Estimating the cost of raising a child in Catalonia through the reference budgets approach

This chapter takes Barcelona as the reference city in order to discuss the estimate on the costs of being a child, at ages 10 and 14 years, in Catalonia. It analyzes the overall context of the “Improving Poverty Reduction in Europe” (ImPRovE) project, which aims to develop reference budgets using a common theoretical and methodological framework for six European cities. It also clarifies that the reference budgets are drawn up according to expert guidelines, scientific literature, and knowledge with national adaptation for the institutional, cultural and social contexts. The chapter explains how focus groups, which included both children and adults, are used to help establish the acceptability of the reference budgets. It emphasizes how the costs of being a child increases with age across most areas of expenditure.