Logo UNICEF Innocenti
Office of Research-Innocenti
menu icon

European monetary union and children

The Centre's project on European Monetary Union and Children aims to raise the profile of children in the debate on Europe's future. The focus of most discussions on EMU has been almost entirely on whether the economies of Europe are converging. The Centre's research examines whether the living standards of children are converging - a subject on which there has been little or no debate at all. The Centre is drawing together the data that is available to get a general picture of the situation of children across the new Europe. The Centre produced two key documents as part of this research programme in 1999. EMU, Macroeconomics and Children (Innocenti Occasional Paper 68), drew the link between macroeconomic analysis and child well-being. Is Child Welfare Converging in the European Union? (Innocenti Occasional Paper 69) found that while some aspects of child well-being have converged alongside economic factors, others have not. The paper called on the EU to place more emphasis on the needs of children in its own analyses on economic and social cohesion in Europe. A more recent publication, Child Well-Being in the EU and Enlargement to the East ( Innocenti Working Paper 75) focuses on the implications of the possible accession of new members to the European Union. The paper analyses measurable differences in the well-being of children in EU member states and the ten Central and Eastern European countries seeking admission. In 2000, the Centre collaborated with Policy Press to copublish research on convergence in child well-being across the EU. The publication: The Welfare of Europe's Children asked whether child well-being was becoming similar in member states, or was it diverging even as economies converged? The issues were addressed with a wealth of data on different dimensions of the changing welfare of Europe's children -- evidence pulled together for the first time.

Publications

The Outcomes of Teenage Motherhood in Europe
Publication

The Outcomes of Teenage Motherhood in Europe

This paper analyses the current situation of women whose first child was born when they were teenagers, across 13 countries in the European Union, based on the European Community Household Panel survey. Outcomes considered include educational attainment, family structure, family employment and household income. Teenage mothers were disadvantaged in all countries, but the severity of their position varied substantially between countries.
The Welfare of Europe's Children
Publication

The Welfare of Europe's Children

This book analyses the living standards of the nearly 80 million children in the European Union, who represent over a fifth of its total population. By analysing the trends of child well-being in Europe over the last two decades, this book asks: Is the well-being of children in the EU becoming more similar across member states? Or are countries diverging while their economies converge?
Child Well-Being in the EU and Enlargement to the East
Publication

Child Well-Being in the EU and Enlargement to the East

The accession of up to 13 new members in the next decade is the most important development now facing the European Union. This paper analyses measurable differences in the well-being of children between current club members, the EU Member States, and the 10 Central and Eastern European applicants seeking admission.
EMU, Macroeconomics and Children
Publication

EMU, Macroeconomics and Children

How can EMU be expected to affect the children of Europe? Much of this paper is concerned with making the link between macroeconomic analysis and family welfare, a link which is important for all age groups, but particularly so for children.