7.2 The Problem Of Poverty

Question 1

What is absolute poverty?

Answer 1

• Absolute poverty is defined as living below subsistence.
• it is the severe deprivation of basic human needs e.g food, clean water, sanitation, health, shelter and education.

Question 2

What is relative poverty?

Answer 2

• when individuals or households lack the resources needed for an average standard of living
• Relative poverty is measured by comparison to the average in the country.
• In the UK, those with below 60% of the median income are considered to be in relative poverty.
• Relative poverty can be seen as one way of measuring income inequality.

Question 3

What are some causes of poverty?

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Answer 3

• Inequality in wages or unemployment
• Welfare payments
• Taxes
• Disease, malnutrition and other health problems
• Wars and conflicts
• Corruption and political oppression
• Natural disasters

Question 4

Causes of poverty-Inequality in wages or unemployment

Answer 4

• If workers can earn a higher level of education, they will be able to access jobs with higher wages.
• Those with lower levels of education might struggle to find a job, and if they do, it might only be low paid.
• This is especially harmful where countries do not have a National Minimum Wage or unemployment benefits, since it can leave people in relative poverty.
• Recently, more part-time and temporary jobs have been available rather than full time jobs.
• This leaves people underemployed, and it limits how much they can earn.
• It was especially a problem during the Great Recession.
• The changing structure of the UK economy to services as a result of
  deindustrialisation has meant some jobs have been lost.
• This could cause structural unemployment and hysteresis.
• This is a type of structural unemployment, where someone is out of work for a long time, so their skills deteriorate.
• This makes it harder to find a job, and it leads to long-term unemployment.

Question 5

Causes of poverty-welfare payments

Answer 5

• State pensions and welfare payments tend to increase less than wages, even though they are index-linked to inflation.
• This means that those on benefits see a smaller real increase in their income compared to those in jobs.
• This increases inequality and the number of people in relative poverty.

Question 6

Causes of poverty-taxes

Answer 6

• In the UK, some taxes are regressive, which means that those on lower incomes bear a larger burden of the tax.
• This can increase inequality and relative poverty.

Question 7

Causes of poverty- Disease, malnutrition and other health problems

Answer 7

• Health issues can make it hard to get a job, especially in a country where jobs are scarce and rarely available.
• People are likely to take a lot of time off work and it can deter MNCs from investing in a country.
• This can leave people without an income and it can push people into absolute poverty.

-It is especially an issue in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Question 8

Causes of poverty-wars and conflicts

Answer 8

• This might push people to flee their homes, as well as destroying anything they
  owned.
• It could leave people homeless and force them into extreme poverty.

Question 9

Causes of poverty-Corruption and political oppression

Answer 9

• Countries with corrupt leaders might have higher levels of poverty.
• There is likely to be relative poverty since the leaders might keep most of the wealth

Question 10

Causes of poverty- natural disasters

Answer 10

• In a similar way to wars, natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes can
  destroy people’s livelihoods.
• For example, the Nepal earthquake in 2015 pushed even more people into poverty.
• Nepal was already one of the poorest countries in the world, and their weak infrastructure was easily damaged.
• It was estimated that 1 million people were pushed below the poverty line after the earthquake

Question 11

What are some impacts of poverty to health?

Answer 11

• High rates of poverty are associated with lower life expectancies, poorer
  standards of health and underdeveloped infants.
• Malnutrition is an important issue, which results in poor cognitive development in children, so they are not as productive as adults.
• Malnutrition also makes children more vulnerable to infections, which increases their risk of death.

Question 12

What are some impacts of poverty to society?

Answer 12

• Poverty could result in poor housing, crime and mental health issues.
• Social unrest becomes more common and it can create problems within communities.

Question 13

What are some impact of poverty to sanitation?

Answer 13

• Many people living in poverty cannot afford basic levels of sanitation, and clean water is a rarity.
• This makes people more vulnerable to fatal diseases.
• Usually, the diseases contracted from poor sanitation are avoidable, but they simply cannot afford to improve their situation.

Question 14

What are some impacts of poverty to education?

Answer 14

• Sometimes, families have to choose between eating and getting an education for their children.
• Children might have to be sent to work to support the family, which leaves them with poor literacy skills later on in life.
• This limits their ability to escape poverty as an adult

Question 15

What are some impacts of poverty to the economy?

Answer 15

• Without a basic level of education, the higher paying jobs, with opportunities for career progression, are not accessible.
• This hinders the economy’s ability to improve its productive potential.
• For example, roughly 22% of India’s population is still in poverty, which is limiting their rate of economic growth