The paper published by the European Union delves into the effectiveness of child benefits policies across the 27 Member States of the EU
These policies are specifically designed to reduce child poverty and promote social inclusion.
This report aims to provide a coherent map of the diverse landscape of in-cash and in-kind child benefits, highlighting variations in adequacy, targeting, and policy characteristics.
It discusses the impact of current policies and potential policy reforms on child poverty, inequality, and material deprivation, as well as on maternal employment.
Findings from this study show that in-cash child benefits play a critical role in reducing child poverty and material deprivation, lowering the child at-risk-of poverty (AROP) rate by an average of 10.6 percentage points (pp) across the EU-27.
The study confirms that, if well designed, child benefits are efficient and impactful tools for reducing child poverty and fostering social inclusion across the EU.