Abstract

This article asks why some children growing up in poverty seem to fare well, despite the odds being stacked against them early in life.  The data comes from Young Lives, a 15-year mixed methods study of childhood poverty tracing the trajecgtories of a cohort of boys and girls (n = 4,000) born in 1994 in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. We use survey data to identify the children in the poorest households who, by age 22, were faring well.  The article addresses three main questions: (a) What are the key determining moments of children's lives? (b) What makes a difference for children during these turning points? And (c) what made a difference in the lives of those children who have fared well despite facing adversity?  The findings demonstrate the crucial role of children's social relationships and support networks, migration, institutional barriers, the importance of 'hope and second chances'.  However, a longitudinal approach illuminates the ongoing nature of human vulnerability and fragility of young people's life trajectories in contexts of poverty. 

 The article was published in the Journal of Development Studies in June 2019.  For the full article click here https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2019.1626837