UNICEF Report Card 10 Measuring Child Poverty CANADIAN
- Slides: 8
UNICEF Report Card 10: Measuring Child Poverty CANADIAN COMPANION (excerpts)
Canada: • Relative child poverty: 13. 3 % • Child poverty rate is 25. 1% before taxes and transfers • After taxes and transfers, child poverty in Canada is cut by about half, to 13. 3 % • Poverty gap i. e. , the depth of child poverty: 23 rd among the 35 industrialized countries
• The Children Left Behind : measures the gap between the average child (what a country may consider 'normal') and the child near the bottom. • It examines how far children are falling behind in three dimensions of their lives: 1. material well-being, 2. educational achievement 3. physical health • These differences in a country’s performance both within and between countries can be measured and compared. http: //www. unicef. ca/en/create-content/press-release/rich-countries-includingcanada-letting-poorest-children-fall-behind-sa
Child benefits in Canada’s 2012 budget: $13. 2 billion Elderly benefits: $40. 4 billion Index of intergenerational justice: Canada ranks below the OECD average (Indicators in the index of intergenerational justice : level of national debt, child and pension policies, and investment in research) Government action is the key to reduce child poverty: • Canada must use two measures of child poverty – relative income poverty measure, and Child Deprivation Index –to guide policy & action to reduce child poverty
• Poverty rate in Canada is almost halved while the rate in USA remains almost unchanged • Canada spends about 1. 25 percent of GDP on family benefits and tax breaks.
How poverty affects children: • Growing up in poverty limits individual potential, • Reduces country’s economic prosperity and increases social costs for all, e. g. , Courts and social protection Health and hospital services Social assistance
OECD countries: • Lowest child poverty: Nordic countries and the Netherlands 7% • Highest : Japan, US & southern and eastern European states • Child poverty rate: Iceland 5% • Romania 25%. • Canada, Australia, New Zealand the United Kingdom : 10%-15%
