The costs of a child in a low-income household

N Oldfield; J Bradshaw

doi:10.1332/175982711X574003

The costs of a child in a low-income household

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper considers the extent to which the United Kingdom (UK) 2010 social security system meets the costs of a child in a low-income household. The costs of a child are derived from a lone parent and two-parent family budget standard (minimum income standard). The items in the child's basket of goods and services include food, clothing, household goods and services, personal care, transport and cultural and social participation necessities. The costs vary by age and according to whether childcare costs are included. Excluding childcare costs, the cost of a child increases with age, varying between 77 pounds per week for 0- to one-year-olds to 116 pounds per week for a secondary school child. There are some economies of scale for families with more than one child. These estimates are used to assess the modified Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalence scale and the adequacy of the contribution of the state in child benefits and child tax credits. The state contributes only part of the total costs of a child in low-income families, which means that these costs may have to be met out of the adult benefits.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	131-143
Number of pages	13
Journal	The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice
Volume	19
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1332/175982711X574003
Publication status	Published - Jun 2011

Keywords

social exclusion, income, poverty
employment/benefits
family

Access to Document

10.1332/175982711X574003

Cite this

@article{adb6b6f922e5417d92ce3b903f924eb1,

title = "The costs of a child in a low-income household",

abstract = "This paper considers the extent to which the United Kingdom (UK) 2010 social security system meets the costs of a child in a low-income household. The costs of a child are derived from a lone parent and two-parent family budget standard (minimum income standard). The items in the child's basket of goods and services include food, clothing, household goods and services, personal care, transport and cultural and social participation necessities. The costs vary by age and according to whether childcare costs are included. Excluding childcare costs, the cost of a child increases with age, varying between 77 pounds per week for 0- to one-year-olds to 116 pounds per week for a secondary school child. There are some economies of scale for families with more than one child. These estimates are used to assess the modified Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalence scale and the adequacy of the contribution of the state in child benefits and child tax credits. The state contributes only part of the total costs of a child in low-income families, which means that these costs may have to be met out of the adult benefits. ",

keywords = "social exclusion, income, poverty, employment/benefits, family",

author = "N Oldfield and J Bradshaw",

year = "2011",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1332/175982711X574003",

language = "English",

volume = "19",

pages = "131--143",

journal = "The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice",

publisher = "Policy Press",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The costs of a child in a low-income household

AU - Oldfield, N

AU - Bradshaw, J

PY - 2011/6

Y1 - 2011/6

N2 - This paper considers the extent to which the United Kingdom (UK) 2010 social security system meets the costs of a child in a low-income household. The costs of a child are derived from a lone parent and two-parent family budget standard (minimum income standard). The items in the child's basket of goods and services include food, clothing, household goods and services, personal care, transport and cultural and social participation necessities. The costs vary by age and according to whether childcare costs are included. Excluding childcare costs, the cost of a child increases with age, varying between 77 pounds per week for 0- to one-year-olds to 116 pounds per week for a secondary school child. There are some economies of scale for families with more than one child. These estimates are used to assess the modified Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalence scale and the adequacy of the contribution of the state in child benefits and child tax credits. The state contributes only part of the total costs of a child in low-income families, which means that these costs may have to be met out of the adult benefits.

AB - This paper considers the extent to which the United Kingdom (UK) 2010 social security system meets the costs of a child in a low-income household. The costs of a child are derived from a lone parent and two-parent family budget standard (minimum income standard). The items in the child's basket of goods and services include food, clothing, household goods and services, personal care, transport and cultural and social participation necessities. The costs vary by age and according to whether childcare costs are included. Excluding childcare costs, the cost of a child increases with age, varying between 77 pounds per week for 0- to one-year-olds to 116 pounds per week for a secondary school child. There are some economies of scale for families with more than one child. These estimates are used to assess the modified Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) equivalence scale and the adequacy of the contribution of the state in child benefits and child tax credits. The state contributes only part of the total costs of a child in low-income families, which means that these costs may have to be met out of the adult benefits.

KW - social exclusion, income, poverty

KW - employment/benefits

KW - family

U2 - 10.1332/175982711X574003

DO - 10.1332/175982711X574003

M3 - Article

VL - 19

SP - 131

EP - 143

JO - The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice

JF - The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice

IS - 2

ER -