Multidimensional Child Poverty: A Study applied to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

Multidimensional Child Poverty: A Study applied to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Multidimensional Child Poverty: A Study applied to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay Isabela Sánchez Vargas, Juan Antonio Dip This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6811236/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Child Indicators Research → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper examines the structure, profile, and determinants of multidimensional poverty among children under five in three Latin American countries: Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. This topic is particularly relevant within the Sustainable Development Agenda, as child poverty poses a significant challenge with immediate and long-lasting effects on childhood and equitable human development (ECLAC, 2010 ). The study highlights overlapping deprivations among specific population subgroups and indicators, offering insights for public policy targeting. It makes three key contributions: exploring underreported indicators, utilising a novel econometric model for child poverty determinants and comparing poverty structures across the three countries. Multidimensional poverty indices are calculated using the Alkire-Foster method. Poverty determinants are analysed with logistic regressions and a truncated inflated beta model, employing Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) data. Results show that Paraguay has the highest proportion of poor children and average deprivations, followed by Argentina and Uruguay. Within-country disparities exist across regions and settings, with the dimension of discipline contributing most to the adjusted headcount ratio across all countries, except rural Paraguay, where water and sanitation are more significant. Key determinants of child poverty include household wealth and the educational level of the household head. Country-specific factors like regional disparities and demographic characteristics are particularly impactful in Argentina and Paraguay, with rural residence and Indigenous ethnicity increasing risks in Paraguay. Spatial characteristics are less influential in Uruguay and Argentina. multidimensional child poverty dimensions of poverty poverty profiles determinants of poverty Latin America Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 14 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Child Indicators Research → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6811236","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":474738347,"identity":"c286acf4-9050-44a7-a6ba-5e98f08e625e","order_by":0,"name":"Isabela Sánchez Vargas","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"National University of Misiones","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Isabela","middleName":"Sánchez","lastName":"Vargas","suffix":""},{"id":474738348,"identity":"5a63df20-041a-4e35-b143-185ee59df6b3","order_by":1,"name":"Juan Antonio Dip","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National University of Misiones","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juan","middleName":"Antonio","lastName":"Dip","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-03 12:23:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6811236/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6811236/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-025-10325-8","type":"published","date":"2026-01-14T16:28:49+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":100615851,"identity":"fee1f8f5-d4e4-4c2a-9d65-bed784919010","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-19 17:37:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":558859,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MultidimensionalchildpovertyAstudyappliedtoArgentinaParaguayandUruguay.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6811236/v1_covered_ed74764c-bda3-4abb-a1d9-fa59fa24fb40.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eMultidimensional Child Poverty: A Study applied to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"multidimensional child poverty, dimensions of poverty, poverty profiles, determinants of poverty, Latin America","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6811236/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6811236/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper examines the structure, profile, and determinants of multidimensional poverty among children under five in three Latin American countries: Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. This topic is particularly relevant within the Sustainable Development Agenda, as child poverty poses a significant challenge with immediate and long-lasting effects on childhood and equitable human development (ECLAC, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study highlights overlapping deprivations among specific population subgroups and indicators, offering insights for public policy targeting. It makes three key contributions: exploring underreported indicators, utilising a novel econometric model for child poverty determinants and comparing poverty structures across the three countries.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMultidimensional poverty indices are calculated using the Alkire-Foster method. Poverty determinants are analysed with logistic regressions and a truncated inflated beta model, employing Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) data.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults show that Paraguay has the highest proportion of poor children and average deprivations, followed by Argentina and Uruguay. Within-country disparities exist across regions and settings, with the dimension of discipline contributing most to the adjusted headcount ratio across all countries, except rural Paraguay, where water and sanitation are more significant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKey determinants of child poverty include household wealth and the educational level of the household head. Country-specific factors like regional disparities and demographic characteristics are particularly impactful in Argentina and Paraguay, with rural residence and Indigenous ethnicity increasing risks in Paraguay. Spatial characteristics are less influential in Uruguay and Argentina.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Multidimensional Child Poverty: A Study applied to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-25 09:35:48","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6811236/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"f13efadd-3c08-4c0d-aa5c-5e5f677590a8","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 25th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-19T17:03:27+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6811236","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-025-10325-8","journal":{"identity":"child-indicators-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Child Indicators Research"},"publishedOn":"2026-01-14 16:28:49","publishedOnDateReadable":"January 14th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-25 09:35:48","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s12187-025-10325-8","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-025-10325-8","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6811236","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6811236","identity":"rs-6811236","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}