MANILA, Philippines- High oil and cereal prices pushed the country's import bill to grow 12.1 percent in March, the National Statistics Office said Monday.In its latest data release, the NSO said this is the fifth-straight month of double-digit growth for imports.Imports rose to $5.121 billion in March, bringing the import bill for the first three months of the year to grow 20.1 percent to $14.606 billion.This also resulted in a March trade deficit of $928 million as exports for the period were recorded at $4.193 billion.The trade deficit for the first quarter of the year widened to $2.070 billion during the period. Electronics, which accounted for 36.8 percent of the total import bill, rose 16.8 percent to $1.883 billion in March. Among the major groups of electronic products, components/devices (Semiconductors) had the biggest share of 28.5 percent, down by 20.4 percent to $1.462 billion from $1.837 billion in March 2007.Purchases of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials in March followed with a 22.8 percent share and posted a positive growth of 87.1 percent to $1.169 billion over the previous year's level of $625.02 million.The country's rice import in March surged 404.43 percent to $90.65 million from $17.97 million in the same period last year.Unmilled cereals excluding rice and corn imports during the period went up rose 139.69 percent to $810 million from $338 million in the same period last year.Singapore was the biggest source of imports in March wit with a 13.4 percent share of the total import bill or an increase of 29.7 percent to $686.35 million.The United States of America was the second largest source of imports with a 13.3 percent share, recording payments worth $683.41 million or a decline of 13.2 percent from $786.93 million in March 2007.Japan followed with $556.86 million, down by 5.7 percent from $590.72 million during the same month in 2007. -
SOURCE: GMANews.TV
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Poverty
Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of those things that determine the quality of life, including food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, but also "intangibles" such as the opportunity to learn and to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens. Ongoing debates over causes, effects and best ways to measure poverty, directly influence the design and implementation of poverty-reduction programs and are therefore relevant to the fields of international development and public administration.Although poverty is generally considered to be undesirable due to the pain and suffering it may cause, in certain spiritual contexts "voluntary poverty," involving the renunciation of material goods, is seen by some as virtuous.
Poverty may affect individuals or groups, and is not confined to the developing nations. Poverty in developed countries is manifest in a set of social problems including homelessness and the persistence of "ghetto" housing clusters.
Poverty is found throughout the world. In developed countries, poverty is often seen as either a personal or a structural defect. In developing countries, the issue of poverty is more profound due to the lack of governmental funds. Thus, development literature deals greatly with how to best reduce poverty. Theories on the causes of poverty are what form the basis for said development strategies. Some theories on poverty in the developing world focus on cultural characteristics which leave a nation less development prone than developed nations. Other theories focus on the social and political environment’s role in perpetuation of poverty. The ways in which the poor are conceptualized play a vital role in how and why programs are initiated, while the poor’s relative isolation in society leads them further down the path of poverty. This page is meant to give a brief overview of several key theories on poverty both in the United States and in the developing world.
Extreme poverty
Extreme poverty is the most severe state of poverty, where people cannot meet basic needs for survival, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, sanitation, education and health care. To determine the number of extreme poor around the world, the World Bank characterizes extreme poverty as living on US $1 or less per day, and estimates that 1.1 billion people currently live under these conditions. This $1 a day figure has been adjusted for purchasing power parity, which attempts to eliminate differences in costs of goods and services between countries to present a more meaningful comparison but has not been adjusted for inflation for over 15 years, leaving a useful measure in the early 1990s as almost worthless. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 is a Millennium Development Goal. Economists and activists consider epidemic diseases (AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis) as crucial factors in and consequences of extreme poverty.Extreme poverty is most common in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. The proportion of people in extreme poverty fell from 59 to 19 percent during the 20th century and is now the lowest in history.
Statistics*More than 1.5 billion people around the world live on less than a $1 a day.
*Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.
*More than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea.
*More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million are children.
*Of these 300 million children, only eight percent are victims of famine or other emergency situations. More than 90 percent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient deficiency.
*Every 3.8 seconds someone dies of hunger in the world, 75 percent of those are children.
*Four out of every ten people in the world don't have access even to a simple latrine.
*Declining soil fertility, land degradation, and the AIDS pandemic have led to a 23 percent decrease in food production per capita in the last 25 years even though population has increased dramatically.
*A woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy. This compares with a 1 in 3,700 risk for a woman from North America
*Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.
*More than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea.
*More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million are children.
*Of these 300 million children, only eight percent are victims of famine or other emergency situations. More than 90 percent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient deficiency.
*Every 3.8 seconds someone dies of hunger in the world, 75 percent of those are children.
*Four out of every ten people in the world don't have access even to a simple latrine.
*Declining soil fertility, land degradation, and the AIDS pandemic have led to a 23 percent decrease in food production per capita in the last 25 years even though population has increased dramatically.
