Child benefit schemes and reducing child poverty in Finland
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School of Business |
Bachelor's thesis
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Authors
Date
2023
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Taloustiede
Language
en
Pages
25 + 8
Series
Abstract
This thesis is a literature review on whether the current Finnish child benefit scheme is effective in reducing child poverty. Childhood poverty carries far-reaching implications, extending across educational, health, and societal dimensions. In this thesis, child poverty is primarily quantified using an income-based metric. Direct cash transfers in the form of child benefits, emerge as a widely acknowledged and effective tool in alleviating child poverty. Further-more, child benefits are considered beneficial for their ability to cater to the diverse needs of individual families. While exploring the nuances of universal and selective child benefit schemes, it is found that a universal scheme with inner targeting efforts may be optimal for child poverty reduction. This being said, the Finnish child benefit scheme appears to be relatively efficient at reducing child poverty, but some minor changes explored could potentially make the scheme even better. Further research would be required to determine the exact policy developments needed.Description
Thesis advisor
Valmari, NelliKeywords
child benefits, child poverty, social policy, targeting, universal benefit schemes, poverty reduction