Description:
Child development and child well-being are major concerns in many OECD countries and are the subject of ongoing work at the OECD. These concerns have led to a search for policies to offset poverty, deprivation, vulnerability, and the risk factors that can trigger a lifelong cycle of disadvantage. It is in this context that we carried out a review of the research literature on child outcomes and of the different social policies that may affect them. The paper is organized in four parts: (1) a summary of child outcomes of concern in various OECD countries; (2) a discussion of one particular outcome, child poverty, and its negative consequences for children; (3) a summary of the research linking different family types with different outcomes; and (4) the social policies that may lead to different positive and negative outcomes. Our main conclusions from this literature review is that knowledge-building is proceeding, in particular, with regard to child poverty and the policies ...