*A woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy. This compares with a 1 in 3,700 risk for a woman from North America
Other aspects
Economic aspects of poverty may focus on material needs, typically including the necessities of daily living, such as food, clothing, shelter, or safe drinking water. Poverty in this sense may be understood as a condition in which a person or community is lacking in the basic needs for a minimum standard of well-being and life, particularly as a result of a persistent lack of income.Analysis of social aspects of poverty links conditions of scarcity to aspects of the distribution of resources and power in a society and recognizes that poverty may be a function of the diminished "capability" of people to live the kinds of lives they value. The social aspects of poverty may include lack of access to information, education, health care, or political power.Poverty may also be understood as an aspect of unequal social status and inequitable social relationships, experienced as social exclusion, dependency, and diminished capacity to participate, or to develop meaningful connections with other people in society.The World Bank's "Voices of the Poor," based on research with over 20,000 poor people in 23 countries, identifies a range of factors which poor people identify as part of poverty.These include:
*precarious livelihoods
*excluded locations
*physical limitations
*gender relationships
*problems in social relationships
*lack of security
*abuse by those in power
*disempowering institutions
*limited capabilities, and
*weak community organizations
Cause of poverty
Many different factors have been cited to explain why poverty occurs. However, no single explanation has gained universal acceptance.
Possible factors include:
Environmental Factors
*Erosion. Intensive farming often leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields and thence increased poverty.
*Desertification and overgrazing.Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
*Deforestation as exemplified by the widespread rural poverty in China that began in the early 20th century and is attributed to non-sustainable tree harvesting.
Natural factors such as the climate change or environment
*Geographic factors, for example access to fertile land, fresh water, minerals, energy, and other natural resources. Presence or absence of natural features helping or limiting communication, such as mountains, deserts, sailable rivers, or coastline. Historically, geography has prevented or slowed the spread of new technology to areas such as the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa. The climate also limits what crops and farm animals may be used on similarly fertile lands.
*On the other hand, research on the resource curse has found that countries with an abundance of natural resources creating quick wealth from exports tend to have less long-term prosperity than countries with less of these natural resources.
*Drought and water crisis.
Economics
*Unemployment.
*As of late 2007, increased farming for use in biofuels,along with world oil prices at nearly $100 a barrel, has pushed up the price of grain. Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world.
*Capital flight by which the wealthy in a society shift their assets to off-shore tax havens deprives nations of revenue needed to break the vicious cycle of poverty.
*Weakly entrenched formal systems of title to private property are seen by writers such as Hernando de Soto as a limit to economic growth and therefore a cause of poverty.
*Communists see the institution of property rights itself as a cause of poverty.
*Unfair terms of trade, in particular, the very high subsidies to and protective tariffs for agriculture in the developed world. This drains the taxed money and increases the prices for the consumers in developed world; decreases competition and efficiency; prevents exports by more competitive agricultural and other sectors in the developed world due to retaliatory trade barriers; and undermines the very type of industry in which the developing countries do have comparative advantages.
*Tax havens which tax their own citizens and companies but not those from other nations and refuse to disclose information necessary for foreign taxation. This enables large scale political corruption, tax evasion, and organized crime in the foreign nations.
*Unequal distribution of land. Land reform is one solution.
Health Care
*Poor access to affordable health care makes individuals less resilient to economic hardship and more vulnerable to poverty.
*Inadequate nutrition in childhood, itself an effect of poverty, undermines the ability of individuals to develop their full human capabilities and thus makes them more vulnerable to poverty. Lack of essential minerals such as iodine and iron can impair brain development. It is estimated that 2 billion people (one-third of the total global population) are affected by iodine deficiency, including 285 million 6- to 12-year-old children. In developing countries, it is estimated that 40% of children aged 4 and under suffer from anemia because of insufficient iron in their diets. See also Health and intelligence.
*Disease, specifically diseases of poverty: AIDS,malaria, and tuberculosis and others overwhelmingly afflict developing nations, which perpetuate poverty by diverting individual, community, and national health and economic resources from investment and productivity. Further, many tropical nations are affected by parasites like malaria, schistosomiasis, and trypanosomiasis that are not present in temperate climates. The Tsetse fly makes it very difficult to use many animals in agriculture in afflicted regions.
*Clinical depression undermines the resilience of individuals and when not properly treated makes them vulnerable to poverty.
* Similarly substance abuse, including for example alcoholism and drug abuse when not properly treated undermines resilience and can consign people to vicious poverty cycles.
Governance
*Lacking democracy in poor countries: "The records when we look at social dimensions of development—access to drinking water, girls' literacy, health care—are even more starkly divergent. For example, in terms of life expectancy, poor democracies typically enjoy life expectancies that are nine years longer than poor autocracies. Opportunities of finishing secondary school are 40 percent higher. Infant mortality rates are 25 percent lower. Agricultural yields are about 25 percent higher, on average, in poor democracies than in poor autocracies—an important fact, given that 70 percent of the population in poor countries is often rural-based.""poor democracies don't spend any more on their health and education sectors as a percentage of GDP than do poor autocracies, nor do they get higher levels of foreign assistance. They don't run up higher levels of budget deficits. They simply manage the resources that they have more effectively."
*The governance effectiveness of governments has a major impact on the delivery of socioeconomic outcomes for poor populations.
*Weak rule of law can discourage investment and thus perpetuate poverty.
*Poor management of resource revenues can mean that rather than lifting countries out of poverty, revenues from such activities as oil production or gold mining actually leads to a resource curse.
*Failure by governments to provide essential infrastructure worsens poverty.
*Poor access to affordable education traps individuals and countries in cycles of poverty.
