Multidimensional poverty among adolescents in Brazil (2017-2023): Challenges and a research agenda

Abstract

This article analyzes the profile and recent evolution of multidimensional poverty among adolescents in Brazil, based on the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) study Multidimensional Child Poverty. Using the MODA (Multiple Overlapping Deprivation Analysis) methodology, adapted to the Brazilian context, the study considers deprivations across dimensions such as education, housing, sanitation, income, access to information, and protection against child labor. The analysis covers data from 2017 to 2023, focusing on adolescents aged 10 to 17 and comparing them with the general group of children and adolescents aged 0 to 17. The results show that adolescents face higher deprivation rates, particularly in sanitation and child labor, while there was a significant improvement in access to information and a reduction in income deprivation. The analysis highlights methodological limitations, including the exclusion of unpaid domestic work from child labor statistics, which obscures the gendered burden faced by adolescent girls. The article argues for a dedicated research agenda for adolescence, rooted in a life-cycle approach, human rights perspective, and disaggregation by gender and race. It concludes that such an approach can strengthen the visibility of youth in official statistics and inform more effective, integrated public policies to combat the intergenerational reproduction of poverty and inequality.