What Works? Preventing and Reducing Child Poverty in Europe

Abstract

In most EU Member States children are at an above-average risk of living in poverty. Financial poverty is often only one aspect of a complex disadvantaged life situation that impacts on the development of children and limits their chances for participation. A growing number of EU Member States now recognise child poverty as a fundamental social problem and try to reduce high levels of child poverty. The European Commission explicitly supports and coordinates these efforts within the Open Method of Coordination. The examples of countries that are successful in either reducing high levels (like the UK) or in maintaining low levels of child poverty (like Sweden) show that the reduction of child poverty is not just a by-product of general anti-poverty policies but demands an explicit, multi-dimensional and integrated strategy. This should be based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. As the fullest international expression of children's fundamental rights it offers a framework for the development, implementation and monitoring of child-related policies across Europe. The analysis of child- and family related policies in six EU Member States and the United States shows considerable diversity across these countries. Different welfare traditions have led to different strengths and weaknesses in addressing poverty and social exclusion among children, so they require different policy bundles to tackle child poverty and promote child well-being.