Karen Moore Chronic Poverty Research Centre and

1. www.chronicpoverty.org www.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/ Thinking about youth poverty through the lenses of chronic, life-course and intergenerational poverty ‘Lifecourse, wellbeing and public policy in developing countries’, Workshop, University of East Anglia, 9-10 November 2006 Karen Moore Chronic Poverty Research Centre and Institute for Development Policy and Management, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester

2. Two very simple points … Chronic, life-course and the intergenerational transmission of poverty are useful to understanding youth poverty for two reasons: • Much youth poverty has its roots in childhood poverty – Poverty experienced by youth is often linked to childhood deprivation and parental poverty – in one way or another, the ‘older’ generation has been unable to provide the assets (broadly defined) required by the ‘younger’ generation, such that they are unable to effectively meet (structural and idiosyncratic) challenges faced during youth. • Some childhood poverty has its roots in youth poverty – Like poverty in childhood or in old age, poverty during youth can have implications across an individual’s life-course, and across the life-course of her or his household. In many cases, children born to youth in poverty may be especially susceptible to persistent poverty.

3. What is chronic poverty? • Distinguished by extended duration: the chronically poorare those living below a given poverty line for ‘a long time’: • Poor for all or much of their lives (e.g. life-course poverty), • Pass on poverty to subsequent generations (e.g. IGT poverty), and/or • Die a preventable, poverty-related death. • Chronically poor are commonly multi-dimensionally deprived. Combinations of capability deprivation, low levels of material assets, and socio-political marginality keeps them poor over long periods. • Relationship between poverty severity and poverty chronicity, at both the country and household level, is complex and only partly understood.

7. Conceptualising and measuring life-course poverty • Methods for disentangling cohort effects and life-course effects … • Defining ‘youth’ within the life-course: loosen the link between ‘stage and age’, and focus on dynamic roles, responsibilities, and resources – e.g. changes between economically dependent, independent and depended-on can change very rapidly with significant implications for present and long-term well-being of youth and family • WDR 2006: ‘youth’s five life transitions’ – learning, work, health, family and citizenship

8. What is the ‘intergenerational transmission (IGT) of poverty’? • I use a livelihoods approach, focussing on transfers (or their absence) of ‘assets’ or ‘capitals’, in their broadest sense, and always in the context of social, institutional and policy environments • IGT poverty concept is primarily used to signify • ‘private’ transfers from older generations of individuals and families to younger generations (especially from parents to children) … • …but poverty-related capital can also be transmitted from younger to older generations … • … and within and between the ‘public’ spheres of community, state and market. • Can be cause, characteristic and effect of CHRONIC POVERTY … • CAUSECertain types and extents of deprivation experienced at particular points in the life-cycle – especially but not solely early childhood – can lead to damage that is difficult if not impossible to reverse later in life • CHARACTERISTICChronic = long-lasting = across generations • EFFECT Chronic povertychronic poverty

9. Stylisation of IGT poverty/well-being Poor child Poor adult Poor adult Child Non-poor adult Non-poor child Non-poor adult INTERGENERATIONALtransfer, extraction, or absence of transfer of poverty-related capitals Child is poor/non-poor based on transfer, extraction, absence of transfer of poverty-related capital, and on individual (e.g. resilience, agency) and structural (e.g. safety net, economic growth) factors INTRAGENERATIONAL (life course) effect: poor/non-poor child ‘grows into’ poor/non-poor adult based on individual and structural factors

10. Livelihoods approach to intergenerationally-transmitted poverty

11. Affected by societal effects, intra- household resource distribution, ‘direct inheritance of non-income characteristics’ SENSITIVE PERIODS RESILIENCE PLASTICITY • Possibility of interruption through adaptation and socio-economic opportunities – BUT this becomes more difficult with age (biologically, and because of accumulated disadvantage) •  CENTRALITY OF YOUNG ADULTHOOD??? Timing matters ‘Born poor, stay poor?’ (Yaqub) Parental poverty  Childhood poverty of offspring (contemporaneous adverse biological, social, economic effects on children)  Physiological and socio-economic damage that persists over the life-cycle, some of which is irreversible  Adult poverty of offspring

12. Implications for policy • Prioritise livelihood security: • Social protection • Preventing ill-health, and descents into chronic poverty caused by ill-health • Preventing and interrupting childhood poverty • Ensure chronically poor people can take up opportunities • Foster child health and nutrition • Enhancing and equalising opportunities for education • Counter negative effects of work in childhood, but blanket policies regarding child work must be treated with caution. • Acknowledge crucial role of good adult-provided care and nurture • Ensure chronically poor can take up opportunities • Take empowerment seriously • Recognise obligations to provide resources