Indicators of child poverty and child well-being in the EU:

Suggestions for indicators and monitoring

Child poverty and child well-being in Hungary and in the EUEU representation in Budapest

16 June, 2010

István György Tóth TARKI Social Research Institute

Outline

The project and its context

Domains of child poverty and well-being

Methods of exploring and selecting indicators

Suggestions: a new child indicator portfolio

Overview of child well-being in the EU: selected indicators

Conclusions

The „Study on child poverty” project

Commissioned by: DG Employment of the European Commission, Unit E2

Consortium: Tárki Social Research Institute, Budapest Applica sprl, Brussels

Steering Committe:

Terry Ward (chair) ApplicaMichael F. Förster OECDHugh Frazer National Univ. of IrelandPetra Hoelscher UNICEFEric Marlier CEPS/INSTEADHolly Sutherland University of EssexIstván György Tóth TÁRKI

Main tasks carried out within the project

Task 1. Empirical analysis of child poverty

Task 2. Assessment of the effectiveness of policies for combating child poverty

Task 3. Recommendations for a limited set of indicators most relevant from a child perspective

The EU policy context of the project

2005: March EU Presidency Conclusions and Luxembourg Presidency initiative on “Taking forward the EU Social Inclusion Process”

2006: Commission’s Communication ‘Towards an EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, Communication from the Commission’

Since 2006: streamlining of Social OMC, more systematic attention to children and reports and recommendations on tackling child poverty and social exclusion produced under PROGRESS by independent experts and anti-poverty networks

2007: EU Task-Force on Child poverty and Child Well-Being 2008: formal adoption of the report and their incorporation into the EU

acquis, National Strategy Reports of child poverty 2009: „Study on child poverty and child well-being” 2010: planned publication of a Commission staff working paper on child

poverty.

Starting point: Related projects:

How does this project add to the process?

Contributes to developing tools to regularly monitor child poverty and child well-being in the Member StatesIt aims at filling in the Social OMC „reserved slot” for child well being indicator(s)Provides recommendations for improving data infrastructure

Domains of child poverty and well-being

(according to the EU Task-Force report)

A. Material well-being: factors relating to the material resources of the household that the child has access to or lacks during his/her development, which include indicators of

(A1) income, (A2) material deprivation, (A3) housing,(A4) labour market attachment.

 B. Non-material dimensions of child well-being, which may reflect on both the

resources a child has access or lacks during his/her development and outcomes in different stages of this development:

(B1) education, (B2) health, (B3) exposure to risk and risk behaviour,(B4) social participation and relationships, family environment,(B5) local environment.

Selecting child well-being indicators

(a)  To capture the essence of the problem, we need indicators reflecting

- well-being, predicting future prospects

- attention to life cycle elements and intergenerational aspects

- the level and distribution of well-being (social gap between the poorer

and the more well-off)

(b)  be robust and statistically validated

- assessment of the statistical reliability (level of mesurement error)

- cross country variance

(c)  provide a sufficient level of cross countries comparability,

- with use of internationally applied definitions and data collection standards

(d)  be built on available underlying data, be timely and susceptible to revision

(e)  should be responsive to policy interventions but not subject to manipulation

 a broad based collection of potentially relevant indicators in each dimension

 work on indicator development (customising the selection criteria)

 suggestions for breakdowns wherever possible

 to fill out an indicator fiche for each and every indicators (example)

 statistical validation of all material indicators (where data allows)

 identifying data gaps

 formulating suggestions

In search of additional indicators: tasks completed within the project

Conclusions of the paper (1-3):

1: Various child ages need to be reflected

2: As an immediate action, new health, education and risk behaviour indicators be introduced

Conclusions (3) There is a need for a comprehensive set of indicators to monitor child poverty and well-being

The new set could:

reflect most of the child well-being dimensions as set out in the EU Task-Force report

incorporate OMC indicators already having a 0-17 age breakdown

include a few new material well-being indicators (educational deprivation and childcare)

include new breakdowns for the already existing indicators

a whole range of non-material indicators

This suggestion

could be well based on the existing indicator development work

would be timely in 2010 (European year against social exclusion)

Child age groups

Dimension 0-5 (0-2, 3-5) 6-11 12-17

A1: Income Poverty rate Poverty rate Poverty rate

Relative median poverty risk gapPersistent at-risk-of-poverty rate

Dispersion around the poverty threshold

A2: Material deprivation Primary deprivation Primary deprivationEducational deprivation

Primary deprivationEducational deprivation

Secondary deprivation

A3: Housing Housing costsOvercrowding

Housing costsOvercrowding

Housing costsOvercrowding

A4: Labour market attachment Living in low work intensity (including jobless) households

