Abstract

This thesis presents some issues with regard to the problems in definition and measurement of poverty, both theoretically and empirically. Another objective is to identify some of the important factors related to child poverty in Canada. Poverty and inequality are examined from three theoretical perspectives: functionalist, conflict and feminist, in order to see which theory is better supported by the empirical evidence. Family type, residing in different provinces, age and number of children, age of the head of the family were found to be important factors in the literature. The three theories' central arguments were supported by the literature. In addition, regression analysis from the General Social Survey Cycle 10 was used to identify the most important factors with regard to child poverty, while other factors are controlled. The analysis indicated that age of the household head was the most important factor, followed by the number of children in the household, living in a lone-parent family, receiving income from work or government, education, and residing in Atlantic Canada. The results show that human capital factors such as age and education, considered important in the functionalist theory, were the most significant, followed by structural factors such as residing in different regions, emphasized in the conflict perspective. Gender, central to the feminist paradigm, was not significant, but could be important through other processes such as number of children and full or part-time work.