*Poverty* is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.[1]
Absolute poverty
or*destitution* refers to t Causes of Poverty
In our short analysis of the many causes of poverty, we shall explore three sections- economic, political, external.
Social
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is defined as the situation of having large numbers of people with too few resources and too little space. Overpopulation can result from either a high population density (the ratio of people to land area) or from low amounts of resources, or from both.
A high population density pressures the available resources in the country, as the resources can only support a certain number of people.
Poverty can also depend on the country's mix of population density and agriculture productivity. For example, Bangladesh has one of the world's highest population density with 1,147 persons per sq km (2,970 persons per sq mi). A large majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low-productivity manual farming, which contributes to the countryís extremely high level of poverty. However, this only applies to third-world countries who do not have advanced technologies.
High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children, especially boys, are assets to many poor families because they provide labor, usually for farming. Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the value of large families. Also, the governments of developing countries often provide little or no support, financial or political, for family planning (see Birth Control) Families may also not know about family planning due to the lack of education. Hence, most developing countries have high rates of population growth.
Population density:
A country’s level of poverty can depend greatly on its mix of population density and agricultural productivity. Bangladesh, for example, has one of the world’s highest population densities, with 1,078 persons per sq km (2,791 persons per sq mi). A large majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low-productivity manual farming, which contributes to the country’s extremely high level of poverty.
Some of the smaller countries in western Europe, such as The Netherlands and Belgium, have high population densities as well. These countries practice mechanized farming and are involved in high-tech industries.
On the other hand, many countriesin sub-Saharan Africa have population densities of less than 30 persons per sq km (80 persons per sq mi). Many people in these countries practice manual subsistence farming. These countries have infertile land and lack the economic resources and technology to boost productivity. As a consequence, these nations are very poor.
Birth rates:
High birth rates contribute to overpopulation in many developing countries. Children are assets to many poor families because they provide labor, usually for farming.
Cultural norms in traditionally rural societies commonly sanction the value of large families. Also, the governments of developing countries often provide little or no support, financial or political, for family planning and birth control.
Distribution of resources:
In many developing countries, theproblems of poverty are massive and pervasive. In recent decades most of these countries have tried to develop their economies with industry and technology with varying levels of success. Many developing countries, however, lack essential raw materials and the knowledge and skills gained through formal education and training. Because these things are necessary for the development of industry,developing countries generally must rely on trade with developed countries for manufactured goods, but they cannot afford much.
Because people in developed nations may have more wealth and resources than those in developing countries, their standard of living is also generally higher. Thus, people who have what would be considered adequate wealth and resources in developing countries may be considered poor in developed countries.
In contrast, people in developing countries may consider themselves to be doing well if they have productive gardens, some livestock, and a house of thatch or mud-brick.In rural areas, people may be accustomed to not having plumbing, electricity, or formal health care. By the standards of developed countries, such living conditions are considered hallmarks of poverty.
According to reports, people’s incomes are not enough to cover the cost of their basic necessities and provide them basic services such as water, electricity, transportation and communication. It pointed out that recent surveys confirm that 80 percent of citizen’s expenses go for to food, most notably among vulnerable groups that are deprived of basic services and luxury means.
Lack of education:
Illiteracy and lack of education are common in poor countries.Governments of developing countries often cannot afford to provide for good public schools, especially in rural areas. Whereas virtually all children in industrialized countries have access to an education, only about 60 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa even attend elementary school. Poor people also often forego schooling in order to concentrate on making a minimal living. In addition,developing countries tend to have few employment opportunities, especially for women. As a result, people may see little reason to go to school.
Reports have also argued that 41 percent of Yemen’s rural population lives on less than two dollars per day, and 85 percent of Yemen’s poor population live in rural areas. It clarified that 47 percent of Yemen’s population are illiterate, which is another reason for poverty and unemployment.
In countries with high populations, unemployment levels of only a few percentage points mean that millions of working-age people cannot find work and earn an adequate income. Because unemployment figures indicate only the number of people eligible to work who have no job but are seeking employment, such figures are not necessarily an accurate indicator of the number of people living in poverty. Other people may not be able to find enough work or may earn wages too low to support themselves.
