Poverty Flashcards
What are the ways in which poverty manifests?
1) Malnutrition - A lack of adequate nutrients due to insufficient or unbalanced diets.
Manifestation: People may experience stunted growth, weakened immune systems, and chronic illnesses, which reduce their ability to work or study, sustaining poverty.
2) Hunger - A severe shortage of food leading to physical weakness and inability to meet daily energy needs.
Manifestation: Hunger leads to decreased productivity, poor academic performance in children, and a higher susceptibility to diseases. It also causes long-term developmental delays in children.
3) Homelessness - The absence of stable, safe, and adequate housing.
Homelessness exposes individuals to harsh weather, violence, and lack of privacy. It can make it harder to secure a job, access education, or maintain health.
4) Social exclusion Being denied full participation in social, economic, or political life due to discrimination, inequality, or marginalization.
Manifestation: Social exclusion isolates individuals or groups, reducing access to opportunities, resources, and support systems, further entrenching poverty.
5) Limited access to healthcare, sanitation, and education
Manifestation:
- Healthcare: Poor health outcomes, higher mortality rates, and untreated diseases.
- Sanitation: Spread of preventable diseases like cholera and diarrhea.
- Education: Lower literacy rates, fewer job opportunities, and the perpetuation of generational poverty.
Newly industrialised countries (Emerging economies)
A term used by economists and political scientists to describe medium-income developing countries that have achieved significant economic growth and improvements in standard of living in recent years.
South Korea transitioned from an agrarian economy in the mid-20th century to an industrial powerhouse. It is now a global leader in technology and manufacturing, with companies like Samsung and Hyundai driving its growth. This development has significantly improved its economic standing, making it a key emerging economy.
Extreme poverty
Lack of access to basic needs such as water, food and shelter.
India vs China (about NICs/EEs)
1) China and India are NICs and home to the world’s largest population, making up a third of the world’s population.
2) China was able to lift 800 million out of extreme poverty between 1978 and 2000.
3) India lifted 90 million people out of extreme poverty in just four years (2011-2015). Source: World Bank
4) Although fewer people live in poverty, income inequalities have increased between states.
71% people live in countries where income inequality has grown (regardless on ethnicity, gender, geography).
5) In 2018, 26 richest people held as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population (3.8 billion people).
Poverty Definition
Poverty has been defined by international institutions as lack of access to basic needs such as water, food and shelter.
Extreme Poverty
1) The notion of extreme poverty is considered measurable, consumption-based, and solvable.
2) One common measure of extreme poverty is the World Bank’s poverty line, set at USD 2.15 per day. Over the past three decades, the number of people living in extreme poverty has generally declined.
3) Due to factors and the impact of COVID-19, the number of people living in extreme poverty rose dramatically, increasing from 70 million to 700 million in 2020.
What are some critiques and alternatives of the international poverty line?
1) Many critiques argue that the threshold should be 7.4 USD or even USD 15.
2) Many argue that the international poverty line is misleading as it ignores the dimensions of poverty, such as malnutrition, undignified working conditions, vulnerability to disease
How is poverty conceptualized in Global Politics?
In Global Politics, poverty is conceptualized as both social injustice and a complex global challenge with multiple dimensions.
What are interpretations/ perspectives of poverty in Global Politics?
1) One interpretation of poverty focuses on it as an economic condition, emphasizing insufficient income or resources to meet basic human needs, using quantitative measures such as income thresholds to assess and address poverty.
2) Another perspective looks beyond the purely economic aspects, emphasizing poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon recognising that poverty extends beyond income scarcity, encompassing social exclusion, limited access to opportunities, health disparities and inadequate political representation.
How is poverty seen from a structural perspective?
1) Poverty is seen as a product of unequal power dynamics, structural inequalities and historical injustices embedded in global systems of trade, governance, and resource distribution.
2)This view emphasizes that poverty is not just a lack of resources but a consequence of economic and political decisions that maintain disparity.
3) Structural perspective: emphasizes that inequalities , discrimination, power imbalances, and policy framework make poverty worse.
Multi-Dimensional Poverty
A person who is poor can suffer multiple disadvantages/deprivations at the same time – for example they may have poor health or malnutrition, a lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or little schooling. Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty.
The multidimensional poverty index (3)
The multidimensional poverty index examines three dimensions of poverty:
1) Health,
2) Education
3) Living standards (corresponding to basic needs)
A person is considered MPI poor if they are deprived in several of these indicators.
The index complements the USD 2.15/day standard to inform better aimed policies for people centred development and eradication of poverty.
Where does poverty arise from (4)
1) Some argue that poverty arises from unequal distribution of power within states and international systems.
2) The current global economy relies on exploitation of labour, contributing to poverty where the exploitation takes place.
3) Historical reasons of poverty include colonisation when indigenous people were dispossessed of their land and resources. These indigenous people are among the poorest today.
4) MNCs and IGOs are also criticised for ignoring the fact that poverty can be a product of inequalities within their own systems.
How is poverty interconnected?
1)1Poverty is also interconnected with various global issues such as conflict, human rights, migration, climate change and health crisis.
2) Therefore, a comprehensive, multifaceted approach is needed to effectively combat poverty.
3)Development is often considered a ladder upon which the poor can climb to escape poverty.
