Transcript Michel Legros

Children out of the limelight
Child poverty and child-well being in the European Union
A case study : France
Michel LEGROS
EHESP
Child poverty: a neglected issue
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A very extremely topical subject in the 19th century
Post 1945, implementation of family-targeted policies
« Children aren’t poor, many of them live in poor
families »
Children concerned by social policies are abandonned,
mistreated, subject to violence and sexual abuse
1998 Law combating exclusion and 2005 Social
cohesion law : no specific policy target for reducing
child poverty
2 ou 3 reports between mid-1990s and 2005
At risk of poverty: a comparative
advantage and a slight disadvantage
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Overall population UE
Overall population Fr
Children UE
Children Fr
16.6
13.1
19.1
15.3
EU-SILC 2007
Child poverty determinants
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Children living in single-parent families
Children living in large families (4 children) (34)
Children living in jobless households
When parents were born outside the EU
Children between 12 and 17 years old
Children living in deprived areas
A family targeted policy based on
transfers
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Maternity and family benefits: around 6% of the
GDP
17 different benefits available to assist families
Childcare facilities: collective and individual
services
Toward a statutory right to childcare
A system of redistributing income
that works (nearly)
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Poverty rate before
transfers
 Couples 1 ch.
11
 Couples 3 ch.
33
 Couples 4 +
64
 Single par. 1 ch. 35
 Single par. 3 ch. 71
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Poverty rate after
transfers
 9
 13
 34
 20
 39
Toward a new policy
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A target of reducing poverty around a third by 2012.
Not referred explicitly to child poverty.
Indicators used to monitor progress are broken down
by age-group.
A social minima reform: creation of active solidarity
income improving access to employment – single
families.