Child well-being, child poverty and child policy in modern nations

"... the breadth and scope of this collection is astonishing." Local Government Studies

"... as a starting point for prompting or acting as an introduction to different ways of thinking about child poverty and its consequences this volume has much to offer." Children, Youth and Environment

"This volume assembles some of the world's greatest experts on child poverty and welfare. Comparative in scope, it provides us with a truly comprehensive, rigorous, and up to date treatment of all the major issues. This book is an absolute must for academics as well as policy makers - by far the best available today." Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

Koen Vleminckx is Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Sociology, the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

Timothy M. Smeeding is the Maxwell Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Economics and Public Administration, and Director of the Center for Policy Research at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, US.

Contents: Introduction: ending child poverty in industrialised nations ~ Koen Vleminckx (Belgium) and Timothy M. Smeeding (USA);

Part 1: The extent and trend of child poverty in industrialised nations: Child poverty across the industrialised world: evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study ~ Bruce Bradbury (Australia) and Markus Jäntti (Finland); Poverty across states, nations, and continents ~ Lee Rainwater (USA), Timothy M. Smeeding (USA) and John Coder (Luxembourg);

Part 2: Outcomes for children: Values, policies and the well-being of young children: a comparison of Canada, Norway and the United States ~ Shelley Phipps (Canada); Child well-being in the EU - and enlargement to the east ~ John Micklewright (Italy) and Kitty Stewart (Italy); The relationship between childhood experiences, subsequent educational attainment and adult labour market performance ~ Paul Gregg (UK) and Stephen Machin (UK); The impact of poverty on children's school attendance - evidence from West Germany ~ Felix Büchel (Germany), Joachim R. Frick (Germany), Peter Krause (Germany) and Gert G. Wagner (Germany); Inequalities in the use of time by teenagers and young adults ~ Anne H. Gauthier (Canada) and Frank F Furstenberg Jr (USA); Gender inequality in poverty in affluent nations: the role of single motherhood and the state ~ Karen Christopher (USA), Paula England (USA), Sara McLanahan (USA), Katherin Ross(USA) and Timothy M. Smeeding (USA);

Part 3: Country studies and emerging issues: From security to uncertainty: the impact of economic change on child welfare in Central Asia ~ Jane Falkingham (UK); The evolution of child poverty in Ireland ~ Brian Nolan (Ireland); Living conditions of immigrant children in Germany ~ Joachim R. Frick (Germany) and Gert G. Wagner (Germany); Who has borne the cost of Britain's children in the 1990s? ~ Hugh Davies (UK) and Heather Joshi (UK); The public and private costs of children in Australia, 1993-94 ~ Richard Percival (Australia) and Ann Harding (Australia); Health and well-being among school-aged children in Europe and North America: the WHO HBSC study ~ Candace Currie (UK);

Part 4: Child and family policies: Income inequalities and poverty among children and households with children in selected OECD countries: trends and determinants ~ Howard Oxley (France), Thai-Thanh Dang (France), Michael Förster (Austria) and Michele Pellizzari (France); Reducing child poverty in the European Union: the role of child benefits ~ Herwig Immervoll (UK), Holly Sutherland (UK) and Klaas de Vos (The Netherlands); Public policies that support families with young children: variation across US states ~ Marcia K. Meyers (USA), Janet C. Gornick (USA), Laura R. Peck (USA) and Amanda J. Lockshin (USA); Income transfers and support for mothers' employment: the link to family poverty risks ~ Cristina Solera (Italy); Child support among selected OECD countries: a comparative analysis ~ James Kunz (USA), Patrick Villeneuve (USA) and Irwin Garfinkel (USA); Child and family policies in an era of social policy retrenchment and restructuring ~ Sheila B. Kamerman (USA) and Alfred J. Kahn (USA); General conclusions: what have we learned and where do we go from here? Koen Vleminckx (Belgium) and Timothy M. Smeeding (USA).