CHILD POVERTY AND INEQUALITY: THE WAY FORWARD

Table 15. Mainstreaming Equity in the Development Agenda

Area

Typical Interventions with

Equitable Outcomes for

Children and Households

Typical

Interventions with

Inequitable/

Regressive

Outcomes

Good Guidance

Sources

Education Universal free education;
scholarships and programmes
to retain students

User fees;

commercialization of

education; cost-

saving in teacher’s

salaries

UNICEF,
UNESCO,
UNRISD, World
Bank’s PRSP
Sourcebook
Energy
and
Mining

Rural electrification; life-line

tariffs (subsidized basic

consumption for low- income

households); windfall social

funds; contract laws ensuring

local benefits from natural

resources

Untaxed oil/mineral

extraction

UN Policy

Notes, World

Bank’s PRSP

Sourcebook,

DFID

Finance Regional rural banks;
branching out to local areas;
managing finance (regulating
financial and commodity
markets, capital controls);
fighting illicit financial flows
(IFFs)

Financial

liberalization; rescue

of banking system

(transfers to large

banks); subsidies to

large private

enterprises

UN Policy

Notes,

UNCTAD,

CGAP

Health Universal primary and
secondary health services;
nutrition programmes; free
reproductive health services

User fees;

commercialization of

health; tertiary highly

specialized clinics

that benefit a few

(e.g. cardiology

centers)

UNICEF,

WHO,

UNRISD,

UNFPA, UN

Policy Notes

Housing Subsidized housing for lower
income groups; upgrading of
sub-standard housing

Public housing

finance for upper

income groups

UN Habitat, IDS

Industry Technology policy to support
competitive, employment-
generating domestic
industries, SMEs

Deregulation; general

trade liberalization

UNCTAD, UN

Policy Notes,

ILO

Labour Active and passive labour
programmes; employment-
generating policies

Labour flexibilization ILO, UN Policy

Notes

Macro-
economic
Policies

Employment-sensitive

monetary and fiscal policies;

countercyclical policies; taxes

on corporations, personal

income, financial sector etc

An excessive focus

on inflation control;

cyclical policies;

indirect taxation

(VAT)

UN Policy

Notes, ILO,

UNDP,

UNCTAD