*High levels of corruption undermine efforts to make a sustainable impact on poverty. In Nigeria, for example, more than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigeria's leaders between 1960 and 1999.
Demographics and Social Factors
*Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods.Note that population growth slows or even become negative as poverty is reduced due to the demographic transition.
*Crime, both white-collar crime and blue-collar crime, including violent gangs and drug cartelsHistorical factors, for example imperialism, colonialism and communism (at least 50 million children in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union live in poverty).
*Brain drain
*Matthew effect: the phenomenon, widely observed across advanced welfare states, that the middle classes tend to be the main beneficiaries of social benefits and services, even if these are primarily targeted at the poor.
*Cultural causes, which attribute poverty to common patterns of life, learned or shared within a community. For example, Max Weber argued that the Protestant work ethic contributed to economic growth during the industrial revolution.
*War, including civil war, genocide, and democide.
*Discrimination of various kinds, such as age discrimination, stereotyping, gender discrimination, racial discrimination, caste discrimination.
*Individual beliefs, actions and choices
Possible factors include:
Environmental Factors
*Erosion. Intensive farming often leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields and thence increased poverty.
*Desertification and overgrazing.Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
*Deforestation as exemplified by the widespread rural poverty in China that began in the early 20th century and is attributed to non-sustainable tree harvesting.
Natural factors such as the climate change or environment
*Geographic factors, for example access to fertile land, fresh water, minerals, energy, and other natural resources. Presence or absence of natural features helping or limiting communication, such as mountains, deserts, sailable rivers, or coastline. Historically, geography has prevented or slowed the spread of new technology to areas such as the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa. The climate also limits what crops and farm animals may be used on similarly fertile lands.
*On the other hand, research on the resource curse has found that countries with an abundance of natural resources creating quick wealth from exports tend to have less long-term prosperity than countries with less of these natural resources.
*Drought and water crisis.
Economics
*Unemployment.
*As of late 2007, increased farming for use in biofuels,along with world oil prices at nearly $100 a barrel, has pushed up the price of grain. Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world.
*Capital flight by which the wealthy in a society shift their assets to off-shore tax havens deprives nations of revenue needed to break the vicious cycle of poverty.
*Weakly entrenched formal systems of title to private property are seen by writers such as Hernando de Soto as a limit to economic growth and therefore a cause of poverty.
*Communists see the institution of property rights itself as a cause of poverty.
*Unfair terms of trade, in particular, the very high subsidies to and protective tariffs for agriculture in the developed world. This drains the taxed money and increases the prices for the consumers in developed world; decreases competition and efficiency; prevents exports by more competitive agricultural and other sectors in the developed world due to retaliatory trade barriers; and undermines the very type of industry in which the developing countries do have comparative advantages.
*Tax havens which tax their own citizens and companies but not those from other nations and refuse to disclose information necessary for foreign taxation. This enables large scale political corruption, tax evasion, and organized crime in the foreign nations.
*Unequal distribution of land. Land reform is one solution.
Health Care
*Poor access to affordable health care makes individuals less resilient to economic hardship and more vulnerable to poverty.
*Inadequate nutrition in childhood, itself an effect of poverty, undermines the ability of individuals to develop their full human capabilities and thus makes them more vulnerable to poverty. Lack of essential minerals such as iodine and iron can impair brain development. It is estimated that 2 billion people (one-third of the total global population) are affected by iodine deficiency, including 285 million 6- to 12-year-old children. In developing countries, it is estimated that 40% of children aged 4 and under suffer from anemia because of insufficient iron in their diets. See also Health and intelligence.
*Disease, specifically diseases of poverty: AIDS,malaria, and tuberculosis and others overwhelmingly afflict developing nations, which perpetuate poverty by diverting individual, community, and national health and economic resources from investment and productivity. Further, many tropical nations are affected by parasites like malaria, schistosomiasis, and trypanosomiasis that are not present in temperate climates. The Tsetse fly makes it very difficult to use many animals in agriculture in afflicted regions.
*Clinical depression undermines the resilience of individuals and when not properly treated makes them vulnerable to poverty.
* Similarly substance abuse, including for example alcoholism and drug abuse when not properly treated undermines resilience and can consign people to vicious poverty cycles.
Governance
*Lacking democracy in poor countries: "The records when we look at social dimensions of development—access to drinking water, girls' literacy, health care—are even more starkly divergent. For example, in terms of life expectancy, poor democracies typically enjoy life expectancies that are nine years longer than poor autocracies. Opportunities of finishing secondary school are 40 percent higher. Infant mortality rates are 25 percent lower. Agricultural yields are about 25 percent higher, on average, in poor democracies than in poor autocracies—an important fact, given that 70 percent of the population in poor countries is often rural-based.""poor democracies don't spend any more on their health and education sectors as a percentage of GDP than do poor autocracies, nor do they get higher levels of foreign assistance. They don't run up higher levels of budget deficits. They simply manage the resources that they have more effectively."
*The governance effectiveness of governments has a major impact on the delivery of socioeconomic outcomes for poor populations.
*Weak rule of law can discourage investment and thus perpetuate poverty.
*Poor management of resource revenues can mean that rather than lifting countries out of poverty, revenues from such activities as oil production or gold mining actually leads to a resource curse.
*Failure by governments to provide essential infrastructure worsens poverty.
