Abstract
This research was conducted on child poverty rate in 36 countries using the data obtained from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) online statistics repository. The countries were divided into two categories; Non-European and European countries. The mean child poverty rate for Non-European and European were 17% and 13% respectively. Moreover, the maternal employment rate was higher in European countries (61%) than European countries (60%). It was established that there was significant linear relationship between child poverty rate and the population and maternal employment rate. However, there was no significance difference between child poverty rate in Non-European and European countries.
Introduction
Poverty is one of the greatest social problems in the world (Walraven 6). Consequently, there is plenty of literature and statistics on national poverty rates of different countries. Most scholars and agencies have focused on overall poverty while paying little attention to child poverty rate. This research was intended to uncover factors responsible for child poverty rate in selected number of countries.
Research questions
- Does the population and maternal employment rate affect child poverty rate?
- Is there difference in child poverty rate between European countries and non European countries?
Hypothesis
- There is significant no significant relationship between the total population in a country and child poverty rate
- There is significant relationship between the maternal employment rate and child poverty rate
- There is no significant difference between child poverty rate in European countries and Non-European countries
Method
The research relied on the secondary sources of data. The data was mined from the OECD website. OECD data set had about 10 variables. However, this research used four variables namely; country, maternal employment rate, child poverty rate and the total population.
Result
Analysis and Discussion
Measures of central tendency, variation and distribution were used in the analysis of data collected. These included mean, median, standard deviation and counts.
The mean child poverty rate for Non-European and European countries were 17% and 13% respectively. More than half of None-European countries had a child poverty rate of 15%. The same figure for European countries was 11%.
The mean maternal employment rate for Non-European and European countries were 61% and 60% respectively. More than half of None-European countries had a maternal employment rate of 64%. The same figure European countries were 62%.
The European countries accounted for 77.5% of the total number of children in the thirty six countries that were included in the research. . The Non-European countries accounted for 22.5% of the population.
Hypothesis testing
Total population versus child poverty rate
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant linear relationship between the total population in a country and child poverty rate
H0: ρ = 0
Alternative hypothesis: There is significant linear relationship between the total population in a country and child poverty rate
H1: ρ ≠ 0
The P-value is less than the significance level (0.05). Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis upheld. There is significant linear relationship between the total population in a country and child poverty rate. This implies that the child poverty rate increases with increase in the population of the country.
Maternal employment rate versus child poverty rate
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant linear relationship between the maternal employment rate and child poverty rate
H0: ρ = 0
Alternative hypothesis: There is significant linear relationship between the maternal employment rate and child poverty rate
H1: ρ ≠ 0
The P-value is less than the significance level (0.05). Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis upheld. There is significant linear relationship between the maternal employment rate and child poverty rate. This implies that the child poverty rate increases with decreased with the increase in maternal employment rate.
Mean child poverty rate in European and Non European countries
Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference between child poverty rate in European countries and Non-European countries
H0: µ1- µ2 = 0
Alternative hypothesis: There is significant difference between child poverty rate in European countries and Non-European countries.
H0: µ1- µ2 ≠ 0
There t-statistics is less than t-critical. Consequently, the null hypothesis was upheld. There is no significant difference between child poverty rate in European countries and Non-European countries
Conclusion
The child poverty rate in Non –European countries was found to be higher than that of European countries by 3% percentage points. However, T-test showed that these differences were not significant at alpha, 0.05. It is however, important to note that, Non-European countries were overrepresented in the population. Consequently, it can be concluded that the child poverty rate in Non-European countries was high due to the large population of children that were expecting both family and state social interventions.
Works cited
"Statistics - OECD." Statistics - OECD. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.oecd.org/statistics/>.
Walraven, Gijsbertus E. L. Health and Poverty: Global Health Problems and Solutions. London, UK: Earthscan, 2011. Web.
