The Many Dimensions of Child Poverty: Evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

In this paper we use a multidimensional framework to characterise child poverty in the UK. We examine the interdependencies amongst the different dimensions of multidimensional poverty, and the relationship between multidimensional poverty and income poverty. We also explore the links between multidimensional poverty, income poverty, and children’s cognitive and noncognitive development. Our findings suggest that multidimensional poverty identifies many but not all of the same children classified using standard income poverty measures. Approximately 20% of children are classified as poor on one measure but not the other. Children in workless households and ethnic minority children facing the highest odds of growing up in both multidimensional poverty and income poverty. We find similar levels of persistence in multidimensional poverty and income poverty, with 17% (18%) of children experiencing persistent multidimensional (income) poverty, and 10% of the children experiencing both persistent multidimensional poverty and persistent income poverty. Multidimensional poverty (both episodic and persistent) also has a detrimental impact on children’s development over and above the negative impact of income poverty.