Defining Poverty

2152 Words5 Pages

When it comes to poverty, there is the magnitude of definitions explaining the term. The definition of poverty has important implications from point of view of policy making, politics and academic debates. Each view has its own value judgments and explanations. Over the times, new definitions have surfaced the debates and yet, there is not a single universally acceptable definition of poverty. Definitions usually set the perimeters of the terminology and often subject to limitations and criticism. According to the definition of the World Bank, the term lack refers to the scarcity of economic resources while the term inability refers to the failure of competence to take part in a community (Bellu & Liberati, 2005). It is now widely believed that any definition can be application provided taking into consideration the historical, social and cultural contexts in which it is stated. This consensus allowed many new definitions of poverty and all definitions are bound to their respective certain context.

Generally, definition of poverty can vary on the basis of their breadth; whether they are limited to the material core; and whether they hold also relational factors related to poverty. For instance, United Nations broadly defined the term as, ‘a violation of human dignity’, ‘lack of participation in decision-making’, ‘susceptibility to violence’ and ‘powerlessness’ (Langmore, 2000, p.37). These definitions also vary with the means of measurement of either material resources or actual product in individual life. In other words, it is defined on the basis of income and standard of living. For the purpose of this essay, the main discussion will be restricted with the definition of poverty in the words of Amartya Sen. Additionally, thi...

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...985), Commodities and Capabilities, Oxford: Elsevier Science Publishers.

Sen, A. (1985a), .Well-being, Agency and Freedom: the Dewey Lectures., Journal of Philosophy, 82(4), 169.221.

Sen, A, (1988), .The Concept of Development., in Hollis Chenery and Thirukodikaval N. Srinivasan (eds), Handbook of Development Economics, Vol.1, North Holland: Elsevier Science Publishers, pp. 10.26.

Sen, A. (1992), Inequality Re-examined, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Sen, A. (1993), .Capability and Well-being. in Martha C. Nussbaum and Amartya K. Sen (eds), The Quality of Life, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 30-53

Sen, A. (2005), .Human Rights and Capabilities., Journal of Human Development, 6(2), 151-66.

Wagle, U. R. (2004). A multidimensional approach to poverty: Economic well-being, capability, and social inclusion in the city of kathmandu. University of Massachusetts , 399.

