Eesti perehüvitiste mõju laste vaesusele

Abstract

The Strategy of Children and Families 2012-2020 set a target to reduce the at-risk-of-poverty rate of children. Later, the Welfare Development Plan 2016-2020 set a goal to reduce also absolute poverty of children. From the second half of 2013, the Estonian family benefits system has undergone several changes, but the effect of the increased family benefits on child poverty has not been studied in detail. Previous analyses have mostly focused on the annual child poverty rates, and persistent poverty has not been sufficiently studied. The analysis is based on the Estonian Social Survey datasets from 2013-2020, conducted by Statistics Estonia as part of Eurostat’s Income and Living Conditions Survey. In addition to the annual relative and absolute child poverty, for the first time, this analysis explores whether and to what extent family benefits help reduce persistent child poverty. Furthermore, this analysis uses the micro-simulation approach to assess the potential effect of increased benefits. The analysis shows that child poverty has fallen significantly since the increase in family benefits, especially for children with several siblings.