inputs and nutritional outcomes, and that maternal agency and health contribute to improved health status. Household resources in the form of consumption are positively associated with food intake and nutritional outcomes. Simulations show that income growth, improving maternal care and avoiding sudden price shocks have a positive but rather limited effect on the reduction of malnutrition. Effects are greater in children under two. Hence, policies that address underlying determinants simultaneously, and target the youngest population of children, could have the largest effect on reducing malnutrition in this population.

2016 Results Report

2016 Results Report

AUTHOR(S)
Prerna Banati; Michelle Godwin

Published: 2017 Innocenti Publications

The 2016 UNICEF Innocenti Results Report presents the activities and key results of the Office of Research achieved in 2016. Research continues to influence policy and practice by addressing inequalities in child well-being and expanding the international evidence base in social protection, child poverty, child protection and education. New and emerging areas of research are beginning to address critical gaps for children, including migration and displacement, children in care work and gender inequality. Enhanced reach, improved dissemination platforms and growing influence are creating positive impacts on social policy for children in various countries. Over 140 research products were published in a range of print and electronic media, including peer-reviewed journal articles, contributions to edited volumes, working papers, research reports and resources, digests, briefs, blogs, podcasts and videos.

Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfers in Africa Do Not Increase Fertility: Issue Brief

Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfers in Africa Do Not Increase Fertility: Issue Brief

AUTHOR(S)
Tia Palermo; Lisa Hjelm

Published: 2016 Innocenti Research Briefs

A common perception surrounding the design and implementation of social cash transfers is that those targeted to families with young children will incentivize families to have more children. To date, however, research on unconditional cash transfer programmes in Africa (including Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia) have demonstrated no impacts of cash transfer programmes on increased fertility. Examples are given of how some design features capable of minimizing the fertility incentive can be built into programmes.

Early-life Exposure to Income Inequality and Adolescent Health and Well-being: Evidence from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study

Early-life Exposure to Income Inequality and Adolescent Health and Well-being: Evidence from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study

AUTHOR(S)
Frank J. Elgar; Candace Currie

Published: 2016 Innocenti Working Papers

Children and adolescents living in relative poverty – regardless of overall material conditions – tend to experience more interpersonal violence, family turmoil, and environmental hazards that increase risk of injury, engage in more health compromising behaviours (e.g., physical inactivity, poor nutrition, smoking), report lower subjective well-being, and exhibit more social skills deficits and emotional and behavioural problems.

Fairness for Children. A league table of inequality in child well-being in rich countries

Fairness for Children. A league table of inequality in child well-being in rich countries

Published: 2016 Innocenti Report Card

This Report Card presents an overview of inequalities in child well-being in 41 countries of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It focuses on ‘bottom-end inequality’ – the gap between children at the bottom and those in the middle – and addresses the question ‘how far behind are children being allowed to fall?’ in income, education, health and life satisfaction.
Across the OECD, he risks of poverty have been shifting from the elderly towards youth since the 1980s. These developments accentuate the need to monitor the well-being of the most disadvantaged children, but income inequality also has far-reaching consequences for society, harming educational attainment, key health outcomes and even economic growth. A concern with fairness and social justice requires us to consider whether some members of society are being left so far behind that it unfairly affects their lives both now and in the future.This Report Card asks the same underlying question as Report Card 9, which focused on inequality in child well-being, but uses the most recent data available and includes more countries.

Equità per i bambini. Una classifica della disuguaglianza nel benessere dei bambini nei paesi ricchi

Equità per i bambini. Una classifica della disuguaglianza nel benessere dei bambini nei paesi ricchi

Published: 2016 Innocenti Report Card
Questa Report Card presenta una panoramica delle disuguaglianze nel benessere dei bambini in 41 paesi dell'Unione Europea (UE) e dell'Organizzazione per la cooperazione e lo sviluppo economico (OCSE). Essa verte principalmente sulla “disuguaglianza nella fascia più bassa”, ossia il divario fra i bambini nella fascia più bassa della distribuzione e quelli nella fascia media, e affronta la questione “fino a che punto si permette che i bambini restino indietro?” in termini di reddito, istruzione, salute e soddisfazione nei confronti della vita.
In tutta l'area OCSE, a partire dagli anni ottanta del secolo scorso il rischio povertà si è progressivamente trasferito dagli anziani ai giovani. Tali sviluppi rendono ancora più urgente la necessità di monitorare il  benessere dei bambini più svantaggiati, ma la disuguaglianza reddituale comporta anche conseguenze a lungo termine per la società, andando a colpire il livello di istruzione, condizioni di salute chiave e persino la crescita economica. L’interesse per l'equità e la giustizia sociale ci impone di valutare se alcuni membri della società vengano lasciati così indietro da comprometterne la qualità della vita, sia attuale che futura. Questa Report Card si pone lo stesso interrogativo alla base della Report Card 9, dedicata alla disuguaglianza nel benessere dei bambini, ma utilizza i dati più recenti disponibili e comprende un maggior numero di paesi.
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