Economic growth

There is increasing awareness that supporting children’s development is intrinsically connected with a broader process of developing economies and societies. And there is mounting global consensus that economic growth is essential, but not sufficient, for the realisation of human potential. Thus, investing in children is not only the right thing to do for their survival and quality of life: it is also vital for creating and sustaining broad-based economic growth.

Young Lives research examines how the well-being of children affects and is affected by societal (especially economic) development; whether and in what ways children have benefited from economic growth; and which policy directions can help to make economic growth deliver advantages for poor children in developing countries. It reasons that economic growth can be an important factor in child survival and development, and moreover that securing children’s development is key to reducing poverty and sustaining growth in the long term.

Over the period of the Young Lives study we have seen increasing economic growth in the Young Lives study countries that has, in general, been good for children, although improvements have taken markedly longer for some groups than for others. Moreover, impressive advances in some areas distract attention from stagnation in others. We argue that for economic growth to achieve its true potential for children, close attention needs to be paid to ensuring equitable access to jobs and social insurance, effective fiscal regimes, and, in particular, policies to support those children and families who have been consistently excluded to date. In other words, that it is not economic growth per se, but rather the quality of growth that matters for children; by which we mean growth that eliminates absolute poverty and reduces risk and relative deprivation by offering greater opportunities for poor families.