Child poverty in comparative perspective

Abstract

On 18 March 1999, in the Beveridge Lecture at Toynbee Hall, the Prime Minister pledged that the government would eliminate child poverty within 20 years. This chapter is devoted to considering what lessons can be learned from abroad in pursuit of that objective. It is divided into four sections: first, the chapter reviews evidence on trends in child poverty in Britain over the last 20 years or so; second, it presents evidence on how the child-poverty rate in Britain compares with other countries; third, it reviews evidence on how child poverty has changed in Britain compared with other countries; finally, it draws on comparative evidence to discuss why child poverty in Britain appears to have become so much worse than in most other countries in the last two decades. In the course of this exercise it is hoped to present a review of the strengths and weaknesses of the comparative research on child poverty and measures designed to relieve it. The main source of data on child poverty in Britain is the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series produced by the Department of Social Security (DSS). The latest HBAI report (DSS, 1998) is for 1996/ 972. Figures 11.1 and 11.2 come from that report and also draw on data from earlier years. Children are the unit of analysis and the poverty rate is presented using three conventional poverty thresholds – children in households with equivalent net income below 40%, 50% and 60% of average. The poverty rates are presented before and after housing costs.