1. CHILD POVERTY: WHY IT MATTERS?
Alberto Minujín
Conference on Child Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa: from measurement to policy action
May 15 – 17, 2017
Rabat, Morocco

2. Basic Needs/Multidimensional Poverty
WHAT IS POVERTY?
“Every man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessities, conveniences and amusements of human life”
“Every man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessities, conveniences and amusements of human life”
“Every man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessities, conveniences and amusements of human life”
“Every man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessities, conveniences and amusements of human life”
Money Metrics
Basic Needs/Multidimensional Poverty
Human Rights
Based on previous definitions, three broad approaches to measure poverty.
The target agreed at the Millennium Summit, to halve the proportion of people struggling to survive on less than $1 a day is a reflection of the money-metric approach. While this figure is useful as a general measure at the global level, and as such is useful for advocacy, it is not sufficient, as it only focuses on one aspect or dimension: lack of money.
In particular, it is important to emphasize that many elements which ought to be considered part of the basic needs are not available for purchase in private markets. In these cases, the individual’s level of income is not a useful measure of poverty.
Exclusion can, even in the presence of sufficient income and access to basic services, prevent enjoying a full and productive life.
(Adam Smith, 1776) 2

3. WHO ARE THE POOR? “Income poverty” measured in economic terms
All goods and services can be bought or obtained in the “market”
“Income poverty” measured in economic terms
“We must ascertain what income is required to provide the minimum of food, clothing and shelter needed for maintenance of merely physical health” (Rowntree 1901)

4. Income Poverty Approach is neither
BUT WHAT ABOUT…
Access to basic social services like water, sanitation, transportation, education, care…
Discrimination
Other cultural/social/political dimensions
Income Poverty Approach is neither
Gender Sensitive
nor
Child Sensitive

5. POVERTY IS MORE THAN INCOME MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY
After a long debate a multi-dimensional definition of poverty is now widely accepted
Sustainable Development Goal 1
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Target 1.2
By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

6. CHILD POVERTY: WHY IT MATTERS?
Children:
Can be impacted in a particularly devastating way and throughout their lives by poverty; especially when affected early on.
Are over-represented, especially among the income poor.
Their needs are different from adult needs.
Represent an opportunity to break the vicious cycle of inter-generational poverty.

7. CHILD POVERTY: WHY IT MATTERS?
(CONT’D)
Children are the most important asset of society for inclusion, peace-building and growth.
Put children living in poverty on the map and in the policy agenda.
Give guidance for policy and program design, development and monitoring.

8. THE HISTORY OF CHILD POVERTY MEASUREMENT
2000: Poverty reduction begins with a focus on children
- Percent of families below the poverty line
- Higher fertility in poor families
- Many limitations of monetary approach
Multi-dimensionality was introduced
2001-3: Bristol University and the London School of Economics
- Rights-based approach, nearly 70 countries (consistent in definitions and indicators)

9. THE HISTORY OF CHILD POVERTY MEASUREMENT (CONT’D)
2005: State of the World’s Children
: Conferences and Global Study
: Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis (MODA) Life cycle
: Global Child Poverty
Sabina Alkire & J M Roche
Cohort study Young Lives
Subjective child poverty
SDGs goal 1.2
2017 MODA adapted to Arab Countries

10. BUT…WHAT IS POVERTY TO A CHILD?
The traditional poverty discourse as it relates to children is largely based on adult ideas and assumptions.
It gives prominence to survival and physical health impacts, with a particular focus on infants and children under five
But is this the way children see it?

11. WHAT IS POVERTY TO A CHILD?
“I feel bad. I feel like the odd one out…You lack self-esteem. You feel like you shouldn’t talk wherever you are, like you shouldn’t be expressing your ideas. You feel lonely. You feel ashamed. Like if you have only two underpants and you have to wear one and wash the other and hang it up to dry everyone will always see that you have only two – the red one and the green one – and you are alternating between them.”
16 year-old girl, Rusinga, Kenya
CCF Study

12. WHAT IS POVERTY TO A CHILD? high and long lasting impact
Children understand poverty as a deeply physical, emotional and social experience.
This experience is felt consistently, on a daily basis and intensely from an early age.
Inequality/discrimination/exclusion
 high and long lasting impact

13. Bruegel -1563
High inequality  Empathy gap  Prejudice  Discrimination  Inequality of opportunity

14. POVERTY INEQUALITY POVERTY: About insufficiency INEQUALITY:
About hierarchy

15. VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INEQUITIES
Vertical inequities = aligns individuals/households according to hierarchy, individuals or households line up vertically and inequalities are measured over the range of individuals (Income; class; wealth; skill/job position; army).
Horizontal inequities = unequal access to political/economic/social resources by different cultural/ethnic/religious groups.

16. CHILD EQUITY – CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Material Deprivations
Sources of Inequity
Material Deprivations
(income and
basic social services)
Yes No
Discrimination
(gender, ethnicity, disability, non citizen,
refugee, etc.)
Vulnerable groups
Overlapping categories of inequity but different causes
Call for different policies
Multidimensional child poverty

17. CHILDREN AND POLICIES: CERTAINTIES AND UNCERTAINTIES

18. “THINKING, FAST AND SLOW” Nassim Taleb and Daniel Kahneman – Nobel Prize 2002
Uncertainty, risk and decision making when we don’t understand the world:
“…our excessive confidence in what we know and our apparent inability of measuring our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in.”
“…intelligently explore the lessons that can be learned from the past while resisting the lure of hindsight and the illusion of certainty”

19. CERTAINTIES
Children’s needs are linked, but different from adults’ needs
Child poverty is multidimensional
Overlapping deprivations and obstacles make it difficult to break the poverty cycle
Reduce, eliminate inequalities is key
Starting early is key: antenatal care, nutrition, early child development
Necessary to develop extended holistic social protection systems

20. UNCERTAINTIES How to develop holistic social protection systems
How to ensure access and quality of education and health for poor children
How to combine top-down and bottom-up policy approaches
How to make social, cultural and institutional norms non-discriminatory
What are the catalytic approaches to promote tolerance and peace building

21. THANKS! Alberto Minujín The New School info@equityforchildren.org