Education And Poverty In Education

Every country in the world experiences poverty; some, however, experience it to a greater degree than others. No matter the circumstances, poverty is something that researchers are both fascinated with, and, very interested in solving. There are many factors associated with poverty, one very important one being education. In developing nations much of the reason for poverty is lack of education.

A developing nation can be categorized by having a low standard of living and a low Human Development Index (HDI) score (Levy & Robinson, 2014). This term, however, is difficult to define and refers more to a range of development levels rather than strict categories or labels. According to 2012 data from the International Monetery Fund (IMF) and the World Bank 140 countries are categorized as “developing economies” (“Europe”, 2012; International Monetary Fund, 2012). The countries on this list are from almost every continent and are on the list for varying reasons, one of which being the definitive negative relationship between education level and poverty level.

In developing nations with high levels of income inequality much of it can be accounted for by educational gaps. A study done of eighteen countries in South America showed that, “one quarter of the variation in workers’ incomes was accounted for by variations in schooling attainment” (Ozturk, 2001). This shows how strongly education levels impacts poverty levels. When people are given access to education they can often find a way out of poverty. In China the poverty rate is only 2% for people who have more than nine years of education, where as the Chinese national average is 10% (Goh, Luo, Zhu, 2014). In different studies done regarding the developing nations of Cambodia and Indon...

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...t. Studying the history of poverty and national development can give good insight into how to solve today’s problems based on examples from the past. Perhaps there is a specific type of government that has, historically, had lower levels of poverty; or perhaps geographical factors have played into the ease in which a nation has developed. If there is historical evidence of a culture in which the majority was equally educated and prosperous, the world today can benefit from learning about them.

Poverty and education can be studied from many different angles. No matter the point of view it is a serious issue. It is obvious that education is an important factor in determining income levels and poverty. This is a serious issue that requires a lot of work and may never be fully resolved but it is clear that increasing education access is essential to fighting poverty.