CHILD POVERTY AND INEQUALITY: THE WAY FORWARD

Area

Typical Interventions with

Equitable Outcomes for

Children and Households

Typical

Interventions with

Inequitable/

Regressive

Outcomes

Good Guidance

Sources

Public

Expend-

itures

Pro-poor expenditures; fiscal

decentralization

Military spending;

subsidies to activities

benefiting upper

income groups

World Bank’s

PRSP

Sourcebook,

UNICEF, IDS

Rural

Develop-

ment

Food security; land

redistribution; access to

water, markets; livestock,

credit for smallholders, rural

extension services;

Large investments

that may benefit

major landowners

(e.g. irrigation

systems)

FAO, WFP,

World Bank’s

PRSP

Sourcebook

Social

Protection

A Social Protection Floor,

comprising cash transfers and

social services

Private funded

pension systems

ILO, WHO,

UNICEF, UN,

UNRISD,

Development

banks

Tourism Small-scale local companies;

financing basic infrastructure;

international marketing

campaigns

Poorly taxed luxury

hotel chains

DFID, Overseas

Development

Institute

Trade Linking employment-

generating local companies

with export markets; taxing

exporting sectors for

domestic development

Most bilateral free

trade agreements;

current intellectual

property agreements

UNCTAD, UN

Policy Notes

Transport

and Infra-

structure

Rural roads; social

infrastructure; affordable

public transport; non-

motorized transport for

households (bicycles,

buffalos, horses)

Large (and costly)

infrastructure

investments that the

poor/excluded do

not use or do not

benefit by taxation

World Bank’s

PRSP

Sourcebook,

DFID

Urban

Develop-

ment

Slum upgrading; accessible

universal design

Large urban

infrastructure

projects in wealthy

areas

World Bank’s

PRSP Source

Book, UN

HABITAT,

UNICEF

Water and

Sanitation

Rural water supply and

sanitation

Poorly negotiated

privatizations

UNICEF,

UNDP, World

Bank’s PRSP

Source Book

Source: Ortiz (2008)