Child Poverty and Quality of Government - A Global Analysis

Why do some people in some countries live in poverty, experience unemployment, lack food, health care, safe water, adequate housing, education, etc - while others do not? We know that economic development is key factor if we want to understand why people in one country fair better than people in another country but we also know that economic development is not the only factor, not when it comes to understanding differences between countries, even less so when trying to understand inequalities within countries. Governance, socio-political conditions, political institutions, policies and legislations, and administrative capacities are also important factors.

This project examines what types of governance, institutions, policies and capacities affect and determine people’s living conditions. The project, a collaboration between the Universities of Bristol and Gothenburg, uses national macro-level from the Quality of Government Institute and demographic and health survey data to analyze the relationship between the quality of government, governance and child poverty in low- and middle-income countries.

Funded by the Swedish Research Council.