Poverty

www.makepovertyhistory.org/video

Poverty

• Poverty has existed for a very long time, and to different extents remains worldwide even in this 21st century.

• In primitive societies it was often the case that everybody was equally poor, but more modern societies have generally tended to involve poverty being confined to an often substantial minority only - though this can sometimes harm those concerned even more than universal poverty.

Development

• Levels of poverty– Absolute poverty– Relative poverty

• Inequality• Progress – what

constitutes progress?

Our definitions of progress may be highly subjective. What has progress brought to native tribes people across the globe?Title: Navajos refuse casino riches. Copyright: Getty Images, available from http://edina.ac.uk/eig

What is Poverty?

Poverty is a ‘relative’ term

Romanian gypsies – is this man living in poverty?Copyright: ghitulescu radu, http://www.sxc.hu

Or is this villager in rural China?Copyright: Mark Forman, http://www.sxc.hu

Poverty Line

• The International Poverty Line is an income level established by the World Bank to determine which people in the world are poor.

• The line was set at $1 a day per person in 1985 international PPP prices.

• Although this poverty line is useful for international comparisons, it is impossible to create an indicator of poverty that is strictly comparable across countries.

Absolute & Relative Poverty

• Absolute poverty involves people and their children having extreme difficulty in merely surviving.

• But in richer societies where the poor are a minority, their relative poverty generally involves the inability to obtain social necessities available to the majority - and is often intensified by social exclusion.

• Poverty does come in different forms and extents, but it is always harmful to those concerned and especially harmful to children.

• Poverty itself means misery to the poor and it also makes them vulnerable to various forms of exploitation.

• Poverty can also be very harmful to society as a whole, insofar as it can maintain a divided conflict society where the poorer conflict with the richer.

People Living on Less than One Dollar a day

National Standards People Below Poverty Line

Distribution of Highest Risk Disaster Hotspots by Hazard Type

Causes of Poverty

• Environmental

• Economic

• Health Care

• Governance

• Demographic

• Social Factors

Environmental

• Erosion. • Desertification and overgrazing. • Deforestation • Climate change• Geographic factors related to:

– Natural resources– Communication– Climate

• The resource “curse” abundant natural resources resulting in less long-term prosperity

• Drought and water crisis

Economics

• Unemployment• Capital flight• Communists: the institution of property rights• Unfair terms of trade

Health Care• Poor access to affordable health care • Inadequate nutrition in childhood, • Disease, specifically diseases of poverty• Clinical depression • Substance abuse

Governance

• Lacking democracy in poor countries• The governance effectiveness of governments • Weak rule of law • Poor management of resource revenues • Failure by governments to provide essential

infrastructure • Poor access to affordable education • High levels of corruption

Demographics and Social Factors

• Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods.

• Crime• Historical factors, for example imperialism, colonialism

and communism• Brain drain • Cultural causes • War, including civil war, genocide• Discrimination• Individual beliefs, actions and choices

Project 3, Activity A

Using poverty rate (CIA World Factbook) as a measure of development, select five countries at a time to compare how resources are allocated to three economic sectors (agriculture, industrial, service).

First formulate a hypothesis, then collect data. After making comparisons, identify patterns in which sector is emphasized by the wealthiest countries and the poorest countries.

Write a one-page report on your findings.

BBC Documentaries A Dollar A Day

Choose one documentary, listen to it and produce detailed notes on housing, family size, agriculture and production, employment,

education, health care and disease preventionPart One• Poverty was a key issue in the recent elections in Kenya and the

unrest that followed.Part Two• In Peru, women get one dollar a day for vaccinating and sending

their children to school.Part Three• In India, more people are surviving into their old age, and many live

in deep poverty.Part Four• In Ghana, families struggle to find the money to fund their children's

education.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/documentaries/2007/12/071227_dollar_a_day_1.shtml