*Poor access to affordable education traps individuals and countries in cycles of poverty.
*High levels of corruption undermine efforts to make a sustainable impact on poverty. In Nigeria, for example, more than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigeria's leaders between 1960 and 1999.
Demographics and Social Factors
*Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods.Note that population growth slows or even become negative as poverty is reduced due to the demographic transition.
*Crime, both white-collar crime and blue-collar crime, including violent gangs and drug cartelsHistorical factors, for example imperialism, colonialism and communism (at least 50 million children in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union live in poverty).
*Brain drain
*Matthew effect: the phenomenon, widely observed across advanced welfare states, that the middle classes tend to be the main beneficiaries of social benefits and services, even if these are primarily targeted at the poor.
*Cultural causes, which attribute poverty to common patterns of life, learned or shared within a community. For example, Max Weber argued that the Protestant work ethic contributed to economic growth during the industrial revolution.
*War, including civil war, genocide, and democide.
*Discrimination of various kinds, such as age discrimination, stereotyping, gender discrimination, racial discrimination, caste discrimination.
*Individual beliefs, actions and choices
Effects of poverty
The effects of poverty may also be causes, as listed above, thus creating a "poverty cycle" operating across multiple levels, individual, local, national and global.Those living in poverty and lacking access to essential health services, suffering hunger or even starvation,experience mental and physical health problems which make it harder for them to improve their situation.One third of deaths - some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day - are due to poverty-related causes: in total 270 million people, most of them women and children, have died as a result of poverty since 1990. Those living in poverty suffer lower life expectancy. Every year nearly 11 million children living in poverty die before their fifth birthday. Those living in poverty often suffer from hunger.800 million people go to bed hungry every night. Poverty increases the risk of homelessness. There are over 100 million street children worldwide.Increased risk of drug abuse may also be associated with poverty.
Diseases of poverty reflect the dynamic relationship between poverty and poor health; while such infectious diseases result directly from poverty, they also perpetuate and deepen impoverishment by sapping personal and national health and financial resources. For example, malaria decreases GDP growth by up to 1.3% in some developing nations, and by killing tens of millions in sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS alone threatens “the economies, social structures, and political stability of entire societies”.Those living in poverty in the developed world, may suffer social isolation and rates of suicide may increase in conditions of poverty. Death of a breadwinner may decrease a household's resilience to poverty conditions and cause a dramatic worsening in their situation. Low income levels and poor employment opportunities for adults in turn create the conditions where households can depend on the income of child members. An estimated 218 million children aged 5 to 17 are in child labor worldwide, excluding child domestic labor. Lacking viable employment opportunities those living in poverty may also engage in the informal economy, or in criminal activity, both of which may on a larger scale discourage investment in the economy, further perpetuating conditions of poverty.
Low income and wealth levels undermine the ability of governments to levy taxes for public service provision, adding to the 'vicious circle' connecting the causes and effects of poverty. Lack of essential infrastructure, poor education and health services, and poor sanitation contribute to the perpetuation of poverty. Poor access to affordable public education can lead to low levels of literacy, further entrenching poverty. Weak public service provision and high levels of poverty can increase states' vulnerability to natural disasters and make states more vulnerable to shocks in the international economy, such as those associated with rising fuel prices, or declining commodity prices.Areas strongly affected by poverty tend to be more violent. In one survey, 67% of children from disadvantaged inner cities said they had witnessed a serious assault, and 33% reported witnessing a homicide. 51% of fifth graders from New Orleans (median income for a household: $27,133) have been found to be victims of violence, compared to 32% in Washington, DC (mean income for a household: $40,127).The capacity of the state is further undermined by the problem that people living in poverty may be more vulnerable to extremist political persuasion, and may feel less loyalty to a state unable to deliver basic services. For these reasons conditions of poverty may increase the risk of political violence, terrorism, war and genocide, and may make those living in poverty vulnerable to human trafficking, internal displacement and exile as refugees. Countries suffering widespread poverty may experience loss of population, particularly in high-skilled professions, through emigration, which may further undermine their ability to improve their situation.
Poverty reduction
Poverty reduction (or poverty alleviation) is any process which seeks to reduce the level of poverty in a community, or amongst a group of people or countries. 
Poverty reduction programs may be aimed at economic or non-economic poverty. Some of the popular methods used are education, economic development, and income redistribution. Poverty reduction efforts may also be aimed at removing social and legal barriers to income growth among the poor.Economists such as Hernando de Soto see improvement in property rights as being instrumental in poverty reduction. Other economists also highlight government corruption as a chief problem in reducing poverty in the developing world
In politics, the fight against poverty is usually regarded as a social goal and many governments have institutions or departments dedicated to tackling poverty. One of the main debates in the field of poverty reduction is around the question of how actively the state should manage the economy and provide public services to tackle the problem of poverty. In the nineties, international development policies focused on a package of measures known and criticized as the "Washington Consensus" which involved reducing the scope of state activities, and reducing state intervention in the economy, reducing trade barriers and opening economies to foreign investment. Vigorous debate over these issues continues however, and most poverty reduction programs attempt to increase both the competitiveness of the economy and the viability of the state.