Child care

Living in low work intensity (including jobless) households

Child care

Living in low work intensity (including jobless) households

B1: Education Participation in pre-primary education

(Low) Reading literacy performance of pupils aged 10

(Low) Reading literacy performance of pupils aged 15

Early school-leavers (when 18-24)

B2: Health Infant mortality (by SES)Perinatal mortalityVaccinationLow birth weight Breastfeeding

OverweightFruit dailyBreakfast every school day

Self-perceived general healthPhysical activity

Life expectancy at birth (by SES)

B3: Exposure to risk and risk behaviour

Teenage birthsSmokingAlcohol consumptionDrug consumption

B4: Social participation and relationships, family environment

Share in single parent households

Share in single parent households Share in single parent households

B5: Local environment Crime in the area is a problemPollution or dirt is a problem in the area

The suggested full portfolio of child indicators and age breakdowns

At-risk-of-poverty rates – overall population and children (percentage below 60% of the national equivalised median income), EU-27, 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

DK FI SI SE CY NL DE AT FR CZ BE SK EE HU MT IE LU LV PT LT UK EL PL ES IT BG RO

%

At-risk-of-poverty rate for children At-risk-of-poverty rate for overall population

EU-27 average for children

EU-27 average for overall population

Source: EUROSTAT.Notes: Countries are ranked by the at-risk-of-poverty rate of children. Confidence intervals are estimated for 24 countries only, since data on Bulgaria, Malta and Romania are not in the publicly available EU-SILC UDB 2007 (version 01.03.2009). Confidence intervals are provided for Germany, however the German sample is quota sample.

A1: jövedelemIndikátor: szegénységi ráta

Relative median poverty gap for total population and children, EU-27, 2007 (%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

FI DK FR NL AT MT BE CZ IE LU SI SK EE CY HU SE IT UK DE ES PL PT LV EL LT BG RO

%

Overall population Children

EU-27 average for overall population

EU-27 average for children

Source: EUROSTAT.Note: Relative median poverty gap has been calculated as 60% of national equivalised median income. Countries are ranked by the relative median poverty gap for total population.

A1: jövedelemIndikátor: szegénységi ráta

Primary indicator of material deprivation among children (0–17), EU-25,* 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

LU NL SE DK ES FI AT SI IE DE EE FR UK BE IT CZ EL PT CY LT SK PL HU LV

%

EU-25* average for children

Source: Own calculations based on EU-SILC 2007 (version 01.03.2009). Notes: *Excluding Malta. Confidence intervals are provided for Germany, however the German sample is quota sample.

A2: anyagi deprivációIndikátor: depriváltság a 0-17 évesek között

Housing costs overburden rate among children (aged 0–17), EU-25,* 2007

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

CY IE FR FI SI LU SE AT LT EE HU LV DK BE ES IT PL CZ PT UK NL DE EL SK

%

Source: Own calculations based on EU-SILC 2007 (version 01.03.2009).Note: *Excluding Malta.

A3: lakhatási költségekIndikátor: túlzott lakhatási költségek a 0-17 évesek között (népesség, %)

Overcrowding rate among children (aged 0–17), EU-25,* 2007

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

CY NL ES FI BE IE DE UK LU DK SE FR AT PT IT EL CZ SI SK EE HU PL LT LV

%

Source: Own calculations based on EU-SILC 2007 (version 01.03.2009). Note: *Excluding Malta

A3: lakhatási zsúfoltságIndikátor: túlzsúfolt lakásban élő gyermekek aránya

Difference in average reading literacy scores between pupils who have at least one parent who has completed tertiary education and pupils who have at least one parent with only lower secondary education (or below)

Source: OECD/PISA.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

SK BG PL HU DE BE SI LU AT DK UK FR EL PT NL IE RO SE IT ES FI

B1: oktatásIndikátor: írás/olvasás kompetencia társadalmi különbségei a szülő iskolázottsága szerint (15 évesek)

Difference in average reading literacy between 10-year-old pupils who have at least one parent who has completed tertiary education and pupils who have at least one parent with only lower secondary education (or below), 2006

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

SK

RO

HU SI

AT

BG PL

BE

(F

R)

FR

SE

LT

DE

BE

(F

lem

ish

)

LV

LU

ES

DK IT NL

Source: PIRLS.

B1: oktatásIndikátor: írás/olvasás kompetencia társadalmi különbségei a szülő iskolázottsága szerint (10 évesek)

Percentage of 4-year-olds who are enrolled in education-oriented pre-

primary institutions (2007)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

BE FR SE IT MT NL ES DK DE LU HU UK CZ EE AT SI PT RO LV CY SK BG LT EL FI IE PL

%

Source: Eurostat /LFS.

