Suchergebnisse

Este documento é uma tradução do livro publicado em português, "Pobreza e paz nos PALOP", Sextante Editora (2009), ISBN 978-989-676-007-6 ; Summarizing the political and economic evolution of Mozambique since the end of colonialism until the present time and cross-referencing it with narrations of Mozambicans who experienced these distinctive stages of the recent History of their country, this article starts with a reflection on the explanatory factors concerning the absence of historical framing and anthropological approaches in studies of poverty and an interpretation of the theoretical outlooks on which these studies are based. Some of the possible causes for the high rate of poverty registered in this country were examined and given explanation against the existence of direct link between war and poverty. In the end, the post-conflict period and some of features of the pursued policies were analyzed and the author concludes emphasizing the relevance of perceiving poverty in a contextualized manner, inserting it into the set of economic and social relations from which it is , globally and locally, a fundamental part.

A considerable part of the poverty that is measured in a single period is transitory rather than persistent. In most countries, only a portion of people who are currently poor are persistently poor. People who are persistently poor or who cycle into and out of poverty should be the main focus of anti-poverty policies. Understanding the characteristics of the persistently poor, and the circumstances and mechanisms associated with entry into and exit from poverty, can help to inform governments about options to reduce persistent poverty. Differences in poverty persistence across countries can shed additional light on possible sources of poverty persistence.

In an effort to disentangle the theoretical & empirical distinctness of poverty from constructs of extreme concentrated poverty, the differential impact of these measures on black & white homicide rates is assessed. Data are derived from the Urban Underclass Database, & the race-specific homicide rates are computed from information compiled in the Uniform Crime Report. Race-specific measures of poverty & poverty concentration are found to be highly correlated, challenging claims of their empirical distinctness. A closer inspection of the data, however, reveals that while poverty & poverty concentration affect the white homicide rate, only the traditional measure of poverty impacts black homicide. It is concluded that the finding of differential impacts of poverty & poverty concentration on black & white homicide rates is reflective of works by William J. Wilson (eg, 1987), Douglas S. Massey & colleagues (eg, 1994), as well as of criminological writings. Future research is needed to extend the study of poverty concentration in the area of measurement & the potential impact concentrated poverty may have on various types of crime & victimization. 3 Tables, 44 References. Adapted from the source document.

"Im Vortrag wird das theoretische Vakuum erläutert, in dem sich die Armutsforscher in den postsozialistischen Ländern befinden. Dies liegt zum einen an der geringen Vertrautheit mit den theoretischen Diskussionen im Westen, zum anderen daran, daß bei einer Ähnlichkeit äußerer Erscheinungsformen Armut in Rußland und in den Ländern mit entwickelter Marktwirtschaft sehr unterschiedlich ist und keiner einheitlicher Messung unterzogen werden kann. Unterschiedliche methodische Ansätze in Rußland selbst bedingen eine große Bandbreite des vermuteten Armutsausmaßes: zwischen acht bis 80 Prozent der Bevölkerung werden als 'arm' bezeichnet. Die verwendeten Methoden, die auf die Traditionen der sowjetischen Soziologie zurückzuführen sind, verabsolutieren quantitative Messungen. Ausführungen aus Ergebnisanalysen von Massenumfragen spiegeln dagegen die 'Parteilichkeit' der Forscher wider. Ein großer Teil der Einkommen der verschiedenen sozialen Gruppen werden weder von der Statistik erfaßt noch von den Wissenschaftern, die sich mit der Schattenwirtschaft beschäftigen. Schon aus diesem Grunde wird das Armutsausmaß sehr stark übertrieben, ganz unabhängig von den angewandten Methoden. Die meisten gegenwärtig beobachtbaren Überlebensstrategien sind mit Beschäftigungen im informellen Sektor verbunden. Dennoch wird dieser Umstand von den Soziologen ignoriert, insbesondere deshalb, weil qualitative Methoden der Sozialforschung entweder unbekannt sind oder abgelehnt werden. Die offizielle Statistik und bisherige Forschungsergebnisse ergeben völlig unangemessene Vorstellungen über Armut und folglich über soziale Ungleichheit und die sich erneuernde Sozialstruktur in der Transformationsgesellschaft. Dazu kommt, daß die Forschung durch einige etablierte Forschungsgruppen monopolisiert wird, auf deren ausgesprochen politisierter Tätigkeit das geläufige Bild über Armut in Rußland beruht. Auch die Übertragung von Modellen, die anhand der Beobachtung westlicher Gesellschaften erarbeitet wurden, wirkt sich negativ auf die Theoriebildung - und letztlich auf die politische Entscheidungsfindung - aus." (Autorenreferat)

Social, political, and economic factors contributing to poverty; how population control was implemented in China, need for adequate freshwater supplies, and other issues; developing countries, chiefly; 10 articles.