Economic growth
The anti-poverty strategy of the World Bank depends heavily on reducing poverty through the promotion of economic growth. The World Bank argues that an overview of many studies shows that:Growth is fundamental for poverty reduction, and in principle growth as such does not affect inequality.
Growth accompanied by progressive distributional change is better than growth alone.
High initial income inequality is a brake on poverty reduction.
Poverty itself is also likely to be a barrier for poverty reduction; and wealth inequality seems to predict lower future growth rates.
Free market
What could broadly be called free market reforms represent one strategy for reducing poverty. For example, noted reductions in poverty in the 20th century have been in India and China, where hundreds of millions of people in the two countries grew out of poverty, mostly as a result of the abandonment of collective farming in China and the cutting of government red tape in India.This was critical in fostering their dramatic economic growth. However, UN economists argue that for the market reforms to work, good infrastructure is needed, and for that the role of a strong state is important.For example, today, China is investing in railways, roads, ports and rural telephony in various African countries as part of its international strategy.The Global Competitiveness Report, the Ease of Doing Business Index, and the Index of Economic Freedom are annual reports, often used in academic research, ranking the worlds nations on factors argued to increase economic growth and reduce poverty.Developing countries face a range of obstacles to trading competitively on international markets. Almost half of the budget of the European Union for example is directed to agricultural subsidies, which primarily benefit large multinational agribusinesses who form a powerful lobby. Japan gave 47 billion dollars in 2005 in subsidies to its agricultural sector,nearly four times the amount it gave in total foreign aid. The US gives 3.9 billion dollars each year in subsidies to its cotton sector, including 25,000 growers, three times more in subsidies than the entire USAID budget for Africa, although America contributes a sum far larger than the 3.9 billion dollars through other agencies.Critics argue that agricultural subsidies in the developed world drain taxation revenue, increase the end-prices paid by consumers, and discourage efficiency improvements, while retaliatory trade barriers unfairly undermine the competitiveness of agricultural and other exports in those industries in which developing countries would otherwise have a significant comparative advantages.
A now defunct theory for reducing poverty suggests that raising tariffs and import substitution leads to greater wealth by protecting the country from free trade. This theory was practiced highly between the 1950s and 1970s when it appeared to fail to develop wealth. The theory assumes a lack of trade barriers on incoming (often highly subsidized) goods from wealthier countries is also considered by some economists a driver of povertyMost countries have some history of import substitution and direct government protection of and investment in local industries. The theory claims that reducing tariff receipts can lower a major source of government revenue & spending, while raising tariffs may improve the terms of trade for the poor. However, practice has shown that high tariffs lead to a stagnation of economic growth and development and the costs of the tariffs are borne most heavily on the poor.
Fair trade
Another approach to alleviating poverty is to implement Fair Trade which advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of goods
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, and flowers.
Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.
Fair trade proponents include a wide array of international religious, development aid, social and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Caritas International.
Like most developmental efforts, fair trade has proven itself controversial and has drawn criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Some economists and conservative think tanks see fair trade as a type of subsidy. Segments of the left criticize fair trade for not adequately challenging the current trading system.
Fair trade's strategic intent is to deliberately work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organizations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.
Fair trade proponents include a wide array of international religious, development aid, social and environmental organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Caritas International.
Like most developmental efforts, fair trade has proven itself controversial and has drawn criticism from both ends of the political spectrum. Some economists and conservative think tanks see fair trade as a type of subsidy. Segments of the left criticize fair trade for not adequately challenging the current trading system.
Direct aid
The government can directly help those in need through cash transfers as a short term expedient. This has been applied with mixed results in most Western 
societies during the 20th century in what became known as the welfare state. Especially for those most at risk, such as the elderly and people with disabilities. 
Private charity. Systems to encourage direct transfers to the poor by citizens organised into voluntary or not-for-profit groupings are often encouraged by the state through charitable trusts and tax deduction arrangements.
societies during the 20th century in what became known as the welfare state. Especially for those most at risk, such as the elderly and people with disabilities. 
Private charity. Systems to encourage direct transfers to the poor by citizens organised into voluntary or not-for-profit groupings are often encouraged by the state through charitable trusts and tax deduction arrangements.
Development aid
Most developed nations give development aid to developing countries. The UN target for development aid is 0.7% of GDP; currently only a few nations achieve this. Some think tanks and NGOs have argued, however, that Western monetary aid often only serves to increase poverty and social inequality, either because it is conditioned with the implementation of harmful economic policies in the recipient countries , or because it's tied with the importing of products from the donor country over cheaper alternatives, or because foreign aid is seen to be serving the interests of the donor more than the recipient.Critics also argue that some of the foreign aid is stolen by corrupt governments and officials, and that higher aid levels erode the quality of governance. Policy becomes much more oriented toward what will get more aid money than it does towards meeting the needs of the people. Victor Bout, one of the worlds most notorious arms dealers, told the New York Times how he saw firsthand in Angola, Congo and elsewhere "how Western donations to impoverished countries lead to the destruction of social and ecological balance, mutual resentment and eventually war." "Once countries give money, they control you." he says.
