lesson c : poverty

Question 1

what is bradshaw’s definition of absolute poverty?

Answer 1

represents minimum level of income needed to satisfy basic physical needs of food, clothing, shelter in order for survival. led bradshaw to develop budget standard of poverty to afford an acceptable living standard

Question 2

what is the issue with the absolute poverty definition by bradshaw?

Answer 2

clothing, shelter, necessities need to be operationalised

Question 3

what is the definition of relative poverty?

Answer 3

poverty in relation to society in which the person lives. considers not only necessities, but also exclusion from what is considered normal expectations eg. perceived as being rich if you own bike. definition is not fixed and might alter depending on the country or origin and their standards

Question 4

what is the issue with the relative poverty definition?

Answer 4

needs to operationalise what “normal expectations” are. very context and country dependent. can even vary from region to region in a country.

Question 5

what is townsend definition of “poverty in the UK”?

Answer 5

sole indicator of poverty is not lack of money for food, shelter and clothing - it is the inability to participate in the customary activities eg. taking an annual holiday

Question 6

what are the official level of poverty?

Answer 6

1. minimum acceptable income level
2. CPAG defined it as those people whose income are below income support plus 40%
3. income support set by gov
4. often defined as below 50% of mean household income / below 60% of the median household income

Question 7

what is the average income per household in the UK?

Answer 7

£31,400

Question 8

how many people are in food poverty in the UK?

Answer 8

4.2million

Question 9

what is the feminisation of poverty?

Answer 9

• inequalities in employment lead women to earn less than men (part-time, low skill and status job)
• women may be unable to work as often full time carers for children, sick, disabled, elderly
• older women more likely to be in poverty than older men as spent lots of time as mothers & housewives so less likely to have savings

Question 10

what did joseph rowntree foundation find about ethnic minorities in poverty?

Answer 10

• 40% of em live in poverty in UK
• 50% of em children live in poverty
• found that pakistani & bangladeshi groups, followed by AC were likely to be in persistent poverty

Question 11

what % of pensioners live in poverty?

Answer 11

16%, 900,000 of them experience severe poverty (cannot afford to heat home or eat food)