The conventional approach of economists to the measurement of poverty is to use measures of income or consumption. This has been challenged by those who favour broader criteria, such as fulfillment of 'basic needs' and the 'capabilities' to be and to do things of intrinsic worth. This paper asks: to what extent are these different concepts measurable, to what extent are they competing or complementary, and is it possible for them to be accommodated within an encompassing framework? We conclude that it is possible to view subjective well-being as an encompassing concept, which permits us to quantify the relevance and importance of the other approaches and of their component variables. Any attempt to define poverty involves a value judgment as to what constitutes a good quality of life or a bad one. We argue that an approach which examines the individual's own perception of well-being is less imperfect, or more quantifiable, or both, as a guide to forming that value judgement than are the other potential approaches. The argument is illustrated using a South African household survey. Adapted from the source document.

Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and the March Current Population Survey, we calculate historical poverty estimates based on the new Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) from 1967 to 2012. During this period, poverty as officially measured has stagnated. However, the official poverty measure (OPM) does not account for the effect of near-cash transfers on the financial resources available to families, an important omission since such transfers have become an increasingly important part of government anti-poverty policy. Applying the SPM, which does count such transfers, we find that historical trends in poverty have been more favorable than the OPM suggests and that government policies have played an important and growing role in reducing poverty --- a role that is not evident when the OPM is used to assess poverty. We also find that government programs have played a particularly important role in alleviating child poverty and deep poverty, especially during economic downturns.

AbstractUsing data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey and the March Current Population Survey, we provide poverty estimates for 1967 to 2012 based on a historical supplemental poverty measure (SPM). During this period, poverty, as officially measured, has stagnated. However, the official poverty measure (OPM) does not account for the effect of near‐cash transfers on the financial resources available to families, an important omission since such transfers have become an increasingly important part of government antipoverty policy. Applying the historical SPM, which does count such transfers, we find that trends in poverty have been more favorable than the OPM suggests and that government policies have played an important and growing role in reducing poverty—a role that is not evident when the OPM is used to assess poverty. We also find that government programs have played a particularly important role in alleviating child poverty and deep poverty, especially during economic downturns.

Poverty is often defined as lacking the financial resources to meet a set of basic needs. Here I consider four questions. First, how is the relevant level of basic needs to be determined? Second, given that the possibility of satisfying basic needs is not solely determined by possession of financial resources, is poverty better understood or measured at least in part in non-financial terms? Third, what, if anything, is owed to people in poverty, and by whom? And finally, what social policies should be favoured in attempting to deal with poverty? The key message is that overcoming poverty is more than meeting needs for food and shelter, but also includes meeting the human needs for a social life and fitting in with what is commonly expected in society (overcoming relative poverty). Out of respect for all, governments have a duty to adopt policies to bring people out of poverty.

AbstractPoverty can be an ephemeral life stage of a young person whose skill sets will become more valuable with training and experience, a personal setback such as losing a job, or a systemic affliction that puts a whole community in danger of widespread famine. A common theme of this volume's essays is that we cannot understand poverty and famine unless we acknowledge that poor people are not mouths to be fed but agents. Amartya Sen got this right, crediting Adam Smith for the seeds of his insight. What has been enabling people by the billions since Smith's time to work their way out of poverty?

AbstractThis article examines the effect of poverty volatility on poverty in developing countries. Poverty volatility refers to the amplitude of the change in poverty rates over a given period of time. Variations in poverty rates can potentially arise from countries' vulnerability to a variety of shocks that induce greater macroeconomic volatility, including economic growth volatility. The empirical analysis shows that poverty volatility consistently induces a rise in poverty rates, and this positive poverty effect of poverty volatility increases as the degree of poverty volatility rises. Policies that help reduce poverty volatility (including by dampening economic growth volatility) would contribute to poverty reduction.

Two questions basic to welfare policy are examined: (1) whether the amount of poverty-related transfers is sufficient to fill the poverty gap; & (2) which families actually get benefits & how much of their income deficit is filled by those benefits. Transfers are seen to be sufficient. The post-Social Security poverty gap is $74 billion, while poverty-related programs total $198 billion. Further, 86% of current income-conditioned benefits go to the pretransfer poor & 89% of those are used to alleviate poverty (fill the poverty gap). Thus, if a substantial fraction of total federal & state expenditures on poverty-related programs could be targeted more toward the poor, the poverty gap would be eliminated. The current programs, however, would have to be changed substantially to achieve the necessary retargeting. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix. HA

The main objective of this paper is to develop a methodology to measure poverty which takes account of uncertainty involved in the specification of poverty line. This methodology is applied to analyze poverty in India covering periods 1977-1978, 1983, 1986-1987, and 1988-1989.