Supporters argue that these problems may be solved with better auditing of how the aid is usedAid from non-governmental organizations may be more effective than governmental aid; this may be because it is better at reaching the poor and better controlled at the grassroots level As a point of comparison, the annual world military spending is over $1 trillion
Supporters argue that these problems may be solved with better auditing of how the aid is usedAid from non-governmental organizations may be more effective than governmental aid; this may be because it is better at reaching the poor and better controlled at the grassroots level As a point of comparison, the annual world military spending is over $1 trillion
Improving the environment and access of the poor
Numerous methods have been adduced to upgrade the situation of those in poverty, some contradictory to each other. Some of these mechanisms are:
Subsidized housing development.
Education, especially that directed at assisting the poor to produce food in underdeveloped countries.
Family planning to limit the numbers born into poverty and allow family incomes to better cover the existing family.
*Subsidized health care.
*Assistance in finding employment.
*Subsidized employment (see also Workfare).
*Encouragement of political participation and community organizing.
*Implementation of fair property rights laws.
*Reduction of regulatory burden and bureaucratic oversight.
*Reduction of taxation on income and capital.
*Reduction of government spending, including a reduction in borrowing and printing money
Subsidized housing development.
Education, especially that directed at assisting the poor to produce food in underdeveloped countries.
Family planning to limit the numbers born into poverty and allow family incomes to better cover the existing family.
*Subsidized health care.
*Assistance in finding employment.
*Subsidized employment (see also Workfare).
*Encouragement of political participation and community organizing.
*Implementation of fair property rights laws.
*Reduction of regulatory burden and bureaucratic oversight.
*Reduction of taxation on income and capital.
*Reduction of government spending, including a reduction in borrowing and printing money
Millennium Development Goals
Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 is the first Millennium Development Goal. In addition to broader approaches, the Sachs Report (for the UN Millennium Project) proposes a series of "quick wins", approaches identified by development experts which would cost relatively little but could have a major constructive effect on world poverty. The quick wins are:
*Directly assisting local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and create jobs.
*Access to information on sexual and reproductive health.
*Action against domestic violence.
*Appointing government scientific advisors in every country.
*Deworming school children in affected areas.
*Drugs for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
*Eliminating school fees.
*Ending user fees for basic health care in developing countries.
*Free school meals for schoolchildren.
*Legislation for women’s rights, including rights to property.
*Planting trees.
*Providing soil nutrients to farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
*Providing mosquito nets.
*Access to electricity, water and sanitation.
*Supporting breast-feeding.
*Training programs for community health in rural areas.
*Upgrading slums, and providing land for public housing
*Directly assisting local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and create jobs.
*Access to information on sexual and reproductive health.
*Action against domestic violence.
*Appointing government scientific advisors in every country.
*Deworming school children in affected areas.
*Drugs for AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
*Eliminating school fees.
*Ending user fees for basic health care in developing countries.
*Free school meals for schoolchildren.
*Legislation for women’s rights, including rights to property.
*Planting trees.
*Providing soil nutrients to farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
*Providing mosquito nets.
*Access to electricity, water and sanitation.
*Supporting breast-feeding.
*Training programs for community health in rural areas.
*Upgrading slums, and providing land for public housing
Other approaches
The Copenhagen Consensus was an attempt to rank global welfare improvement programs in terms of their urgency and cost-effectiveness; Direct Aid to combat HIV infection was determined to be the top priority.
Another method in helping to fight poverty is to have commodity exchanges that will supply necessary information about national and perhaps international markets to the poor who would then know what products and where it is sold will bring better profits. For example, in Ethiopia, remote farmers, who do not have this information, produce crops that may not bring the best profits. When they sell their products to a local trader, who then sells to another trader, and another, the cost of the food rises before it finally reaches the consumer in large cities. Economist Gabre-Madhin proposes warehouses where farmers could have constant updates of the latest market prices, making the farmer think nationally, not locally. Each warehouse would have an independent neutral party that would test and grade the farmer's harvest, allowing traders in Addis Ababa, and potentially outside Ethiopia, to place bids on food, even if it is unseen. Thus, if the farmer gets five cents in one place he would get three times the price by selling it in another part of the country where there may be a drought.Some argue for a radical change of the economic system. There are several proposals for a fundamental restructuring of existing economic relations, and many of their supporters argue that their ideas would reduce or even eliminate poverty entirely if they were implemented. Such proposals have been put forward by both left-wing and right-wing groups: socialism, communism, anarchism, libertarianism, binary economics and participatory economics, among others.
Proponents of such taxes argue that absolute or relative poverty can be reduced by progressive taxation, a wealth tax, and an inheritance tax.
The IMF and member countries have produced Poverty Reduction Strategy papers or PRSPs.In his book The End of Poverty (ISBN 1594200459), a prominent economist named Jeffrey Sachs laid out a plan to eradicate global poverty by the year 2025. Following his recommendations, international organizations are working to help eradicate poverty worldwide with intervention in the areas of housing, food, education, basic health, agricultural inputs, safe drinking water, transportation and communications.
