Life Cycle and Structural VulnerabilitiesFindings from the 2014 HDR Sustaining Human Progress:

Reducing Vulnerability and Building Resilience

José Pineda, HDROSocial Protection for Families and Children

New York, 20 May 2014

Overview• Life capabilities and life cycle vulnerabilities – Path-dependency and hysteresis

• Early childhood– Building strong foundations to break the intergenerational

cycle of deprivation

• Structural vulnerabilities– Embedded in social contexts. For some groups, their

characteristics are associated with a higher vulnerability

• Policy implications– Certain groups of children, youth, working people and older

adults at greater risk and/or less coping capacity

Life capabilities and life cycle vulnerabilities • Life capabilities – Capabilities are built over a lifetime and have to be nurtured

and maintained, otherwise they can stagnate

• Path dependency– Affected by investments in preceding stages of life– Also affected by the interplay among the immediate

environment, the community and society

• Hysteresis– Short-term shocks frequently have long-run consequences– Some effects can be reversed, but not always; reversal is

context-specific and not necessarily cost-effective

When investments in life capabilities occur earlier, future prospects are better

Early childhood: Building strong foundations to break the intergenerational cycle of deprivation

• Architecture of skills (coping abilities and cognitive and noncognitive competences) and its formation are (interdependent) strongly influenced by neural circuits that develop as a result of dynamic interactions between genes and early-life environments and experiences

Children exposed to innumerable risks• Extremely vulnerable to inadequate access to health

care or education, clean drinking water or proper sanitation and food – In developing countries (where 92 percent of children live) 7

in 100 will not survive beyond age 5, 50 will not have their birth registered, 68 will not receive early childhood education, 17 will never enroll in primary school, 30 will be stunted, and 25 will live in poverty

– Undernutrition contributes to 35 percent of deaths due to measles, malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea

Meaningful differences: 30 million more words

Family socioeconomic status

Words heard per hour

Words heard by age 4

Welfare 616 13 millionWorking class 1,251 26 millionProfessional 2,153 45 million

• Children’s early exposure to language in relation to family education and income makes a significant difference

Poor children are already at a vocabulary disadvantage by age 6, as shown in the case of Ecuador

Structural vulnerabilities• Discrimination and exclusion

– Prevent people from realizing their potential even if they have similar capabilities

• Social institutions (including norms) – Shape the capabilities and choices that are afforded to

individuals – Discrimination against certain groups, weak rule of law, and

violence can severely curtail freedoms that individuals enjoy • Group-based discrimination and exclusion exist across multiple

dimensions– Political participation, personal security and education, to name

a few—and generate chronic and overlapping vulnerabilities

Policies for reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience

• Timing of intervention is critical– Importance of earlier and continuous investments in life capabilities

• Not everything requires money, good parenting is one of the most critical factors for good early childhood development – Universal access to early childhood development is critical for

equalizing opportunities• Social Protection– Offers cover against risk and adversity throughout people’s lives

and especially during critical phases and transitions– CCT programs are helpful in protecting education and health

status, and reducing intergenerational consequences of shocks

Important to better match budget allocations to developmental priorities

Final remarks• Structural vulnerabilities interact with life cycle dynamics

to place certain groups of children, youth, working people and older adults at greater risk – An example is the intergenerational transmission of vulnerability

from disadvantaged parents to their children

• Alleviating the worst effects of poverty and deprivation, and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty, gives children (today and tomorrow) a better chance– Important role for social protection and universal access to social policies

Life Cycle and Structural VulnerabilitiesFindings from the 2014 HDR Sustaining Human Progress:

Reducing Vulnerability and Building Resilience

José Pineda, HDROSocial Protection for Families and Children

New York, 20 May 2014