Environmental degradation:
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the natural environment, including the atmosphere, bodies of water, soil, and forests — is an important cause of poverty. Environmental problems have led to shortages of food, clean water, materials for shelter, and other essential resources. As forests, land, air, and water are degraded, people who live directly off these natural resources suffer most from the effects. People in developed countries, on the other hand, have technologies and conveniences such as air and water filters, refined fuels, and industrially produced and stored foods to buffer themselves from the effects of environmental degradation.
In developing countries, deforestation has had particularly devastating environmental effects.Many rural people, particularly in tropical regions, depend on forests as a source of food and other resources, and deforestation damages or eliminates these supplies. Forests also absorb many pollutants and water from extended rains; without forests, pollution increases and massive flooding further decreases the usability of the deforested areas.
Economic trends:
Poverty in many developed countries can be linked to economic trends.
Changes in labor markets in developed countries have also contributed to increased poverty levels. For instance, the number of relatively high-paying manufacturing jobs has declined, while the demand for workers in service- and technology-related industries has increased. Historically, people have learned the skills required for jobs that involve manual labor, such as those in manufacturing, either on the job or through easily accessible school vocational programs. As these jobs are replaced by service- and technology-related jobs—jobs that usually require skills taught at the college level—people who cannot afford a college education find it increasingly difficult to obtain well-paying work.
In many developed nations the number of people living in poverty has increased due to rising disparities in the distribution of resources within these countries.
Since the 1970s, for instance, the poorest 20 percent of all U.S. households have earned an increasingly smaller percentage of the total national income (generally less than 5 percent) while the wealthiest 5 percent of households have earned an increasingly greater percentage (about 45 percent of the total).
Demographic shifts:
Some researchers also citedemographic shifts as contributing to increases in overall poverty. In particular, demographic shifts have led to increases in poverty among children.
In the United States, for instance, typical family structures have changed significantly, leading to an increase in single-parent families, which tend to be poorer.
There are differing beliefs about individual responsibility for poverty.Some people believe that poverty is a symptom of societal structure and that some proportion of any society inevitably will be poor. Others feel that poverty results from a failure of social institutions, such as the labor market and schools.
In addition, many people in developed countries blame cycles of poverty, or the tendency for the poor to remain poor, on overly generous welfare programs.Supporters of this position, including some politicians, argue against government spending and initiatives to help the poor.
In the United States, the belief that cash welfare assistance actually encouraged personal decisions leading to poverty dominated policy discussions of the 1990s. In response, in 1996 the U.S. Congress created a new welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This program ended the guarantee of cash benefits for poor families with children, shifted more control to the states, and established stricter work requirements for recipients. The numbers of poor families with children receiving cash welfare fell dramatically, from 4.6 million in 1996 to 2.1 million at the end of 2001.
Others:
Reports have noted that poverty is also symptomatic a symptom of poor basic services, scarce financial resources and low returns from natural wealth such as oil, gas, minerals and fisheries while revenues from public investments and taxes are exposed to corruption and embezzlement. he deprivation of basic human needs
, which commonly includes food, water
, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative poverty is defined contextually aseconomic inequality
in the location or society in which people live.[2]
[3]
For much of history, poverty was considered largely unavoidable as traditional modes of production were insufficient to give an entire population a comfortable standard of living.[1]
[4]
After theindustrial revolution
, mass production
in factories made wealth increasingly more inexpensive and accessible. Of more importance is the modernization of agriculture
, such as fertilizers
, in order to provide enough yield to feed the population.[5]
The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption,debt
and loan conditionalities
and by the brain drain
of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedom, and providing financial services.
Poverty reduction
is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and theWorld Bank
. The World Bank estimated 1.29 billion people were living in absolute poverty in 2008. Of these, about 400 million people in absolute poverty lived in India and 173 million people in China. In terms of percentage of regional populations, sub-Saharan Africa
at 47% had the highest incidence rate of absolute poverty in 2008. Between 1990 and 2010, about 663 million people moved above the absolute poverty level. Still, extreme poverty is a global challenge; it is observed in all parts of the world, including the developed economies.[6]
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