Depletion, intersectionality and the limits of social policy: child carers in Mexico City

Main author: Grugel, Jean
Other authors: Macias, Susana
Rai, Shirin M.
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-39261
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic J Political Science
description This article makes a dual contribution. First, it adds an intersectional perspective to studies of depletion through social reproduction, examining the depletion experienced by children and adolescents caring for their younger siblings in Mexico City. The depletion that child carers experience is shaped by age, low income, other forms of work in and outside the home, and gender. Second, we explore the limitations of cash transfer welfare programmes by examining their failure to address the needs of children who provide care within the family and show how misperceptions by social policymakers of the experiences of young carers limit the capacity of social policies to make a difference to their well-being. The article underlines the importance of the greater recognition of social reproductive work by poor children and adolescents, and of the intersectional depletion that they experience, both within social policy and in academic research.
format Journal Article
author Grugel, Jean
author_facet Grugel, Jean
Macias, Susana
Rai, Shirin M.
authorStr Grugel, Jean
author_letter Grugel, Jean
author2 Macias, Susana
Rai, Shirin M.
author2Str Macias, Susana
Rai, Shirin M.
title Depletion, intersectionality and the limits of social policy: child carers in Mexico City
publisher Bristol University Press
publishDate 2020
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/39261/