Global Study On Child Poverty And Disparities (PDF) - Social Policy ...

Table 2.7: Correlation among deprivation measures, 2007
Bottom asset
quintile Shelter Sanitation Water Information Food Education Health
Shelter 0.466*** 1.000 0.052*** 0.164*** 0.267*** 0.005 0.163*** -0.017
Sanitation 0.041*** 0.052*** 1.00 -0.023* 0.057*** 0.097*** 0.091*** 0.070***
Water 0.236*** 0.164*** -0.023* 1.000 0.130*** -0.034 0.060*** 0.030
Information 0.429*** 0.267*** 0.057*** 0.130*** 1.000 -0.044* 0.098*** -0.003
Food 0.014 0.005 0.097*** -0.034 -0.044* 1.000 n/a 0.016
Education 0.148*** 0.163*** 0.092*** 0.060*** 0.098*** n/a 1.000 n/a
Health 0.022 -0.017 0.070*** 0.030 -0.003 0.016 n/a 1.000
Source: MICS 2007.
* significant at 10% level; ** significant at 5% level; *** significant at 1% level.
Table 2.7 shows the correlation between different
deprivation measures, and between deprivation
and asset quintile. Shelter and information
deprivation are strongly correlated with being
in the bottom asset quintile, with correlation
coefficients being over 0.40, and the correlations
are statistically significant. In contrast, food and
health deprivation are only weakly correlated with
assets, and the correlations are not statistically
significant. This is likely to reflect the fact that
these deprivations are relatively common in Port
Vila, where people have higher levels of assets
but still experience these specific deprivations.
While the correlations between many other
deprivations are statistically significant, the
degree of correlation is not particularly high, and
no deprivations except information deprivation
have correlation coefficients over 0.20. In
brief, the lack of high correlations between
deprivation measures, like the apparent small
number of people experiencing multiple severe
deprivations, suggests that while deprivations
may be reasonably common, entrenched multiple
deprivation does not exist. Around 4 per cent of
children experience multiple deprivations, which
is similar to the proportion of children living in
the most severe expenditure poverty (under
$1.08 per day). Because these two indicators are
derived from different surveys, it is not possible
to check whether those with the lowest levels of
expenditure are also those experiencing multiple
deprivations, but this coincidence suggests that is
a possibility.
Summary of deprivation findings
As with the analysis of expenditure poverty, the
analysis of deprivation shows that disparities
in child well-being have important dimensions
related to location. Torba and Tafea have the
highest expenditure poverty rates and the highest
poverty gaps (using a national-level poverty line),
and they have the highest rates of deprivation.
However, based on sub-national poverty lines,
Port Vila has the highest poverty rate, as well as
the highest levels of food and health deprivation
for children.
Many of the other factors associated with higher
poverty rates are also associated with higher
deprivation risks. For example, households
where the head has no schooling have child
poverty rates that are 3.7 times those of
households where the head has a secondary
school education; the corresponding ratio for
severe deprivation is 3.4 to 1. The gender of
the household head is unimportant both for
expenditure poverty and deprivation. Household
size has broadly similar effects for both measures
of well-being, as does the presence of a person
70 years or older in the household.
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