Child Poverty, Youth (Un)Employment, and Social Inclusion

Book excerpt: Worldwide child and youth poverty remain the biggest barrier to achieving a better life in adulthood. Progress in lifting children out of poverty in the last decades has been slow and limited in the developing world, while the recent global economic crisis has exacerbated child poverty, youth unemployment, and social exclusion in many developed countries. This book critically examines the long-term consequences of growing up poor, the close linkages between deprivation and human rights violations in childhood and adolescence, and their effects on labor market entry and future career in a number of developing and developed countries. Drawing on multiple disciplinary perspectives, it makes a forceful case for the eradication of child poverty to take center stage in the Sustainable Development Goals.