Improving Child Wellbeing

Lessons in social policy from the "high-achievers"

By: Patel F
Produced by: Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP) 2004

This briefing looks how some poor states have made the greatest improvements in child wellbeing in recent years as a result of strong social policy.

The paper finds that for these states their social indicators are now nearly comparable to those of industrialised countries. These achievements were made despite the fact that incomes were not necessarily growing rapidly. The paper highlights six key principles that were common to the states’ human development successes.