Political Culture and Child Poverty: An examination of Western and post-communist European states

This paper examines political culture in relation to child poverty outcomes in Western European and post-communist Central and Eastern European (CEE) states. Although the European Union represents advanced industrial economies and has committed itself to the eradication of child poverty, variation in welfare policies as well as child poverty outcomes exist across Europe. Research has shown that egalitarian attitudes towards redistribution are linked with lower poverty outcomes. In addition to egalitarianism, this paper examines the relationship between gender roles and child poverty. The findings of this study indicate that support for feminist gender roles and an egalitarian distribution of wealth are related to lower child poverty outcomes. The situation in Eastern Europe, however, is complicated by a communist past that has left behind a political culture of egalitarian ideals of redistribution combined with a backlash of traditional values regarding gender roles.