The document discusses the critical role of child development in national development, highlighting that 200 million children in low- and middle-income countries do not achieve their potential due to poverty and associated risks. It emphasizes the need for effective interventions in health, education, and social protection to address childhood poverty and inequality, while also exploring the aspirations of children and families for improved educational and economic outcomes. Key findings include that rapid economic growth has not eliminated deep-seated disparities, indicating a need for integrated measures that focus on child well-being and social justice.

1. ‘Poverty, Inequality and Social
Change in Children’s Lives’
Professor Jo Boyden
Director, Young Lives
18th September 2014

2. BACKGROUND

3. CHILDREN ARE CENTRAL TO
DEVELOPMENT
• Childhood is a critical phase in the life-course; the first 1,000
days of life are key to future outcomes
• Never before in human history has so much been invested in
children – in their current wellbeing and in securing their future as
healthy, productive adults
Why is this?
• Child development and national development are mutually
reinforcing - the economic performance of nations depends on
‘successful’ child outcomes, while economic growth & services
promote child development
• Reaping the demographic dividend; large young populations in
many countries.

4. THE CHALLENGE
• At least 200 million children in low- and middle-income
countries fail to achieve their developmental potential
• Poverty increases young children’s exposure to biological and
psychosocial risks - affecting development through changes in
brain structure and function, and behaviour
• Four key risk factors: stunting, inadequate cognitive stimulation,
iodine deficiency, and iron deficiency anaemia
• Risks often occur together, with cumulative effect
(Walker, et al. 2007. Child development: risk factors for
adverse outcomes in developing countries. The Lancet)

5. YOUNG LIVES

6. YOUNG LIVES
• Interdisciplinary study that aims to:
- improve understanding of the determinants and outcomes of childhood
poverty
- provide evidence to improve policies & practice
• Following nearly 12,000 children in 4 countries: Ethiopia; India
(Andhra Pradesh & Telangana); Peru and Vietnam, over 15 years
• Two age cohorts in each country:
- 2,000 children born in 2000-01
- 1,000 children born in 1994-95
• Pro-poor sample: around 80 sites across the 4 countries, reflecting
country diversity (rural-urban, diverse livelihoods, ethnicity etc.; roughly
equal numbers of boys and girls)
• Started in 2002, with 5 survey rounds and 4 waves of qualitative research
• Key partners in India: Centre for Economic and Social Studies
(Hyderabad), Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam (Women’s University
in Tirupati), and Save the Children India

7. Core narratives:
CONCEPTUALISATION
• Life-course analysis: what shapes children’s development and well-being and what
matters most at which ages
• What inequality means for children: implications of disparities in risk exposure
and deprivation by social group and locality
• The changing influences in children’s lives: the risks and opportunities in
children’s living environments (household circumstances, services, infrastructure,
information and communications technology etc.) and how are they changing.
Priority topics:
• School effectiveness and learning: including enrolment, learning, progression,
retention, relevance
• Health and nutrition: including stunting, food security and access to water &
sanitation
• Youth and development: including marriage & fertility, transition to /aspirations
for employment & higher education

8. POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL
CHANGE

9. WHAT DOES A DECADE IN CHILDREN’S
LIVES SHOW?
• The economies of all four Young Lives countries grew rapidly in the
first decade of the 21st Century (2002-2012)
• This growth was accompanied by broad infrastructural improvements
and increased service access (associated with the MDGs) e.g.
– in Peru access to safe water increased by 50% between 2002 and 2009
– internet access is now pervasive in Vietnam
– increased external investment, road and communications infrastructure in
Ethiopia
• Modern economies require schooled, not working, children:
– primary school enrolment = near universal across the sample in 3 of our
countries and rapidly increasing in Ethiopia

10. EDUCATION IS SEEN AS THE ROUTE OUT
OF POVERTY
• Children and their families have high aspirations for
education:
We’re not going to suffer like this in the mud ...it’s better
that I go and study. (Marta, 15 years, Peru)
If one can learn and study hard, they will always have a good
job at the end that can change their family’s life. (Fatuma,
15 years, Ethiopia)
You get better jobs if you study and you have a better life
and can marry an educated husband. (Harika, 16 years old,
rural Telangana)
24 % of older cohort children in India were in private schools
at 8 years of age in 2001 and this percentage had doubled
for the younger cohort by 2009

11. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FOUNDATIONS?
Under-nutrition rates remain damagingly high in all four countries:
• Early under-nutrition is associated with a range of negative outcomes in
learning, school progression
• Stunting rates at 12 years range from 30% in AP/T (combined) to 20% in
Vietnam.
• In all countries, the poorest 1/3 of children are typically twice as likely to
be stunted as the least poor third
Early childhood care and education interventions are vital to build
strong foundations for children’s development:
• Prioritise child under-nutrition - health, sanitation and food security
• Maximise the reach and quality of ECCE services like ICDS focussing on the
poorest children
• Social protection measures to support households with young children
We find that some children catch up in growth and learning and are
trying to understand which ones and under what circumstances:
• Remedial interventions during middle childhood

12. AND WHAT ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES?
• Higher GDP per capita in Peru, Vietnam and India have not removed
multiple deprivations experienced by:
• rural children, ethno-linguistic minority children and those
whose mothers have no or low education
• Typically, half of older cohort in Vietnam, Peru and India report being
in education or training at age 19, but:
• young men are a third more likely than young women to be
enrolled at this age, and
• young people in urban areas twice as likely as those in rural
areas
• Retention and effective progression through school are vital for skill
development, but:
• only 1 in 5 of the Ethiopia older cohort had completed primary
school by age 15, though 90% were still enrolled
• And recent economic growth has promoted insufficient quality jobs

13. FINAL REFLECTIONS
• No better or more efficient societal investment than in securing strong
child development
• Addressing child poverty is key for wider poverty reduction and
economic growth
• This means integrated measures combining child services with social
protection for households with young children
• But:
• attention to equity and social justice is absolutely key
• far greater awareness is needed of the sacrifices children and
families make in trying to meet aspirations, often with very poor
returns
• What about youth employment?