Worldwide child and youth poverty and deprivation remain the biggest barrier to achieving a better life in adulthood. Progress in lifting children out of poverty in the last decades has been slow and limited in the developing world, while the recent global economic crisis has exacerbated child poverty, youth unemployment, and social exclusion in many developed countries. By critically unraveling the long-term consequences of growing up poor, the close linkages between multiple deprivations and violation of human rights in childhood and adolescence, and their effects on labor market entry and future career in a number of developing and developed countries, this book significantly enriches the existing literature. Drawing on multiple disciplinary perspectives, it makes a forceful case for the eradication of child poverty to take center stage in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Maria Petmesidou is Professor of Social Policy at Democritus University of Thrace and Fellow of CROP. She has served in various scientific committees and expert networks and has directed (and participated in) a large number of research projects funded by Greek authorities and the European Commission. Currently she is coordinating research (under EU FP7) on policy learning and transfer regarding youth labour. Recent publication: Economic Crisis and Austerity in Southern Europe: Threat of Opportunity for a Sustainable Welfare State? (co-edited with Ana Guillén, Routledge, 2015). Enrique Delamonica, Chief of Social Policy and Gender Equality, UNICEF Nigeria; CROP Fellow has over 20 years of experience working on child poverty, social protection, the impact of macro-economic trends on child welfare, socioeconomic disparities, child rights, and financing social services. He has written several books and articles on social policy and economic development. He has taught economics, policy analysis, statistics, and research methods at Columbia University, the New School, and Saint Peter's College (New Jersey). Christos Papatheodorou is Professor of Social Policy and Dean of the School of Social, Political and Economic Sciences at Democritus University of Thrace (Greece). Since 2010 he is Head of the Research Unit Social Policy, Poverty and Inequalities, Labour Institute, Greek General Confederation of Labour. His research interests and publications are in the fields of political economy of social policy, economic inequality, poverty, macroeconomic environment and social protection, functional and personal distribution of income. HenryLee, Aldrie is a Senior Research Fellow and Acting Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. She has carried out research and published in the areas of social protection, poverty and child rights in the Caribbean. The Chair of the annual Caribbean Child Research Conference, Dr. HenryLee has also taught Social Policy courses.