“Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.”
- Rob Bowden
What really is poverty?
United Nations' Definition of Poverty
One of the United Nations' 2002 chronicles defines poverty "as the total absence of opportunities, accompanied by high levels of undernourishment, hunger, illiteracy, lack of education, physical and mental ailments, emotional and social instability, unhappiness, sorrow and hopelessness for the future. Poverty is also characterized by a chronic shortage of economic, social and political participation, relegating individuals to exclusion as social beings, preventing access to the benefits of economic and social development and thereby limiting their cultural development." |
World Bank's Definition of Poverty
The World Bank’s 2000 World Development Report defines poverty "as an unacceptable deprivation in human well-being that can comprise both physiological and social deprivation. Physiological deprivation involves the non-fulfillment of basic material or biological needs, including inadequate nutrition, health, education, and shelter. A person can be considered poor if he or she is unable to secure the goods and services to meet these basic material needs. The concept of physiological deprivation is thus closely related to, but can extend beyond, low monetary income and consumption levels. Social deprivation widens the concept of deprivation to include risk, vulnerability, lack of autonomy, powerlessness, and lack of self-respect. Given that countries’ definitions of deprivation often go beyond physiological deprivation and sometimes give greater weight to social deprivation, local populations (including poor communities) should be engaged in the dialogue that leads to the most appropriate definition of poverty in a country ." |
Hans Gosling: New Insights on Poverty
Uploaded by: TEDtalksDirector |
The two main types of poverty
Image: Two Siblings in Absolute Poverty
To understand what poverty is, it needs to be known that there are two types of poverty; absolute poverty and relative poverty.
Absolute Poverty
Absolute is the worst kind of poverty, and this is what the UN tries to measure. Absolute poverty occurs when people are deprived, cannot access, or cannot afford to the basic necessities of life. They are deprived of the basic human needs such as food, clean drinking water, safe shelter, sanitation, primary healthcare, and education. The most common measuring stick to define absolute poverty is living under US$1 a day. The United Nations and the World Bank use a higher absolute poverty line, defining absolute poverty as living under US$2 a day. However, different poverty lines have to be adjusted for a given countries' overall GDP. For example, in the United States of America, it would be impossible to live under a dollar a day; thus the poverty line in the US is set at US$11 a day. Generally speaking, absolute poverty can be calculated by finding the minimum amount of income needed to meet the very basic needs.
Relative Poverty
People are considered to be relatively poor if their standard of living is significantly below normal for the country in which they live in. For example, if someone doesn't have a television, they could be considered as relatively poor. Relative poverty, like absolute poverty, differs from country to country, from region to region. Someone in North America or Europe may place high value on having a television in their homes, while this would be the least of someone else's worries in another part of the world. The majority of people living in relative poverty have access to and can afford the basic necessities that are needed in order to survive.
Absolute Poverty
Absolute is the worst kind of poverty, and this is what the UN tries to measure. Absolute poverty occurs when people are deprived, cannot access, or cannot afford to the basic necessities of life. They are deprived of the basic human needs such as food, clean drinking water, safe shelter, sanitation, primary healthcare, and education. The most common measuring stick to define absolute poverty is living under US$1 a day. The United Nations and the World Bank use a higher absolute poverty line, defining absolute poverty as living under US$2 a day. However, different poverty lines have to be adjusted for a given countries' overall GDP. For example, in the United States of America, it would be impossible to live under a dollar a day; thus the poverty line in the US is set at US$11 a day. Generally speaking, absolute poverty can be calculated by finding the minimum amount of income needed to meet the very basic needs.
Relative Poverty
People are considered to be relatively poor if their standard of living is significantly below normal for the country in which they live in. For example, if someone doesn't have a television, they could be considered as relatively poor. Relative poverty, like absolute poverty, differs from country to country, from region to region. Someone in North America or Europe may place high value on having a television in their homes, while this would be the least of someone else's worries in another part of the world. The majority of people living in relative poverty have access to and can afford the basic necessities that are needed in order to survive.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CAUSES OF POVERTY?
The main causes of poverty are:
- Overpopulation
- Unequal Global Distribution of Resources
- High Standards and Living and High Living Costs
- Inadequate and Expensive Education
- High Unemployment Rates
- Environmental Degradation
- Overdependence on Foreign Welfare and Aid
Where is it most and least severe?
Image: Development and Poverty Map
As can be seen in the map above, poverty and underdevelopment can be found mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia. As a percentage of the total population living in absolute poverty, South Asia (the Indian subcontinent) is home to 43.5% of all people living in absolute poverty. Almost half of all the population living in absolute poverty is concentrated in three countries: India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Next comes sub-Saharan Africa, with 24.3% of all people in absolute poverty. East Asia, South-East Asia, and the Pacific come have 23.2% of all people living in absolute poverty, while Latin America and the Carribean have 6.5%. The Middle East and North Africa are last, with 0.3% of all people living in absolute poverty.
How is Poverty measured? how are inequalities measured?
Poverty and inequality are measured in 5 different ways. The table below will highlight them.
Human Development Index (HDI)
HDI is a composite measure of human development. It measures 3 components of human development:
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Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
IMR is essentially the number of children who die before their first birthdays per 1, 000 live births in a country. IMRs are widely used as an indicator of human development because high IMRs are found in poverty-stricken countries where people do not have access to basic needs such as adequate amounts of food, clean drinking water and sanitation. In contrast, low IMRs can be found in countries where the majority of the population have access to the basic needs. |
Gender-related Development Index (GDI)
GDI essentially measures the same factors as HDI, but the levels are adjusted based on gender inequality. GDI measures:
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Human Poverty Index - 1 (HPI -1)
HPI -1 measures poverty in developing countries based on:
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Human Poverty Index - 2 (HPI - 2)
HPI - 2 essentially measures poverty using the same factors as HPI - 1, but also measures deprivation in the sense of social exclusion. HPI - 2 measures poverty based on:
*Functional literacy: being literate enough to get by everyday life **Long term unemployment : 12 months or more |
Photo/Video Credits
Children Playing. Photograph. Blog.justlanded.com. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. <http://blog.justlanded.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/How-to-Cope-with-poverty-300x193.jpg>. "A History of Poverty." Map. Christian Aid. Web. <http://www.povertyover.org>. "Hans Rosling: New Insights on Poverty." YouTube. YouTube, 26 June 2007. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpKbO6O3O3M>. Photograph. Sierra Leone. Web. <GsnyxaEPUdo/TpSDP7iPlfI/AAAAAAAAAXw/7HTLxNzPc3Q/s1600/2002%252520Valenda%252520Campbell%252520CARE%252520%2528Sierra%252520Leone%2529.jpg>. |