Conventional Common Wisdom
1433 Words | 3 Pages
Although poverty has minimized, it is still significant poverty which is characterized by a numerous amount of things. There are two types of poverty case and insular. “Case poverty is the farm family with the junk-filled yard and the dirty children playing in the bare dirt” (Galbraith 236)Case poverty is not irretraceable and usually caused if someone in the household experiences “ mental deficiency, bad health, inability to adapt to the discipline of industrial life, uncontrollable procreation, alcohol, some educational handicap unrelated to community shortcomings” (Galbraith 236).Case poverty is often blamed on the people for their shortcomings but on some levels can be to pinpoint one person's shortcomings that caused this poverty. Most modern poverty is insular and is caused by things people in this community cannot control. “The most important characteristic of insular poverty is forces, common to all members of the community, that restrain or prevent participation in economic life and increase rates of return.
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Evicted By Matthew Desmond Analysis
1076 Words | 3 Pages
Poverty is not just an issue reserved for third world countries. Instead, poverty is a multifaceted issue that even the most developed nations must battle
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What is Poverty?
1070 Words | 3 Pages
What do you consider poverty to be? Do you have a definitive explanation of it or do you consider it an abstract circumstance? In the article "What is Poverty? Jo Goodwin Parker gives her ideas on what poverty is. First given as a speech, this article is written as an attack on human emotion.
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Sociology: The Sociological Impacts Of Poverty
1226 Words | 3 Pages
Poverty can be described as many things, it can be described as hunger, lack of shelter, not having access to school, not knowing how to read and much more. Despite the definitions, one thing we know for sure is that poverty is a complex societal issue. Poverty is a large cause of social tensions and threatens to separated a nation because of the issue of inequalities, more specifically, income inequality. Poverty is a main impact of globalization, it can affect a whole nation by furthering inequalities. Overall, has affected all of developing countries and has a crucial impact on developed countries.
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Poverty And Poverty
1830 Words | 4 Pages
Poverty is an ever-growing problem throughout our modern world, with millions living in its extremes. There are many consequences of poverty and the way they affect children and family life is absolutely detrimental. Poverty can be simply defined as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Encyclopedia Britannica 2014). There are two distinct variations of poverty – absolute poverty and relative poverty, which will be further discussed throughout this essay. The total number of people worldwide who live on less than $2.50 (the bare minimum of the poverty line) is 3 billion (Global Issues, The Human Development Report, 2012). According to many, there are a varied number of consequences for those who live in poverty, especially children and families. The effects of poverty have proven to have detrimental effects on child development and the nature of family life. Saunders (2005) reiterates these factors of poverty in his book “The Consequences of Poverty”. This essay will state the many aspects of poverty and the detrimental effects its holds within child development, family life and the health of indiviudals.
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Defining poverty
555 Words | 2 Pages
J.K. Rowling states, “Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself but poverty itself is romanticized by fools” (Rowling). Mrs. Rowling conveyed an exceptional point, poverty is commonly used and without consideration of what it truly means; for those that have grown up in poverty, it is not taken so lightly. As easily as the word is thrown around, poverty is multidimensional and involved. For many, the definition of poverty means an absence or shortage of money while to some people it can mean, “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Both of these definitions are considered correct but the word entails more than the latter definitions, poverty can have deeper meaning that extends to different aspects of human life; today we will look at how separate entities define poverty and build upon those definitions.
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Absolute Poverty And Relative Poverty
1739 Words | 4 Pages
Poverty is general scarcity or dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. It is a multifaceted concept, which includes social, economic, and political elements. Poverty seems to be chronic or temporary, and most of the time it is closely related to inequality. As a dynamic concept, poverty is changing and adapting according to consumption patterns, social dynamics and technological change. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter and health care. Relative poverty is defined contextually as economic inequality in the location or society in which people live.
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Theoretical Literature Review: The Definition Of Poverty
1040 Words | 3 Pages
these needs (World Bank 1990). Poverty is in this case characterised by the lack of individuals, households or whole societies to command adequate properties to satisfy their basic necessity. Consumption-based poverty lines are basically concerned with physical measures household well-being. The lack of minimal standards of consumption to attain basic physiological criteria is always termed absolute poverty or deprivation. It is mainly directly
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The Definition of Poverty
638 Words | 2 Pages
What are the definitions of poor and poverty? Many people hear the words poverty and have different meanings, so how do we know which definition and I poor is the correct one? According to many people poverty may mean a person who does not have any money to do the things they want to do, however most people can afford to live only on the things they truly need. This is just one example; there are many other definitions of the word poverty. Then what do people consider to be the meaning of the word poor? Some may say poor is not having enough money for that extra something at the supermarket or at the mall. What exactly are the true definitions of each word, and how do you tell the words apart and how do you know what to believe.
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Social Issues and Poverty
990 Words | 2 Pages
Poverty is generally defined as a state of deprivation in well-being. The conventional perspective connects well-being basically to control over commodities, so the poor are individuals who do not have sufficient income or consumption to place them above some adequate bare minimum threshold (Lyman et al, 2004). Poverty is also tied to a particular type of consumption, for instance people may be considered health poor, house poor or food poor. The poverty dimensions can often be determined directly. For instance it can be measured by assessing malnutrition or levels of literacy (Alla...
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Essay On Effects Of Poverty On Child Development
1236 Words | 3 Pages
Economically poverty is the condition of not having enough funds to provide water, shelter, clothing and nutrients for them and the household. Socially, poverty is viewed as a disadvantage in the social belonging, such as capabilities, educational and cultural aspects. Here is an exception from Narayan, D. & P. Petesch. 2002. Voices of the poor: from many lands. Oxford University Press for the World Bank. New York, this is one of the best description out there to describe poverty from one’s point of view. “Throughout the Voices of the Poor series people vividly describe multiple, interlocking sets of disadvantages that leave them powerless to get ahead. Experiences of ill-being including material lack and want (of food, housing and shelter, livelihood, assets and money); hunger, pain and discomfort; exhaustion and poverty of time; exclusion, rejection, isolation and loneliness; bad relations with others, including bad relations within the family; insecurity, vulnerability, worry, fear and low self-conﬁdence; and powerlessness, helplessness, frustration and anger”
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Position Of Poverty
2322 Words | 5 Pages
Poverty, also known as the silent killer, exists in every corner of the world. In fact, almost half of the world’s population lives in poverty. According to the United States Census Bureau, there were 46.7 million people living in poverty the year of 2014 (1). Unfortunately, thousands of people die each year due to this world-wide problem. Some people view poverty as individuals or families not being able to afford an occupational meal or having to skip a meal to save money. However, this is not the true definition of poverty. According to the author of The Position of Poverty, John Kenneth Galbraith, “people are poverty-stricken when their income, even if adequate for survival, falls radically behind that of the community”, which means people
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Poverty In the Philippines
2760 Words | 6 Pages
Poverty is an issue dealt with throughout the world, but we are not all aware of its conditions. Poverty is a very serious problem around the world. Poverty is defined as the equality of poorness and impoverishment -- (the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions). A question to ask ourselves is: “Should poverty be defined strictly in terms of monetary income, as opposed to some qualitative formula which takes into consideration styles of life as well as material possessions?” (Sheppard 13) Because there are so many different ways we can express the term poverty, maybe there should be a certain way we can determine poverty worldwide?
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Cause Of Poverty
2564 Words | 6 Pages
Poverty is a global epidemic that contributes to the deaths of millions each year. However, poverty is more prominent in some areas around the world than others. The Oxford dictionary defines poverty as the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support, but it’s so much more. Poverty can be defined as being hungry, lacking shelter, being unable to go to school, being unable to see a doctor, or being powerless and having a lack of freedom. The reason behind the many descriptions of poverty is that poverty has many faces, and its definition changes depending on the place and time, however the effects of poverty on the poor are always the same.
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Uganda's Democracy: The Challenges Of Democracy In Uganda
2628 Words | 6 Pages
In a contemporary world, poverty is inter-linked with systemic deprivation of rights and related to the notion of Human Development
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Defining Poverty

Conventional Common Wisdom

Evicted By Matthew Desmond Analysis

What is Poverty?

Sociology: The Sociological Impacts Of Poverty

Poverty And Poverty