Another method in helping to fight poverty is to have commodity exchanges that will supply necessary information about national and perhaps international markets to the poor who would then know what products and where it is sold will bring better profits. For example, in Ethiopia, remote farmers, who do not have this information, produce crops that may not bring the best profits. When they sell their products to a local trader, who then sells to another trader, and another, the cost of the food rises before it finally reaches the consumer in large cities. Economist Gabre-Madhin proposes warehouses where farmers could have constant updates of the latest market prices, making the farmer think nationally, not locally. Each warehouse would have an independent neutral party that would test and grade the farmer's harvest, allowing traders in Addis Ababa, and potentially outside Ethiopia, to place bids on food, even if it is unseen. Thus, if the farmer gets five cents in one place he would get three times the price by selling it in another part of the country where there may be a drought.Some argue for a radical change of the economic system. There are several proposals for a fundamental restructuring of existing economic relations, and many of their supporters argue that their ideas would reduce or even eliminate poverty entirely if they were implemented. Such proposals have been put forward by both left-wing and right-wing groups: socialism, communism, anarchism, libertarianism, binary economics and participatory economics, among others.
Proponents of such taxes argue that absolute or relative poverty can be reduced by progressive taxation, a wealth tax, and an inheritance tax.
The IMF and member countries have produced Poverty Reduction Strategy papers or PRSPs.In his book The End of Poverty (ISBN 1594200459), a prominent economist named Jeffrey Sachs laid out a plan to eradicate global poverty by the year 2025. Following his recommendations, international organizations are working to help eradicate poverty worldwide with intervention in the areas of housing, food, education, basic health, agricultural inputs, safe drinking water, transportation and communications.
Voluntary poverty
Among some individuals, such as ascetics, poverty is considered a necessary or desirable condition, which must be embraced in order to reach certain spiritual, moral, or intellectual states. Poverty is often understood to be an essential element of renunciation in religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, whilst in Roman Catholicism it is one of the evangelical counsels. Certain religious orders also take a vow of poverty. For example, the Franciscan orders have traditionally forgone all individual and corporate forms of ownership. However, while individual ownership of goods and wealth is forbidden for Benedictines, following the Rule of St. Benedict, the monastery itself may possess both goods and money, and throughout history some monasteries have become very rich indeed.In this context of religious vows, poverty may be understood as a means of self-denial in order to place oneself at the service of others; Pope Honorius III wrote in 1217 that the Dominicans "lived a life of voluntary poverty, exposing themselves to innumerable dangers and sufferings, for the salvation of others". However, following Jesus' warning that riches can be like thorns that choke up the good seed of the word (Matthew 13:22), voluntary poverty is often understood by Christians as of benefit to the individual - a form of self-discipline by which one distances oneself from distractions from God.
Working poor
Working poor is a term used to describe individuals and families who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty due to low levels of pay and dependent expenses. The working poor are often distinguished from paupers, poor who are supported by government aid or charity
Definitions
There are various issues to consider when studying the extent, cause and definition of "working poor" and "working poor" conditions. One such issue is the definition of poverty. Given on a global scale, the definition and requisites to be considered impoverished or in poverty may sharply contrast the conditions of any one specific country. When viewed at a high level, the global definitions of poverty are typically much lower than that of more prosperous countries. In areas such as the United States, England, France and other more prosperous nations, the poverty line is much higher than that of countries with typically lower or even negative economic conditions. When considering localized differences, such as in the United States, differences in market rates of goods and services may impact the effects of poverty.
Yet another consideration to be made with a global view is data collection and reporting methods. With no globally accepted standards on data recording and reporting, variances may be obscured, omit or inflate specific factors considered in determining poverty levels or measures of the working poor
Possible problems faced by the working poor
Workers without marketable skills may face low wages, potential economic exploitation, unpleasant working conditions, and few opportunities to attain skills that would allow them to escape their personal and economic situations. Unexpected costs (such as medical or repair costs) can substantially decrease the economic ability of the working poor to manage their lives.
In some cases, members of the working poor work at multiple part-time jobs, which require nearly full-time commitment but are classified as "part time". In this situation some benefits, like medical insurance, are not paid by employers . This situation is sometimes referred to as precarious employment. These workers are more often than not without adequate (or in many cases any) health insurance.
A common expression of working poor conditions states that such individuals often live from "paycheck to paycheck.
Definitions
There are various issues to consider when studying the extent, cause and definition of "working poor" and "working poor" conditions. One such issue is the definition of poverty. Given on a global scale, the definition and requisites to be considered impoverished or in poverty may sharply contrast the conditions of any one specific country. When viewed at a high level, the global definitions of poverty are typically much lower than that of more prosperous countries. In areas such as the United States, England, France and other more prosperous nations, the poverty line is much higher than that of countries with typically lower or even negative economic conditions. When considering localized differences, such as in the United States, differences in market rates of goods and services may impact the effects of poverty.
Yet another consideration to be made with a global view is data collection and reporting methods. With no globally accepted standards on data recording and reporting, variances may be obscured, omit or inflate specific factors considered in determining poverty levels or measures of the working poor
Possible problems faced by the working poor
Workers without marketable skills may face low wages, potential economic exploitation, unpleasant working conditions, and few opportunities to attain skills that would allow them to escape their personal and economic situations. Unexpected costs (such as medical or repair costs) can substantially decrease the economic ability of the working poor to manage their lives.
In some cases, members of the working poor work at multiple part-time jobs, which require nearly full-time commitment but are classified as "part time". In this situation some benefits, like medical insurance, are not paid by employers . This situation is sometimes referred to as precarious employment. These workers are more often than not without adequate (or in many cases any) health insurance.
