Children in Transition: Child Poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic

This paper examines trends in the prevalence and severity of child poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic since the mid 1990s. Poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and trends in both monetary poverty, as measured by household expenditure, and capability poverty, as measured by education, health status and access to related social services, are discussed. Recent evidence on child food security is also presented. Using newly available panel data from the 1998-2001 Household Budget Survey, the paper also investigates the dynamics of childhood poverty, investigating the duration of material poverty and factors associated with movements in and out of poverty. Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute Applications & Policy Working Paper A04/19 Children in Transition: Child Poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic Jane Falkingham* and Shamsia Ibragimova** Abstract This paper examines trends in the prevalence and severity of child poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic since the mid 1990s. Poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and trends in both monetary poverty, as measured by household expenditure, and capability poverty, as measured by education, health status and access to related social services, are discussed. Recent evidence on child food security is also presented. Using newly available panel data from the 1998-2001 Household Budget Survey, the paper also investigates the dynamics of childhood poverty, investigating the duration of material poverty and factors associated with movements in and out of poverty.This paper examines trends in the prevalence and severity of child poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic since the mid 1990s. Poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and trends in both monetary poverty, as measured by household expenditure, and capability poverty, as measured by education, health status and access to related social services, are discussed. Recent evidence on child food security is also presented. Using newly available panel data from the 1998-2001 Household Budget Survey, the paper also investigates the dynamics of childhood poverty, investigating the duration of material poverty and factors associated with movements in and out of poverty. * Jane Falkingham is Professor of Demography & International Social Policy within the School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, Great Britain. ** Shamsia Ibragimova is Head of Poverty Analysis Unit within the National Statistical Committee (NatStatCom) of the Kyrgyz Republic.