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Why Are Child Poverty Rates Higher in Britain than in Germany?: A Longitudinal Perspective

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  • Stephen P. Jenkins
  • Christian Schluter

Abstract

We analyze why child poverty rates were much higher in Britain than in Western Germany during the 1990s, using a framework focusing on poverty transition rates. Child poverty exit rates were significantly lower, and poverty entry rates significantly higher, in Britain. We decompose these cross-national differences into differences in the prevalence of ‘‘trigger events’’ (changes in household composition, household labor market attachment, and labor earnings), and differences in the chances of making a poverty transition conditional on experiencing a trigger event. The latter are the most important in accounting for the cross-national differences in poverty exit and entry rates.

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  • Stephen P. Jenkins & Christian Schluter, 2003. "Why Are Child Poverty Rates Higher in Britain than in Germany?: A Longitudinal Perspective," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:38:y:2003:i:2:p441-465
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    1. Miles Corak & Michael Fertig & Marcus Tamm, 2008. "A Portrait Of Child Poverty In Germany," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 54(4), pages 547-571, December.
    2. Carlos Gradín & Olga Cantó, 2009. "Why are child poverty rates so persistently high in Spain?," Working Papers 123, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    3. Elena Bárcena-Martín & M. Carmen Blanco-Arana & Salvador Pérez-Moreno, 2017. "Dynamics of child poverty in the European countries," Working Papers 437, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Yekaterina Chzhen & Emilia Toczydlowska & Sudhanshu Handa & UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2016. "Child Poverty Dynamics and Income Mobility in Europe," Papers inwopa840, Innocenti Working Papers.
    5. Bönke Timm & Schröder Carsten, 2011. "Poverty in Germany – Statistical Inference and Decomposition," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 231(2), pages 178-209, April.
    6. Santiago Poy, 2023. "In-work poverty dynamics: trigger events and short-term trajectories in Argentina," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-16, December.
    7. Edwin Fourrier-Nicolaï & Michel Lubrano, 2020. "Bayesian inference for TIP curves: an application to child poverty in Germany," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 18(1), pages 91-111, March.
    8. Kossi Agbeviade Djoke & Ayawo Djadou & Amélé d'Almeida & Rachidatou Ruffino, 2009. "Profil de la pauvreté infantile dans quatre pays de l'UEMOA: une analyse comparative basée sur l'approche multidimensionnelle de la pauvreté," Working Papers PMMA 2009-01, PEP-PMMA.
    9. Chiara Assunta Ricci, 2016. "The mobility of Italy’s middle income group," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 69(277), pages 173-197.
    10. Timm Bönke & Carsten Schröder, 2009. "The German spatial poverty divide: poorly endowed or bad luck?," Working Papers 118, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    11. Joachim R. Frick & Stephen P. Jenkins & Dean R. Lillard & Oliver Lipps & Mark Wooden, 2008. "Die internationale Einbettung des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) im Rahmen des Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF)," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 77(3), pages 110-129.
    12. Andriopoulou, Eirini & Tsakloglou, Panagiotis, 2011. "The determinants of poverty transitions in Europe and the role of duration dependence," MPRA Paper 30659, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Sung‐Hee Jeon, 2008. "The Impact of Lifecycle Events on Women's Labour Force Transitions: A Panel Analysis," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 84(s1), pages 83-98, September.
    14. Schotte, Simone & Zizzamia, Rocco & Leibbrandt, Murray, 2018. "A poverty dynamics approach to social stratification: The South African case," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 88-103.
    15. Olga Cantó & Coral del Río & Carlos Gradín, 2007. "What helps households with children in leaving poverty? Evidence from Spain," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Inequality and Poverty, pages 1-29, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    16. Crawford, Ron, 2009. "Variations in earnings growth: evidence from earnings transitions in the NZ Linked Income Survey," ISER Working Paper Series 2009-18, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    17. Schröder Carsten & König Johannes & Fedorets Alexandra & Goebel Jan & Grabka Markus M. & Lüthen Holger & Metzing Maria & Schikora Felicitas & Liebig Stefan, 2020. "The economic research potentials of the German Socio-Economic Panel study," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 21(3), pages 335-371, September.
    18. Frick, Joachim R. & Jenkings, Stephen P. & Lillard, Dean R. & Lipps, Oliver & Wooden, Mark, 2007. "The Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) and Its Member Country Household Panel Studies," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 127(4), pages 627-654.
    19. Matthew Lindquist & Gabriella Sjögren Lindquist, 2012. "The dynamics of child poverty in Sweden," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(4), pages 1423-1450, October.
    20. Pascale Bourquin & Jonathan Cribb & Tom Waters & Xiaowei Xu, 2019. "Why has in-work poverty risen in Britain?," IFS Working Papers W19/12, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    21. Veronica Polin & Michele Raitano, 2012. "Poverty Dynamics in Clusters of European Union Countries: Related Events and Main Determinants," Working Papers 10/2012, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    22. Ognjen Obućina & Ilari Ilmakunnas, 2020. "Poverty and Overcrowding among Immigrant Children in an Emerging Destination: Evidence from Finland," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 13(6), pages 2031-2053, December.
    23. Danielle Venn & Boyd Hunter, 2018. "Poverty transitions in non-remote Indigenous households: The role of labour market and household dynamics," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 21(1), pages 21-44.
    24. Simone Schotte & Rocco Zizzamia & Murray Leibbrandt, 2017. "Social stratification, life chances and vulnerability to poverty in South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 208, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.

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