Child Development and Economic Development: Lessons and Future Challenges

Abstract

This review essay summarises current research into child development that investigates what promotes and what threatens children’s growth and security. It examines how the well-being of children affects and is affected by wider societal (especially economic) development; whether and in what ways children have benefited from economic growth; and which policy directions can help to make economic growth deliver advantages for poor children in developing countries. It uses evidence from Young Lives and a wider literature across several disciplines to illustrate the core arguments. Thus, while much of the discussion focuses on the Young Lives study countries – Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh), Peru, and Vietnam – the conclusions are applicable more broadly across many other contexts