Poor kids in a rich country : America's children in comparative perspective /

Rainwater (emer., sociology, Harvard Univ.) and Smeeding (policy research, Syracuse Univ.) use empirical data on poverty from their Luxembourg Income Study, collected from 25 countries including the US, to conduct a wide range of analyses on the economic situation of children. The bulk of the text is devoted to an overview of US child poverty compared to child poverty in 14 other wealthy countries that are comparable to the US. The authors' primary goals are twofold: to explore contemporary definitions of poverty and to define and develop a comparable poverty line for each country. They discuss the impact of income inequality on child poverty rates across countries and analyze the role of governmental policy choices, family composition, and community characteristics on child poverty. A major conclusion is that child poverty in the US is a result of policy choices that leave significant numbers of children at risk for health and growth problems when compared to the other 14 countries. A wealth of charts, tables, and diagrams demonstrate how differing policy emphases affect poverty reduction. The authors offer various policy recommendations and suggestions for further alleviating child poverty rates. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and practitioners. D. Van Ausdale Syracuse University