The persistence of child poverty since 1990 despite massive social and economic changes reinforces the importance of place-based policies.

While the US is in the midst of economic recovery, 16 million children still live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, and that number is increasing. How can we explain and tackle these growing levels of child poverty? In new research Maia Call looks at the role of time and geography in child poverty, finding that despite the massive social and economic changes of the past two decades, child poverty is linked to poor employment opportunities and certain types of extractive industries in specific places. Her results, she argues, show that place-based policies designed to encourage job creation and tackle unemployment remain an important part of the policy mix.