Sociologists have questioned the irregularities of wealth distribution across different countries over a period of time. Researchers have measured poverty as either absolute or relative. Absolute poverty involves a judgment of basic human needs and is measured in terms of the resources required to maintain health and physical efficiency. Majority of the measures of absolute poverty are concerned with establishing the quality and amount of food, clothing and shelter which are deemed necessary for a healthy life. Absolute poverty is also referred to as subsistence poverty because it is based on the system of assessment of the minimum requirements for the subsistence of the human body.
According to Encyclopedia Americana (1989) poverty can be viewed from two different perspectives and these two points of view are: (i) “ moneylessness” which means both an insufficiency of cash and serious inadequacy of resources of all kinds to satisfy and meet basic human needs, such as, nutrition, rest, and body maintenance; and (ii) “powerlessness” meaning those that lack the chances and choices open to them and whose lives seem to them to be governed by forces and persons outside their control. From this, it is seen that poverty has various manifestations which include among others: lack of income and productive resources enough to make sure sustainable livelihood, hunger and malnutrition, limited or lack of access to education, ill health, and other basic services, increased morbidity and mortality from illness, homelessness and inadequate, unsafe and degraded environment and social discrimination and exclusion LITERATURE REVIEW Vital to the clamour for policies and programmes that will reduce poverty is the issue of the conceptualization of poverty. Conceptually, there three dominant views that will be identified as the meaning of poverty in this paper. Aliyu, (2002) has specifically identified the first view that views poverty as a chronic deprivation of some basic human needs at the individual or household level. Put differently, poverty is a material deprivation and this can best be measured and quantified in monetary terms.
Absolute poverty is an issue that has impaired the world for too long. A 1993 article by Peter Singer, titled "Rich and poor", attempts to address this issue. Singer discusses an individual’s moral obligation to help the poor. Two terms mentioned by Singer, which must be discussed, are absolute affluence and absolute poverty. Absolute affluence is a term used to describe the economic status of those who, while not necessarily affluent compared to their neighbors, are still affluent in terms of human necessities.
Absolute poverty refers to a prolonged deficit in some human basic needs that the person’s life becomes endangered (Poverties org, 2011). For a person to be classed as being absolutely poor they would have to meet a certain criteria, for example, the World Bank uses a monetary method to classify a person as being poor or not. If a person spends less than $1 per day they would fall below the poverty line for international comparison, then they would be classified as being absolutely poor by
The absence of other measurements will not only simplifying poverty issues, but also difficult to envisage the correct policy and solution towards poverty alleviation. Thus, approaching poverty requires more comprehensive view. It involves, from economic to health services, from education to people’s culture. The World Bank had extended the conventional definition of poverty with income to a more comprehensive notion of lack of opportunities, capabilities, sense of voiceless-ness and vulnerability to external shocks. (World Development Report, 2000/2001).
Poverty has long plagued society and has never possessed a feasible or apparent solution. As the phenomenon is so ingrained within societies across the world, numerous studies have been conducted by various institutions looking to document its effects. Most all of the results have found them to be adverse, but specifically to a very vulnerable subset of the world’s population, children. As children learn and grow within the confines of poverty there are many indications that point to developmental delays, or intellectual disparities. Causes like those of hunger, unstable housing, and lack of funding lead to poor performance, worse standardized test scores, and a lack of social development and belonging among peers.
Relative Poverty refers to people not being able to reach a certain minimum standard of living which is determined by their government, and enjoyed by others within the same country. Unlike Absolute Poverty, Relative Poverty varies from country to country. This essay will explore factors such as the face of poverty in South Africa, the historical causes of poverty, interventions into poverty and how to deal with and solve poverty
Anyone who has less or when being compared to someone who has more, is considered poor but living in poverty is different in today’s terms.It is the state of being extremely poor. Inequality also, has existed since life was discovered but in a quite different way than we see now. The world has seen a rapid reduction in extreme poverty in the recent decades. But what the world
INTRODUCTION Poverty - the inability of an individual or a family to meet up with the basic needs of life- is one of the most prominent problems of developing countries. Poverty alleviation seems to be the most difficult challenge facing many developing countries; where on the average, majority of the population are considered poor. The standard of living of poor populace has continued to worsen and this has become a major concern of governments, multilateral institutions and policy makers in different countries, with efforts geared towards appropriate strategies for poverty alleviation. The current thinking on poverty alleviation has however focused on the promotion of opportunities, enhancement of security as well as the facilitation of
The summary of the lesson was “The poverty is a state or condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials to enjoy a minimum standard of life and well-being that's considered acceptable in society. Poverty status in the United States is assigned to people that do not meet a certain threshold level set by the Department of Health and Human Services. their children until they all went out. After half an Overall Poverty has various manifestations, including: -lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods; - Hunger and malnutrition; - Ill health; - Limited or lack of access to education and other basic services; - increased morbidity and mortality from illness; - Homelessness and inadequate