B1: oktatásIndikátor: 4 évesek beiskolázottsági rátája

Infant mortality rate, EU-

27, 2007

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

LU FI SE CY CZ PT SI AT MT EL IE DE DK ES FR BE IT EE NL EU-27

UK HU PL SK LT LV BG RO

Pe

r 1

,00

0 b

irth

s

2006 2007

Source: Data collected by Eurostat from the National Statistical Offices. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/data/database (17.08.2009).

B2: Egészségi állapotIndikátor: csecsemőhalandóság aránya

Low birth weight, EU-27,

2005

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

FI SE EE LT DK IE LU LV SI PL NL MT CZ IT AT DE FR ES SK PT UK BE HU RO EL BG

% o

f th

e t

ota

l liv

e b

irth

s

Source: OECD Family database, based on OECD Health Data 2007 and World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (Health for All database).www.oecd.org/document/4/0,3343,en_2649_34819_37836996_1_1_1_1,00.html (13.08.2009).

B2: Egészségi állapotIndikátor: alacsony súllyal születettek aránya

11-year-olds who report being overweight or obese according to BMI,

EU-27, 2005/06

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

LT

LV

NL

BE

(F

lem

ish

)

SE

SK

AT

EE

BE

(F

ren

ch

)

BG

DE

PL

En

gla

nd

DK

FR

LU

SI

HU

IE

RO IT

Sc

otl

an

d

EL

FI

CZ

ES

Wa

les

PT

MT

%

Girls Boys

Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html (04.08.2009)

B2: Egészségi állapotIndikátor: túlsúlyosak aránya a 11 évesek között

Adolescent fertility rate,

EU-27, 2005

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

DK NL SE SI IT CY BE FI EL DE CZ ES FR LU AT PL IE LT PT HU SK LV EE MT UK BG

Nu

mb

er

of

live

bir

ths

pe

r 1

,00

0 w

om

en

Source: OECD based on EUROSTAT data (Eurostat Demographic Data and United Nations Statistical Division). www.oecd.org/document/4/0,3343,en_2649_34819_37836996_1_1_1_1,00.html

B3: Kockázatos társadalmi viselkedésmintákIndikátor: fiatalkorúak termékenységi rátája

15-year-olds who smoke at least once a week, EU-27,

2005/2006

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

SE

PT

RO

PL

DK

SK

EL

SI

BE

(F

lem

ish

)

BE

(F

ren

ch

)

En

gla

nd

LT

EE

ES

IE

IT

FI

FR

HU

LU

NL

DE

CZ

LV

Sc

otl

an

d

Wa

les

MT

AT

BG

%

Girls Boys

Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html

B3: Kockázatos társadalmi viselkedésmintákIndikátor: legalább hetente dohányzó 15 évesek aránya

15-year-olds who have been drunk at least twice,

EU-27, 2005/06

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

MT

EL

FR

IT

PT

RO

LU

BE

(F

ren

ch

)

NL

BE

(F

lem

ish

)

SE

PL

SI

DE

CZ

IE

SK

HU

ES

AT

LV

BG

EE

FI

Sc

otl

an

d

En

gla

nd

LT

Wa

les

DK

%

Girls Boys

Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.html

B3: Kockázatos társadalmi viselkedésmintákIndikátor: „legalább kétszer volt már részeg” 15 évesek aránya

15-year-olds who have ever used cannabis in their

lives, EU-27, 2005/06

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

EL

RO

SE

FI

PT

HU

LT

MT

AT

DK

PL

DE

SI

SK

LV

BE

(F

lem

ish

)

IT

BG

EE

BE

(F

ren

ch

)

IE

LU

CZ

NL

En

gla

nd

FR

Sc

otl

an

d

ES

Wa

les

%

Girls Boys

Source: HBSC 2005/06. www.hbsc.org/publications/reports.htm

B3: Kockázatos társadalmi viselkedésmintákIndikátor: már legalább egyszer cannabist használó 15 évesek aránya

Context information is needed on child and family related social expenditures, within the OMC reporting routines

Further work on statistical validation necessitates opening up microdata access to some core datasets on non-material dimensions

Incentives to support substitute or alternative datasets in national contexts is needed

Conclusions (4-6) There is a need to develop data infrastructure

… to monitor the social situation of the children of - migrants- Roma

… to further investigate the potential for utilising national administrative datasets

… to invest in panel surveys (national or EU level) to facilitate exploring causal relationships

… to involve researchers in questionnaire development

Conclusions (7-11): Further attempts to improve data situation are needed …

Conclusions:

- The Hungarian EU Presidency could take on the initiative promote extending Social OMC with indicatorsto monitor child well being

- professional backing: the Tarki study

- political backing: - commitment of DG EMPL- continued interest of Belgian Pres.

Final report is available at:

www.tarki.hu