Measurement and decomposition of multidimensional poverty among migrant children: Evidence from China

Our aim was to measure the multidimensional poverty of migrant children with the Alkire and Foster (A-F) method by using the 2020 China Family Panel Studies data. The results showed that 29.55 % of rural-urban migrant children and 27.36 % of urban-urban migrant children experience multidimensional poverty. Most of the children experienced poverty concentrated on 1-4 indicators, with no multidimensional poverty at a broader level. The measurement and decomposition results indicated that migrant children faced more pronounced poverty issues in the health and education dimensions. The main factors influencing the multidimensional poverty of migrant children were access to school, distance to school, and nutrition. The incidence of multidimensional poverty was higher for rural-urban migrant children, who were facing more severe overall poverty than urban-urban migrant children. The analysis of age groups reveals that multidimensional poverty was more severe among urban migrant children aged 6-17 years than among those aged 3-5 years. In the future, the government should focus on alleviating and eliminating the multidimensional poverty experienced by migrant children by implementing measures to ensure access to medical security, education, life assistance programs, and comprehensive support for their overall growth.