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The German Sociologist Ulrich Beck is best known for his book "Risk Society" which has been discussed extensively; however Beck's claims about modern poverty have not received the same attention among poverty researchers. The individualization perspective views poverty as a relatively transient phenomenon and the democratization perspective views the risk of poverty as spread equally in the population. Both perspectives challenge the mainstream tradition of class analysis, and therefore both view poverty as largely independent of traditional stratification factors. In this article, I argue that Beck's thesis about the individualization and democratization of poverty is based on narrow income based definitions and that (possible) empirical verification depends on the definitions of poverty and approaches used to examine poverty. My analyses show that the dynamic perspective (using income as measure of poverty) largely supports the democratization of poverty. But my other analyses of relative poverty and social exclusion do not support Beck's argument.

This book presents a new method for measuring multidimensional poverty. The author critically analyzes various statistical approaches, and proposes a new way of applying a factorial technique, Multiple Correspondence Analysis, to poverty analysis. The core of this new approach rests on the identification of poverty types and on the construction of a Composite Indicator of Poverty, which objectively weights the multiple categories of poverty. Built as a two-step approach, Multiple Correspondence Analysis allows for the integration of unidimensional money-metric techniques. The author reflects o

This book presents a new method for measuring multidimensional poverty. The author critically analyzes various statistical approaches, and proposes a new way of applying a factorial technique, Multiple Correspondence Analysis, to poverty analysis. The core of this new approach rests on the identification of poverty types and on the construction of a Composite Indicator of Poverty, which objectively weights the multiple categories of poverty. Built as a two-step approach, Multiple Correspondence Analysis allows for the integration of unidimensional money-metric techniques. The author reflects on the conceptual debates and dimensions of poverty, presenting empirical studies showing the strengths and weaknesses of various poverty-measurement methodologies. The first part of the book is theoretical. In it, the author uses examples to develop the rationale underlying the new approach. The second part of the book presents two case studies: one from Vietnam and the other from Senegal. Each study uses Multiple Correspondence Analysis and both are based on large household surveys implemented by the respective national statistical offices. The unique structure of this book makes it practical for use by poverty and policy researchers, professionals in international development, and graduate students interested in poverty and inequality.

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of poverty in India. It shows that regardless of which of the two official poverty lines we use, we see a steady decline in poverty in all states and for all social and religious groups.Accelerated growth between fiscal years 2004–2005 and 2009–2010 also led to an accelerated decline in poverty rates. Moreover, the decline in poverty rates during these years has been sharper for the socially disadvantaged groups relative to upper caste groups so that we now observe a narrowing of the gap in the poverty rates between the two sets of social groups. The paper also provides a discussion of the recent controversies in India regarding the choice of poverty lines.

This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of poverty in India. It shows that regardless of which of the two official poverty lines we use, we see a steady decline in poverty in all states and for all social and religious groups.Accelerated growth between fiscal years 2004–2005 and 2009–2010 also led to an accelerated decline in poverty rates. Moreover, the decline in poverty rates during these years has been sharper for the socially disadvantaged groups relative to upper caste groups so that we now observe a narrowing of the gap in the poverty rates between the two sets of social groups. The paper also provides a discussion of the recent controversies in India regarding the choice of poverty lines.

A systematic conceptual, theoretical, and methodological introduction to multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis. It provides a lucid overview of the problems a range of multidimensional techniques can address and sets out a synthetic introduction of counting and axiomatic approaches to such measurement

Lacking assets is both a cause and an outcome of poverty. Poor health, deficient skills, scant access to basic services, and the humiliations of social exclusion reflect deprivations in personal, public, and social assets. Assets are also central to coping with shocks and reducing the vulnerability that is a constant feature of poverty. Poverty is an outcome not only of economic processes. It is an outcome of interacting economic, social, and political forces. In particular, it is an outcome of the accountability and responsiveness of state institutions. Values, norms, and social institutions may reinforce persistent inequalities between groups in society – as with gender-based prejudice throughout much of the world, the caste system in India, and race relations in South Africa and the United States. In the extreme, these social divisions can become the basis of severe deprivation and conflict. The paper finds that the potential for economic growth and poverty reduction is heavily influenced by state and social institutions. Action to improve the functioning of state and social institutions improves both growth and equity by reducing bureaucratic and social constraints to economic action and upward mobility. However, devising and implementing these changes require strong political will, especially when the changes fundamentally challenge social values or entrenched interests. Governments can do much to influence public debate to increase awareness of the societal benefits of pro-poor public action and build political support for such action. Economic development brought about essentially by liberalizing trade and markets, investing in infrastructure, and providing basic social services to poor people to increase their human capital was seen as key to reducing poverty. The paper finds that growth in per capita income and poverty reduction is inversely related to each other. The relationship between poverty and unemployment is positively related that decline in poverty leads to decline in unemployment except Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where decline in poverty leads to increase in rural unemployment and decline in urban unemployment. However, Uttar Pradesh is the only state where decline in poverty leads to increase in both rural and urban unemployment during 2011-12. Himachal Pradesh shows something different result, where decline in poverty leads to decline in rural unemployment and increase in urban unemployment.

The analysis of poverty incidence in Ghana suggested that Ghana has made huge progress in the area of poverty reduction as the country has achieved many of the Millennium Challenge Goals (MDGs). Poverty in Ghana has trended downwards for a decade now as evidenced from Ghana Living Standard Surveys conducted since 1987 to the latest GLSS6 conducted for the period 2012/2013.Poverty at all levels has gone down in the country according evidences from the analysis of the various living standard surveys conducted in Ghana. It is expected that if Government continues to pursue its current pro-poor economic policies aimed at achieving the MDGs, then poverty levels in Ghana will even trend down further in the coming years. Government policies towards poverty reduction should continuously target the vulnerable, socially and financially excluded in the past from growth and development in the country.

Socialist feminism provides a necessary corrective to the strict feminization of poverty analysis by incorporating analyses of race and class differences among women, of internal family politics shaped by the familistic ideology, and of the contradictory role of the welfare state. We use the concept of women's dual role to analyze the interconnections among the family, the labor market and the welfare state, and to examine the ways that gender and class struggles over the costs of reproduction of labor power are expressed as conflicts over welfare policies. We suggest five criteria for evaluating policy and use them to analyze two specific issues-the six-hour day and child support.