Relative child poverty rates in France and Spain, for example, begin at very similar levels (19.4% and 18.8%, respectively) but in France the rate is more than halved by government intervention whereas in Spain very little difference is made (see Figure 8a). Similarly, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy all begin with relative child poverty rates of 16% to 18%, but after taxes and benefits the relative child poverty rate is brought down by half or more in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany whereas in Italy there is almost no reduction at all. Its premise is that, in a society committed to providing special protection for children, the child poverty rate would be lower than the overall poverty rate.