Child Consumption Poverty in South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

This paper examines poverty in recent years among children in the countries of South Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The indicator used to measure poverty – current household consumption tested against an absolute poverty threshold of US $2.15 converted at Purchasing Power Parity exchange rates – is found to be robust to sensitivity testing, and to correlate well with non-income indicators of well-being among children. The absolute poverty rate among children is highest where national income is lowest, and where the density of children in the population is highest. The paper analyses two dimensions of child poverty – according to household composition, and according to its urban, rural and regional dimensions. The most important findings from a policy point of view are the strong rural character of child poverty, and the relationship between child population density (at the level of the country, the sub-national region, and the household) and child poverty: where child population shares are higher, child poverty rates are also higher. This relationship, moreover, may have strengthened over time. Child population density needs to be seen more as a trigger to redistribution. In addition, the analysis finds that in some countries, poverty among children of single parents is reduced by their particular patterns of migration and remittance’s flows. However, parental migration to economically support children raises important questions about material wellbeing in relation to other aspects of child well-being. These warrant further analysis.