Ministry of Social Development

We know quite a lot about cross-sectional child poverty rates. But we want to move closer to answering the dynamic question of why children move into and out of poverty. Using a longitudinal data set developed out of the Income Supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey, this research examines trigger events (like losing a job or losing an adult from the household) and responses to these triggers by families, as a means of considering child poverty dynamics in New Zealand. It compares New Zealand’s dynamic experiences with Britain and West Germany. The comparative approach provides information on whether it is differences in frequency of trigger events or in responses to trigger events across countries that drives cross-national differences in chances of children moving into or out of poverty. A study of the trigger events and responses associated with transitions gets us one step closer to understanding causes of child poverty, an important part of making policy to reduce poverty