Poverty Flashcards
the North-South divide
The north south divide is a global socio-economic and political divide
The north and the south have replaced terms such as the west and the third world as descriptions of the variation of economic development in the world
The more economically developed and powerful states such as the US Canada Europe Russia and Australia (Developed) tend to be in the northern hemisphere and poorer Less politically influential states in South America Africa and Asia (Developing) tend to be in the southern hemisphere
The largest percentage of the population living under two dollars a day is in the global south
The north south divide is a socio-economic and political divide between a relatively affluent north where most of the world economic activity takes place on the increasingly marginalised self where poverty and disadvantage exists
The per capita income gap between the north and south has been growing since the 1960s having tripled in size during that time
what is the report linked to the North-South divide?
The term north south divide gained currency as a result of the 1980 Brandt Report Into international development issues
However it has not been met with universal acceptance some question its relevance given the miraculous growth of the Chinese economy the emergence of Brazil and India and the growing influence of these countries and international organisations such as the G20
The report led to the development of the Brandt line showing the border between the global north and south
why is the North-South divide contested?
The concept of the north south divide is contested as there is variation within both the north and the south that means the time does not apply to every country in each hemisphere
The south has seen poverty become more concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa however the south has also seen the emergence of China Brazil India and South Africa who are all now part of the G 20 and some of the most rapidly developing economic countries
Some of the GDP is surpass the GDP is seen in the global north
Globalisation has also created variations that inequalities within states with women and ethnic minorities and the disabled being particularly disadvantage suggesting the Term is increasingly meaningless
theories of global inequality and poverty
Despite world economic growth there is an increasing gap between the richest and poorest countries
Between the early 1960s and the early to thousands the richest 20 states got 300% richer well the poorest 20 only grew by 20%
Two theories of global inequality have been influential in understanding why unequal economic development continues the world systems theory and the dependency theory
the world systems theory: who was it proposed by? what is its basic argument?
Developed by sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein
It is an approach to world history and social change that suggests there is a world economic system that has developed as a result of the expansion of capitalism since the 17th century
In this system some countries benefit while others are exploited as such it is a neo-Marxist theory
the world systems theory: what did Wallerstein reject?
Wallerstein Rejects the notion of a third world claiming that there is only one world that is connected by economic relations
the world systems theory: how does this theory divide the world?
He argues that this system inherently leads to a division of the world into core semi peripheral and peripheral areas
Core areas are those that are economically advanced and dominate over peripheral areas
Peripheral areas are those parts of the world where wages are low technology is basic and the economy is dependent on agriculture all the primary sector low-tech industries such as coal and steel
Semi peripheral areas have some features of core areas and some of peripheral areas they act as a buffer area to ensure that the core areas do not face unified opposition from the rest of the world
world systems theory of poverty
Developed by Immanuel Wallerstein
Rejects the idea of a north and south
A neo-Marxist analysis that sees the entire world as one single capitalist economy based on the division of labour between the core Semi-periphery and periphery regions
Core regions benefit from capital and technology exploiting the periphery for raw materials and cheap labour while the semi-periphery acts as an intermediate as it is part core Part periphery
Poverty is an inevitable product of the world system and the system needs replacing by a more Equitable one
CORE — Democratic government welfare services high wages advanced technology import primary products export manufactured goods
PERIPHERY — No democratic government limited or no welfare services below subsistence wages export primary products import manufactured goods
SEMI PERIPHERY — Authoritarian government limited welfare services low wages export and import primary products export certain manufactured goods
The three zones are in an Exploitative relationship where wealth is drained from the periphery to the core
the dependency theory: how is dependency imposed on poor states? how were these structural imbalances created?
Emphasises the structural imbalances within capitalism that impose dependency on poor states
These structural imbalances were created by 19th-century imperialism western European countries exploited the natural resources and cheap labour provided by their colonies in Africa South America and in the middle and far east
With decolonisation former colonies became independent states politically but remained economically dependent of their former colonial masters for trade
the dependency theory: how do wealthy states accumulate wealth at the expense of poorer states?
This essentially near Marxist theory has much in common with the world systems theory it refers to core and periphery countries
It argues that resources flow from the periphery of poor and underdeveloped countries to a core of wealthy countries which leads to the accumulation of wealth by the rich states at the expense of poor states
the dependency theory: what happens when underdeveloped countries try to resume control? what does this mean for them?
When underdeveloped countries try to remove the influence of core countries the developed countries block their attempts to assume control
This means that poverty of developing nations is not the result of the disintegration of these countries in the world system but because of the way in which they are integrated into the system
The poverty of the periphery countries is perpetuated by the structural dependence on the core countries hence dependency theorists argue that underdeveloped countries remain economically valuable unless they reduced their connections to the world market
This suggests that global economic governance and economic globalisation is the cause of continuing poverty in these countries rather than the solution
dependency theory of poverty
Argues that the north and south are in a structural relationship with each other and it is a relationship of dependency that creates poverty
The process is Neocolonialism as it involves economic rather than political domination by the north and is promoted by the saps of the IMF and World Bank
The solution was to use the state to nationalise or subsidise local industries and to implement protectionist trade policy is to cut connections to the global market in order to drive development
This is known as import substitution industrialisation — a form of economic policy adopted by southern states as a response to the perception that structure relationships were stopping myself from developing and were in trenching property rather than solving it
this argues that the state should protect infant industries with tariffs and subsidies to decrease dependency on developed countries this allows these industries to develop so they can then compete with imported goods when they are sufficiently developed
The north during colonialism created economies in the south based on the export of primary goods like raw materials and food following decolonisation market forces meant the South suffered from decline in terms of trade as the price of primary goods rises more slowly than the price of manifested goods produced to the court this leads to the south being economically drained by the north
measurement of poverty: how is absolute poverty defined?
Poverty is a disputed term
Measures of absolute poverty include the level of deprivation of the necessities of life such as food fuel shelter and clothing
OR the measure used by the World Bank of earning less than $1.25 a day
measurement of poverty: how is poverty defined by the OECD and the EU?
However absolute property does not capture the relative nature of poverty
The organisation for economic co-operation and development OECD and the EU define poverty as income that is 50% less than the average household
measurement of poverty: how does Amartya Sen define poverty?
Moreover the orthodox measure of poverty is the inability to meet material needs but some commentators such as Amartya Sen Harvard professor of economics and philosophy argue that poverty is not just about income
Sen Advocates and alternative measures of poverty the inability to meet nonmaterial needs
Poverty restricts opportunities such as access to education and equal treatment under the law for the protection of rights which can be just as debilitating as lack of wealth
