Poverty and Politics: Child Poverty in Developed Nations

This essay investigates the intricate relationship between poverty and political systems, with a specific focus on child poverty in developed nations. It begins by defining poverty and highlighting the differing approaches to its measurement. The essay then explores the factors contributing to child poverty, including single-parent households, ethnicity, and unemployment, emphasizing the significant role of political processes in shaping these conditions. A comparative analysis of the United States, Canada, and Sweden reveals how varying public policies impact child poverty rates. Sweden's proactive policies, such as work support for mothers and subsidized childcare, are contrasted with the US and Canada, where political decisions seem less supportive of child welfare. The essay concludes by emphasizing the crucial role of political involvement in addressing child poverty and advocating for policy changes that prioritize children's well-being, drawing lessons from the successful strategies implemented in Sweden.

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Institution
Course
Date
Poverty and Politics
Introduction
Poverty is a term that can be used to generally mean scarcity of the resources
necessary to meet the basic needs and lead a dignified life (Council, 3). Different countries
define poverty in different ways. For instance, some define one to be poor if they live on less
than half the value of the country’s per capita. Poverty has also been categorized into either
absolute or relative. In the contemporary society, it is unlikely that one will think of such
countries as the United States and Canada when the word poverty is mentioned. The two
countries however have serious problems when it comes to the issue of child poverty.
Extensive evidence reveals that the rate of child poverty in the United States is about 20%.
While the two countries mentioned above are some of the wealthiest in the world, they have
not been able to contain the problem of child poverty. What could be the causes of these high
rates of child poverty in these rich nations? Could it be true to consider that politics is the
issue that has caused the situation. Although there are many factors that contribute to child
poverty, the political process is the main driving factor.
Is poverty a Political Issue?
Extensive research reveals that although the political environment of a nation plays a
role in shaping the poverty levels, it is not the only factor that contributes to poverty.

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Although this is the case, political involvement is still a major factor in influencing the rates
of child poverty. Some of the factors that are involved in shaping the rate of child poverty are
going to be explained next. One of these factors is lack of one parent. A growing body of
research reveals that when a child is raised by one parent, their chances of being poor
increases. The situation is usually worse where the absent parent is the father of the child.
The main reason for this situation is that women are usually paid less even for the same job
levels as men (Hair, 180). This means that a child being raised by a single parent (mother) is
likely to face a higher rate of poverty.
Ethnicity is another factor that has been implicated in child poverty (Benatar, 599).
This issue mainly affects the United States of America. There is a high crime rate in the
minority communities which predisposes them to poverty. The crime is usually geared by
ethnicity. When it comes to ethnicity, the minority communities seem to be faced by double
tragedy. First, they are at a higher risk of being the victims of crime when compared to other
communities. Secondly, the minority communities are at more risk of being incarcerated.
These two factors increase the likelihood that a child from the minority communities will be
poor.
The other key contributor to child poverty is unemployment. One may be tempted to
think that unemployment is the only cause of child poverty since it is linked to an income.
However, as observed above, there are other factors that paly together to cause child poverty.
The great disparity in wealth distribution in countries such as the US and Canada have also
been implicated in the high rates of child poverty (Hair, 823). In these countries, poor people
mainly have access to low paying jobs while the well-paying jobs are reserved for those who
have had gone through higher education. When it comes to these issues (unemployment and
education) the political systems are partly to blame. If the political class is really interested in
changing the situation, they would form more favourable policies. The policies that are in

