Child Poverty in Spain from the 70’s to the 90’s: A static and a dynamic approach

Abstract

This paper examines the extent and persistence of relative child poverty in Spain making use of the available cross-sectional and longitudinal microdata on households. The cross-sectional evidence analyzed covers the period from the end of the Franco era to the beginning of the 1990s. The longitudinal analysis focuses only on the more recent 1985 - 95 period. The analysis shows that despite the fact that a major socioeconomic transformation took place in Spain and the population poverty rate significantly decreased in the period, the extent of child poverty over the period did not experience any significant change. Children living in households with 3 or more children with other dependent adults face one of the highest poverty risks, the highest rate of inflow into poverty and the lowest rate of outflow from poverty. The risk of poverty and of persistent poverty for a child in lone and single parent families is also higher than that of households headed by couples. It seems that young unemployed parents or elderly retired grandparents with a low level of education impose onto children a higher risk of poverty and of persistent poverty. In contrast, children in single parent households have a higher risk of suffering income instability. However, all child poverty risks are substantially reduced with the presence of other non dependent adults. Their role is one of protection against poverty risks for households out of poverty. Thus, the presence in the household of some employed adults is acting as a safety net for low income families.