Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments
Background: The five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have long traditions of social welfare policies that have eradicated poverty as part of their goals. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of why child poverty is still significant in the Nordi...
Published in: | Scandinavian Journal of Public Health |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 |
id |
ftsydanskunivpub:oai:sdu.dk:publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftsydanskunivpub:oai:sdu.dk:publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 2024-05-19T07:42:57+00:00 Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments Eklund Karlsson, Leena Balkfors, Anna Gunnarsdottir, Hrafnhildur Povlsen, Lene Regber, Susann Buch Mejsner, Sofie Ikonen, Anne Leena Fosse, Elisabeth 2022-11 https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 eng eng https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Eklund Karlsson , L , Balkfors , A , Gunnarsdottir , H , Povlsen , L , Regber , S , Buch Mejsner , S , Ikonen , A L & Fosse , E 2022 , ' Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments ' , Scandinavian Journal of Public Health , vol. 50 , no. 7 , pp. 892-902 . https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 Nordic countries child poverty document analysis policy social determinants of health social welfare model Humans Scandinavian and Nordic Countries Socioeconomic Factors Norway Child article 2022 ftsydanskunivpub https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 2024-05-01T00:34:31Z Background: The five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have long traditions of social welfare policies that have eradicated poverty as part of their goals. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of why child poverty is still significant in the Nordic countries despite existing strategies. Methods: A qualitative analysis of Nordic government documents and reports between 2007 and 2019 was carried out to track changes in public health priorities and political measures and to determine the similarities and differences between the five countries. Results: In all countries, most of the measures were universal, such as benefits during pregnancy, paid parental leave before and after the child was born, paid parental leave related to children’s sickness, child allowances, day care, free health care for children and support for disabled children. National policies aimed to reduce social inequalities and child poverty exist in all five countries, but unaffordable housing, unequal disposable family income distribution and unequal income distribution at local municipality levels seem to be obstacles to reaching national policy goals. Conclusions: Despite comprehensive universal measures to eradicate child poverty, inequalities are significant and increasing in some of the Nordic countries. This might be due to a lack of proportional universalism, where universal measures are in place in all Nordic countries, but with a lack of scale and intensity proportional to the children and families at risk. The significance of eliminating social inequalities needs to be emphasised at the local level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland University of Southern Denmark Research Portal Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 50 7 892 902 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southern Denmark Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftsydanskunivpub |
language |
English |
topic |
Nordic countries child poverty document analysis policy social determinants of health social welfare model Humans Scandinavian and Nordic Countries Socioeconomic Factors Norway Child |
spellingShingle |
Nordic countries child poverty document analysis policy social determinants of health social welfare model Humans Scandinavian and Nordic Countries Socioeconomic Factors Norway Child Eklund Karlsson, Leena Balkfors, Anna Gunnarsdottir, Hrafnhildur Povlsen, Lene Regber, Susann Buch Mejsner, Sofie Ikonen, Anne Leena Fosse, Elisabeth Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments |
topic_facet |
Nordic countries child poverty document analysis policy social determinants of health social welfare model Humans Scandinavian and Nordic Countries Socioeconomic Factors Norway Child |
description |
Background: The five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have long traditions of social welfare policies that have eradicated poverty as part of their goals. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of why child poverty is still significant in the Nordic countries despite existing strategies. Methods: A qualitative analysis of Nordic government documents and reports between 2007 and 2019 was carried out to track changes in public health priorities and political measures and to determine the similarities and differences between the five countries. Results: In all countries, most of the measures were universal, such as benefits during pregnancy, paid parental leave before and after the child was born, paid parental leave related to children’s sickness, child allowances, day care, free health care for children and support for disabled children. National policies aimed to reduce social inequalities and child poverty exist in all five countries, but unaffordable housing, unequal disposable family income distribution and unequal income distribution at local municipality levels seem to be obstacles to reaching national policy goals. Conclusions: Despite comprehensive universal measures to eradicate child poverty, inequalities are significant and increasing in some of the Nordic countries. This might be due to a lack of proportional universalism, where universal measures are in place in all Nordic countries, but with a lack of scale and intensity proportional to the children and families at risk. The significance of eliminating social inequalities needs to be emphasised at the local level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eklund Karlsson, Leena Balkfors, Anna Gunnarsdottir, Hrafnhildur Povlsen, Lene Regber, Susann Buch Mejsner, Sofie Ikonen, Anne Leena Fosse, Elisabeth |
author_facet |
Eklund Karlsson, Leena Balkfors, Anna Gunnarsdottir, Hrafnhildur Povlsen, Lene Regber, Susann Buch Mejsner, Sofie Ikonen, Anne Leena Fosse, Elisabeth |
author_sort |
Eklund Karlsson, Leena |
title |
Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments |
title_short |
Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments |
title_full |
Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments |
title_fullStr |
Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments |
title_sort |
are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the nordic countries? an analysis of policies and political commitments |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Eklund Karlsson , L , Balkfors , A , Gunnarsdottir , H , Povlsen , L , Regber , S , Buch Mejsner , S , Ikonen , A L & Fosse , E 2022 , ' Are universal measures sufficient in reducing child poverty in the Nordic countries? An analysis of policies and political commitments ' , Scandinavian Journal of Public Health , vol. 50 , no. 7 , pp. 892-902 . https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 |
op_relation |
https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/62f52e28-3a2b-4387-a1fd-4c8dae4b80e3 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948221109694 |
container_title |
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
892 |
op_container_end_page |
902 |
_version_ |
1799482662719586304 |