Macro shocks like those linked to the food, fuel and financial crises of 2008-2009 are likely
to be a recurrent feature of the global economy, underscoring the need to develop analytical
tools to help policymakers and other stakeholders understand the implications of these events
on children, women and poor families. As part of UNICEF’s broader social and economic
policy work on crisis response, this paper develops and applies an analytical tool to provide a
first pass analysis of potential social outcomes from macro shocks and policy reforms. It is
estimated that with the right datasets, technical staff and other resources, it is possible to
undertake and complete this analysis within 2-3 months of the onset of a shock. This could
potentially strengthen the evidence-informed child policy advocacy in a very timely manner.
It could also help child rights advocates provide a strong analytical input into policy
discussions, in order to help strengthen the case for child-sensitive social protection and other
policies.