This essay compares and contrasts two key paradigms for measuring poverty, namely economic and human-centered approaches. I argue that economic development (ED) and human development (HD) should be viewed as complementary and, as such, both are needed to promote human well-being. Nussbaum (2011) echoes this notion when she suggests that people need a combination of opportunities and capabilities in order to function in society (p. 25). Thus, I will first consider these models separately to determine how they respond to one another. And then, I draw parallels to reveal underlying commonalities. To conclude, I examine the role of the state in guaranteeing opportunities and capabilities. I aim to show that broader theoretical interpretations are useful for thinking about how policies address the issue of poverty.
The gamut of economic strategies include neoliberalism and ‘basic needs’ claims, the latter of which maintains that people require essentials, including nutrition and education, to rise above poverty. Neoliberalism affirms that such an investment in people ultimately produces a feedback loop for promoting economic activities, ensuring that incomes remain high (Fukuda-Parr 2003). In this sense, well-being is defined as utility maximization (Fukuda-Parr 2003, p. 304). However, one problem with this notion is that what benefits the majority is not always good for everyone (Deaton 2011). For example, ‘stop and frisk‘ policies in New York allow the police to search anyone with a suspicious appearance on the street. The intended result is expressed as making communities feel safer. However, many of those who are stopped have a minority background, which perpetuates negative attitudes toward this group of people. Therefore, the H...
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...may be greater access to education in urban areas where there are more people, which maximizes the effects. However, such an approach does not attend to people living in rural areas, who are repeatedly neglected, constituting a major oversight. In this case, using both the tools of HD and ED permits development practitioners to assess the situation on the ground in a more comprehensive manner and tailor programs to meet the needs of different groups. Cases like this abound; Sen (1999) presents the example of Kerala, which reduced income poverty with only moderate economic growth, owing to expansion of health care programs and more equitable land distribution (p. 31). Here, equal access to land, stimulates more opportunities and the alleviation of income poverty removes some constraints on capabilities, allowing people to make use of the opportunities they are given.
Without a doubt, proper education is the most essential factor to tackle poverty. Tribal government should put more attention to it; building schools, funds for books and proper training of teachers would be a good start. Everyone has the right to education most importantly, the children; an educated child will pass their education to their future. Education can transform lives, and it can also break the cycle of poverty because it is the most important element for progression of a nation.
Many of us view poverty as mainly a third world issue, because it tends to have little effect on the majority of individuals on a recurring basis. Yet, it is a difficult situation prevalent in all types of civilization, despite the overall advances in technology, medicine and education that one country may have over the other. Poverty does not necessarily have to affect a specific individual, but as a country, it affects all levels of production; even when the production of a single country begins to falter, it could potentially have major effects on others, creating a continuous cycle.“Poverty is color blind”, it does not discriminate, and is a societal problem that needs to be dealt with today (Fullerton, par. 3). If not helped or solved,
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
Most people of the society still blame the poor for their own predicament. They believe that "if there is a will there is a way". However, they do not think about their government that might had made bad decisions and policies that could actually harm successful development. This causes of poverty and inequality are usually less discussed and often neglected. We must recognize the effects poverty could have on the society and seek ways to create better understanding and resolve the issue before it is too late.
The article, “Education, poverty and schooling: a study of delhi slum dwellers”, highlights that “education positively influences poverty reduction, while poverty, or low income, adversely affects the quality and quantity of education”. This model is very much apparent in Jackie’s life. As she lacked formal education in the early stages of her life, she remained in the cycle of poverty even into her adulthood. Without the knowledge of how to change things and the inability of doing so, it is very much difficult, if not impossible, for her to get out of this infinite
This is necessary as the vast majority of individuals migrating from rural to urban centers has been steadily increasing with the level of economic growth seen within the past twenty years as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, this situation has further shown the structural issues and inequalities of cities, as most migrants end up having a poor quality of life living in informal settlements as highlight substantially by Boo. As a means of tackling this, however, the Indian government has turned its focus on investing rural regions, developing the agricultural sector. Specifically, Boo mentions that “the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had come down from Delhi to express his concern for the farmers’ hardships, and the central government’s determination to relieve it” (p. 138). While this is definitely important funds are not being divided justly. For starters, between rural and urban areas almost all investments are being targeting towards rural regions, which is only addressing issues of inequality in one section of the country. Furthermore, across rural areas inequalities of investment are quite often overlooked. Although, “one of the governments hopes was to stop villagers from abandoning their farms and further inundating cities like Mumbai, but Asha’s relatives knew nothing of these celebrated relief programs” (p. 138). Therefore, even though
Poverty is misunderstood from its factual and unbiased meaning as individuals often have their own interpretation of its connotations. Furthermore, in a global context, there
There are no extensive scale ponders that specifically inspect the adverse impact of human services
India, the second highest populated country in the world after China, with 1.27 billion people currently recorded to be living there and equates for 17.31% (India Online Pages 2014) of the world's population, but is still considered a developing country due to it’s poverty and illiteracy rates. As these nations continue to grow at rates that are too fast for resources to remain sustainable, the government’s in these areas wi...
Absence of basic public infrastructure (paths, trails, bridges and roads) and access to transport services leads it to difficult for rural poor house hold to access markets and services. There is very clear evidence that rural isolation is related with low agricultural productivity (related to poor market access and a few use of fertilizers and modern agricultural inputs). It is also related with poor health (for example un necessarily higher-natal mortality) and low school enrolment. Rural isolation enable imprison the elderly and household with disabilities. Two decade ago, little attention was given to the poverty implications of transport investments: it was considered that investments in urban and rural roads infrastructure leads to economic growth and social development as well as poverty reduction( Paul Starkey and John
Human development is very important in terms of living conditions in different countries. The statement “any society committed to improving the lives of its people must also be committed to full and equal rights for all” is true. The UN considers three factors to calculate human development in a country. These factors cover many aspects of a country, including social development in a country. Income, education, and healthy living are considered to be the most important factors in human development, which help to rid populations of poverty, and support human rights.
As one of the biggest problems facing the world today, poverty continues to have significant negative implications for the society. The effects of poverty are extremely severe and far-reaching, so much so that it was one of the top Millennium Development Goals agreed upon at the Millennium Summit of the UN back in 2000 (Hatcher, 2016). To understand the effects that poverty has on the society, one must critically analyze the societies in which poverty is rampant, as well as analyze poverty from the relative perspectives that it presents. The core aim of this paper is to develop a holistic understanding of poverty and elaborate on the diverse ways in which it continues to affect societies across the world.
Due to rural-urban migration, there has been increasing levels of poverty and depopulation in rural areas. This is one of the reasons why the government has seen it as necessary and made it a priority to improve the lives of the people who live in rural areas. Rural development is about enabling people in the rural areas take charge of their destiny. This is through the use and management of the natural resources they are exposed to. This is a process through which people learn over time and they use this knowledge to adapt to the changing world. The purpose of rural development is to improve the lives of people living in the rural areas.
It is natural to be misled by the idea that economic growth is the key
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?