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- A weighted multidimensional index of child well-being which incorporates children’s individual perceptionsPublication . Fernandes, Liliana; Mendes, Américo; Teixeira, AuroraIt has been a decade since a landmark piece of work on child well-being measurement based on a summary index was developed in the United States, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being. Several research studies, both in the U.S. and Europe, followed on from this work. Despite these studies' valuable contribution, scope exists for further improvements at the methodological level. In the present paper we draw the methodological basis for a new, micro-based summary child well-being index in which children's views on their own well-being assume a central role and distinct weights (based on the children's perceptions) to each component that is included in the index are used. Based on 914 pairs of responses of Portuguese children and their carers, the newly proposed index was tested vis-A -vis other methodologies. The econometric estimations show that the significance of all potential well-being determinants (e.g., age, school cycle, mother's and father's level of education) remains the same across the distinct methods of calculation of child well-being indexes. However, the consideration of subjective components (degrees of importance and weights) allowed to evidence that the most relevant determinants of child well-being are the set of variables related to the child's parents, namely education and professional status. In particular, when compared to their counterparts, children whose fathers have higher education degrees reveal an increased overall well-being by around 25 %, whereas children whose fathers are unemployed present a decreased well-being by around 11 %.
- Assessing child well-being through a new multidimensional child-based weighting scheme index: an empirical estimation for PortugalPublication . Fernandes, Liliana; Mendes, Américo; Teixeira, AuroraAssessing child well-being through composite summary indexes is one of the most recent developments regarding child well-being measurement. Using a new index that takes into account the children's own perspectives, this paper presents empirical evidence on the main determinants of overall child wellbeing. Econometric estimations, based on a sample of 1246 children enrolled in the 3rd-6th grades of schools located in the Northern region of Portugal, convey two main results: (1) the parents' educational background and professional status, in particular, an unemployed father, are the most important factors affecting child well-being and (2) children from households with double or foreign nationality are worse off than those with Portuguese nationality. These results support the positive role of policies targeting the qualifications and employment opportunities for parents, as well as the need for inclusive policies for immigrant households as a way to improve their children's well-being.