Publications

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 1.2 implies that both monetary and non-monetary or multidimensional (MD) child poverty would be measured and monitored, and that the associated indicators would be defined nationally. However, very few countries routinely measure child MD poverty. This paper seeks to provide some guidance on the topic by presenting and comparing two approaches which are now some of the most widely used. The first approach is the Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) which was developed by UNICEF. MODA is a child specific MD poverty measure rooted in the rights-based framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The second measure we present and compare is the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative which has computed the MPI for over 100 countries using a universal global standard. We compare the global version of the measures, applying them to four countries: Cambodia, Ghana, Mali, Mongolia. The two approaches, while sharing many similarities, do not lead to the same results. In deciding on their individual strategy to measure and track SDG Target 1.2, countries will need to reflect on both the underlying purpose of the target, and to evaluate the inevitable trade-offs between the two approaches.

This report provides the first comprehensive national estimates of multidimensional child poverty in Armenia, measured using UNICEF’s Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) methodology. Dimensions and indicators for three age groups (0-5, 6-14 and 15-17) were selected as the result of a broad consultative process with key stakeholders convened by UNICEF Armenia. Based on nationally representative data from the Armenian Integrated Living Conditions Survey 2013/14, the study finds that 64 per cent of children under 18 are deprived in 2 or more dimensions, with a substantially higher rate in rural than in urban areas. The highest rates of deprivation are in access to utilities, quality housing and leisure activities. More than one in four children are both multidimensionally deprived and live in consumption-poor households, while more than one in three are deprived but do not live in poor households. The findings suggest that to target the most vulnerable children, policies should concentrate on closing the rural/urban divide in infrastructure and on strengthening social safety nets, especially in rural areas.

Le chevauchement entre la pauvreté et les privations touche au total 29 % des enfants, ce qui signifie que les enfants victimes de privations ne vivent pas tous dans des ménages pauvres, c’est-à-dire aux revenus inférieurs au seuil national de pauvreté. C’est dans les zones rurales que la privation et la pauvreté monétaire sont le plus étroitement liées, et ce, pour tous les groupes d’âge. Une augmentation du revenu de 1 dollar par personne et par jour permettrait de réduire de 25 points la probabilité de privations dans les zones rurales.

The 2008 financial crisis triggered the first contraction of the world economy in the post-war era. This paper investigates the effect of the economic crisis on child poverty and material deprivation across the EU-28 plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. First, it examines if children were affected by the crisis to a greater extent than the population as a whole. Second, it analyses inequities among households with children and the degree to which those in workless households, migrant households, lone parent families and large families were at a greater risk of poverty and deprivation. Finally, it studies the extent to which social safety nets may have softened the negative impact of the economic crisis.