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place in the two countries that are mentioned above seem to ensure that the poor continue
being poor while the rich become richer.
Child Poverty in the United States, Canada and Sweden
Poverty in childhood has great policy implications. Poverty will play a role in
determining the health outcome of a child. Those who experience child poverty are likely
have poor health and this is likely to persist in to adulthood. This would mean that a country
with poor children will have problems in the future since there workforce will not be
effective. This section will compare the United States, Canada and Sweden to help shed some
light on how the political systems affect the rates of child poverty.
It is worth noting that among the three countries, the United States has the highest rate
of child poverty (Cantillon, 7). One might ask themselves why the rate is higher in the United
States than the other rich nations. Most would be surprised by learning that this is the case.
As noted above, some of the causes of the high rate of child poverty in the United States are
composition of the household and the employment status of the parent. While these are
significant causes of child poverty, the larger problem seems to lie in the public policies. If
the public policies were to be revisited and streamlined to help solve the issue of child
poverty, there is a very high likelihood that the rates would drastically drop. This is
evidenced by the significantly lower rates of child poverty observed in Sweden. The policies
in Sweden ensue that funding of social security is handsomely done. In addition, single
mothers are provided with work support which increases the earnings of the mother. The fate
of Canada seems to be like that of the United States. There is need for change in the public

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policy to support parental employment and income so that the parents can invest in the future
of the children.
As observed in the previous section, the rate of child poverty in the United States is
about 20%. This rate is more than twice as high as the rate in Sweden. Canada also closely
follows the United States at 14%. These were the poverty rates according to a research
carried out by UNICEF in 2018. There are possible explanations for the huge difference
between the rates of Sweden and the two countries (United States and Canada). In Sweden,
there are very low cases of single parents. In addition, the rate of employment of the parents
is very high. The country also has a well-established system of parental work aids. The
government has also provided funds for subsidizing child care and family leave. The policies
set in the country have also ensured that there is great income support for almost all children.
These factors play together to ensure that there are low rates of child poverty. It is true to
conclude that all this has been possible due to formulation of appropriate public policies. The
policy makers consider the welfare of the children when developing the policies. In addition,
the government is very supportive and sees ready to do anything to safeguard the wellbeing
of children. One may even conclude that the government knows very well how to safeguard
its future. If any meaningful changes are to be made in the levels of child poverty in the
United States and Canada, appropriate public policies must be developed. The politicians
must form these policies with the wellbeing of all children in mind. A good way to know how
to do it would be benchmarking in Sweden or other countries where the child poverty rates
are very low. After the formulation of policies, the political class must also devote themselves
to ensure that the policies are being implemented. In a nutshell, the political process plays a
significant role in shaping the poverty levels of any nation. If the public policies are
streamlined to ensure that the welfare of children is well thought of, then child poverty rates
would greatly decrease. By doing this, the political class would be taking care of the future.

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Otherwise, the children may go through a vicious cycle of malnutrition and ill-health and be
unable to provide the necessary workforce in the future.
Conclusion
Poverty refers to the inability to afford the basic commodities sufficiently and lead a
good quality life. There are many factors that may predispose an individual or a community
to poverty. This assignment has focused on child poverty. The rate of child poverty is high in
the United Sates and Canada and low in Sweden. Some of the factors that cause the poverty
rate to be high are unemployment, single parenting and ethnicity. A close look at the three
countries helps appreciate the great role played by the political class in shaping the rates of
poverty. A country such as Sweden has adopted policies that ensure that the wellbeing of the
child is safeguarded. For instance, there is work support for working mothers and the
employment rates are high. In addition, there is great subsidization of services related to the
welfare of the child. It follows that the policies adopted by the United States and Canada are
not supportive of maximum child welfare. If things are to change, the political class must
change the public policy to favour the welfare of the child. In a nutshell, there are many
factors that increase the chance of child poverty, but the political process is the main
contributing factor.

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References
Benatar, Solomon. "Politics, power, poverty and global health: systems and frames."
International journal of health policy and management 5.10 (2016): 599.
Cantillon, Bea. Children of austerity: impact of the great recession on child poverty in rich
countries. Oxford University Press, 2017.
Council ,O C P. "Poverty and child health in the United States." Paediatrics 137.4 (2016).
Hair, Nicole L. "Association Between Child Poverty and Academic Achievement." JAMA
paediatrics 170.2 (2016): 180-182.
Hair, Nicole. "Association of child poverty, brain development, and academic achievement."
JAMA paediatrics 169.9 (2015): 822-829.