This dissertation will examine the determinants of international variations in child welfare. In particular, I intend to focus on the relationship between child welfare and the distribution of power in societies. In pursuing this objective, I will proceed in four steps. First, I will identify elements to construct a holistic child welfare index (WINOCENT). Second, drawing on the chapter on literature review, I will assemble and present data on various determinants of child welfare identified in that chapter. I will sort these determinants into two broad categories: structural variables, which are not readily amenable to alternation by policy makers, at least in the short run; and the policy variables, which can be more readily manipulated. Third, I will calculate the National Performance Gaps (NPG)s for the child welfare index (WINOCENT) and the variables comprising it, by regressing them against per capita income using the ordinary least squares method. In the fourth and last stage, regression analysis will be used to examine the relationships between the dependent variable, i.e. the WINOCENT and its constituent elements, and the independent variables, i.e. the structural and policy variables.