Subject: Look, Child Poverty in the Wealthy Countries Isn't Necessary
http://www.commondreams.org/views/071200-104.htm
Published on Wednesday, July 12, 2000 in the International Herald Tribune
Look, Child Poverty in the Wealthy Countries Isn't Necessary
by John Williams
FLORENCE - Three or four decades ago, many Western societies believed that
economic growth and political will could eliminate child poverty in their
countries in a generation or so. Now we believe-well, what? That modern
economies and globalization dictate growing inequality within our societies?
Or that poor families are best left to learn how to help themselves?
The debate was reopened recently in ''Child Poverty in Rich Nations,'' a
report from the Unicef Innocenti Research Center in Florence, which
estimated that about 47 million persons under age 18 in the 29 nations of
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development lived below their
national poverty lines.
Thus, in the societies that produce more than two-thirds of the world's
wealth, one youngster in every six is poor.
The Innocenti report uses statistics from different years for different
countries, thus making comparisons inexact. And it employs two distinct
definitions of child poverty. The authors say this was inevitable, given
that the OEDC countries have no overall timetables or definition for
measuring child poverty.
The report's unstated but central message is that many Western societies are
looking at the problem of child poverty the wrong way around.
It is not really a question of money. The money is going to be spent, one
way or another. We simply have to decide whether to spend it on social
programs which seek to ensure that all children get a reasonable start in
life, or a decade later on addressing high levels of teenage pregnancy, drug
addicition and crime.
The two definitions used in the report are:
Relative poverty, which covers children living in homes with incomes 50
percent below the national median. This measurement reflects internal
inequality but, because of differing GNP levels, does not capture
differences between countries. For example, an American child may be
considered poor while a Polish child at the same income level may not be.
Absolute poverty, which is based on the U.S. official poverty line,
translated into national currencies and adjusted for national prices.
On the whole, English-speaking countries fare poorly. For relative poverty,
the U.S. rate is 22.4 percent of all children, and Canada's is 15.5 percent.
For absolute child poverty they move to middle rankings, near Germany, with
Canada at 9.5 percent and the United States at 13.9 percent. Best among the
Group of Seven nations is France, which also recently topped the World
Health Organization's global rankings for health care.
The Innocenti report is not so much interested in pointing a finger at poor
performers as in examining the records of North European nations which,
while switching order among themselves, occupy the top six spots on both
charts: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg and Belgium.
It strongly argues the case for relative poverty as being key. ''This
indicator is crucial because it reflects the degree of disadvantage that
children feel in their lives - in education,in opportunity and in sharing
some of the good things of life,'' says the economist John Micklewright, one
of the report's authors.
''It is true that some children overcome this disadvantage, but they are
exceptions,'' he says. ''For many this uneven start, felt every day and
often continuing over years, leads to lowered self-esteem, frustration and
rebellion. In the end, the quality of life for us all suffers.''
The report seeks to debunk some common assumptions:
If more women stayed out of the work forces, child poverty would be reduced.
Research in Nordic countries shows a strong link between high female
employment and low child poverty. These countries focus on helping people
into paid work, with an emphasis on gender equality and on combining work
with parenting. They have maintained low child poverty rates of around 5
percent even in difficult economic times.
Single-parent families are the basic problem. Clearly the child living with
one working parent, or a jobless parent, is more likely to be poor than the
child in a two-income home. But the issue is complex; much depends on the
income level, earned or welfare, of the single-parent family. Sweden has the
highest percentage of children in single-parent families (21.3) but the
lowest relative poverty rate (2.6).
Single-parent families, in statistical terms, are a relatively small
proportion of the total. Poverty in two-parent families is much more
important in the overall picture. Canada has about 12 percent of its
children living in single-parent families, the same as Finland, but its
overall child poverty rate is three times higher than Finland's.
Adult unemployment figues are a good guide to child poverty levels. It
depends on who is unemployed. Spain's unemployment levels are double those
of Britain, yet its child poverty rate is much lower. Spain has many jobless
young adults still living at home.
Economic growth kills poverty sooner or later. Most rich countries have
doubled and redoubled their national incomes in the past half-century, but
growing income disparities leave many poor in place. Even creating new jobs
will not be part of the answer if wages at the bottom of the pay scale are
very low, or if the new jobs are unsuitable for poor families.
Then, as the rich get richer, average household incomes rise. So may poverty
levels. Thus, economic goals need to be accompanied by social targets.
Are the North European societies unique, or can political will end child
poverty in a major industrial country? Britain's relative child poverty
tripled over 20 years as income inequality widened. Last year Prime Minister
Tony Blair declared it his government's ''historic mission'' to end child
poverty by 2020.
Preliminary Innocenti research confirms that, if current British policies
continue, the first batch of about a million children will be lifted out of
poverty as early as April 2002.
If this happens, the issue will be revealed in what I believe is its true
light: Child poverty is not an inevitable by-product of modern economic
progress but the result of a lack of political will and of common sense.
The writer, a former senior Unicef official, contributed this comment to the
International Herald Tribune.
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