Child Poverty : Recent Developments and Determinants

The article examines the dimensions of and recent developments in child poverty in EU countries as well as the determining factors in the case of Greece. Unlike what has been the case in most EU countries, the percentage of children (up to 15 years old) below the poverty line has increased over recent years in Greece, reaching 22% in 2006 (EU-15: 18%) based on the distribution of disposable income, although it is considerably smaller based on the distribution of consumption expenditure. The main factors that determine the probability of a child being below the poverty line in Greece appear to include low levels of education among parents, residence in a rural area or in a rented house and the existence of many children in the family. Moreover, child poverty is higher for economic immigrants, workers without social insurance, blue-collar workers or farmers, while it decreases with the number of employed persons in the household and their degree of job security