Table 2 Social determinants of child health (SDCH): child poverty, material deprivation, and social inequalities

Rajmil et al. 2018 [21]

Material deprivation increased during the period 2012–15 in those countries with higher austerity (interaction austerity*period 2012–15 = B: 5.62: p < 0.001)

Chzhen et al. 2017 [17]

Children were significantly less likely to be poor in countries with higher levels of social protection spending in 2008–2013, even after controlling for the socio-demographic structure of the population, per capita GDP and the working age unemployment rate. The effects of spending were larger and more precisely estimated for relative rather than anchored poverty, and it was not statistically significant in the last 2 years of the study (2012/13)

Nygard et al. 2019 [20]

Child poverty: the coefficients for spending on in-kind benefits (B = −1.6) were negative and consistently stronger than for cash benefits (B = − 1.2), even when controlling for other variables. There was also a gradual downward trend in the strengths of both coefficients as well as in the R Squares over time, which indicates that both forms of spending have become less efficient in reducing poverty over the studied period. This result can at least partly be attributed to higher unemployment of parents and a lower up-take rate of services (such as childcare services), as well as to cuts in the generosity of cash transfers to families

D’Agostino et al. 2019 [26]

The shares of the social benefits devoted to the Family/Children function were approximately double in the UK and France than those of Italy and Greece. The higher and lower level of expenses in family/children benefits were for Italy: 5.4% (2014) and 4.1% in 2010; Greece: 4.4% (2014) and 3.5% in 2012; France: 8.6% (2007) and 7.6% in 2014; UK: 11.3% (2010) and 10.3% in 2013.

Herranz-Aguayo et al. 2016 [19]

In 2013, Portugal exceeds the average on EU child poverty by almost 3% and Spain by almost 7% points. In Spain, one in three households is below the poverty thresholds (33.9%), followed by Portugal (31.1%). In Spain and Portugal, the ability to reduce poverty rates is much lower, remaining below the EU average (EU-15: 9.6% and EU-27: 9.1%), since both countries only achieved to reduce by 7.4% the risk of poverty and social exclusion after social transfers

Stefansson et al. 2018 [27]

Both children’s deprivation and economic vulnerability were measured at higher levels in 2014 than in 2009, though only the change in the latter was statistically significant. Rates of deprivation in individual dimensions was low and the overlap very limited, which may be indicative of low deprivation rates

Gunnlaugsson 2015 [18]

Governmental responses gave prominence to redistribution, through taxes and the social protection system. A set of measures represented protection of children were specifically improved (mental health, maternity care, immunisation, etc.). Percentage of children living in poverty almost not modified