A common expression of working poor conditions states that such individuals often live from "paycheck to paycheck.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Diseases of poverty
Diseases of poverty are diseases that are more prevalent among "the poor" than among wealthier people. In many cases poverty is the leading risk factor for such diseases, and in some cases disease can (or allegedly) cause poverty. These diseases are in contrast to diseases of affluence which are diseases thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society.
Examples
Examples
The three primary diseases of poverty are AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.Developing countries account for 95% of the global AIDS prevalence and 98% of active tuberculosis infections. Furthermore, 90% of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.Together, these three diseases account for 10% of global mortality.Three additional diseases, measles, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases also closely associated with poverty, and are often included with AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in broader definitions and discussions of diseases of poverty .Finally, infant mortality and maternal mortality are far more prevalent among the poor. For example, 98% of the 11,600 daily maternal and neonatal deaths occur in developing countries. Together, diseases of poverty kill approximately 14 million people annually.
Mechanisms and causes
For many environmental and social reasons, including crowded living conditions, inadequate sanitation, and disproportionate occupation as sex workers, the poor are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases. Malnutrition and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care can hinder recovery and exacerbate the disease.Malnutrition is associated with 54% of childhood deaths from diseases of poverty, and lack of skilled attendants during childbirth is primarily responsible for the high maternal and infant death rates among the poor.
Consequences
Consequences
Diseases of poverty reflect the dynamic relationship between poverty and poor health; while such diseases result directly from poverty, they also perpetuate and deepen impoverishment by sapping personal and national health and financial resources. For example, malaria decreases GDP growth by up to 1.3% in some developing nations, and by killing tens of millions in sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS alone threatens “the economies, social structures, and political stability of entire societies”
Diseases as a cause of poverty
Some diseases are alleged to cause poverty; many of these diseases are mental illnesses that affect socialization, awareness, and intelligence. They include autism, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and certain mental damage caused by substance abuse or trauma.
Diseases as a cause of poverty
Some diseases are alleged to cause poverty; many of these diseases are mental illnesses that affect socialization, awareness, and intelligence. They include autism, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and certain mental damage caused by substance abuse or trauma.
Causes of inequality
Causes of inequality
There are many reasons for economic inequality within societies. These causes are often inter-related, non-linear, and complex. Acknowledged factors that impact economic inequality include the labour market, innate ability, education, race, gender, culture, preference for earning income or enjoying leisure, willingness to take risks, wealth condensation, and development patterns.
The labor market
A major cause of economic inequality within modern market economies is the determination of wages by the market, provided, that this market is a free market ruled only by the law of supply and demand. In this view, inequality is caused by the differences in the supply and demand for different types of work.
A job where there are many willing workers (high supply) but only a small number of positions (low demand) will result in a low wage for that job. This is because competition between workers drives down the wage. An example of this would be low-skill jobs such as dish-washing or customer service. Because of the persistence of unemployment in market economies and the fact that these jobs require very little skill results in a very high supply of willing workers. Competition amongst workers tend to drive down the wage since if any one worker demands a higher wage the employer can simply hire another employee at an equally low wage.
A job where there are few willing workers (low supply) but a large demand for the skills these workers have will results in high wages for that job. This is because competition between employers will drive up the wage. An example of this would be high-skill jobs such as engineers, professional athletes, or capable CEOs. Competition amongst employers tends to drive up wages since if any one employer demands a low wage, the worker can simply quit and easily find a new job at a higher wage.
While the above examples tend to identify skill with high demand and wages, this is not necessarily the case. For example, highly skilled computer programmers in western countries have seen their wages suppressed by competition from computer programmers in Developing Countries who are willing to accept a lower wage.
The final results amongst these supply and demand interactions is a gradation of different wages representing income inequality within society.
Innate ability
Many people believe that there is a correlation between differences in innate ability, such as intelligence, strength, or charisma, and an individual's wealth. Relating these innate abilities back to the labor market suggests that such abilities are in high demand relative to their supply and hence play a large role in increasing the wage of those who have them. Contrariwise, such innate abilities might also affect an individuals ability to operate within society in general, regardless of the labor market.
Various studies have been conducted on the correlation between IQ scores and wealth/income. The book titled "IQ and the Wealth of Nations", written by Dr. Richard Lynn, examines this relationship with limited success; other peer-reviewed research papers have also been criticised harshly. Without further research on the topic, incorporating statistical models that are universally accepted, it is fairly difficult to come towards an objective conclusion regarding any relationship between intelligence and wealth or income.
Education
One important factor in the creation of inequality is variation in individuals' access to education. Education, especially in an area where there is a high demand for workers, creates high wages for those with this education. As a result, those who are unable to afford an education, or choose not to pursue optional education, generally receive much lower wages. Many economists believe that a major reason the world has experienced increasing levels of inequality since the 1980s is an increase in the demand for highly skilled workers in high-tech industries. They believe that this has resulted in an increase in wages for those with an education, but has not increased the wages of those without an education, leading to greater inequality.
Gender, race, and culture
The existence of different genders, races and cultures within a society is also thought to contribute to economic inequality. Some psychologists such as Richard Lynn argue that there are innate group differences in ability that are partially responsible for producing race and gender group differences in wealth (see also race and intelligence, sex and intelligence) though this assertion is highly controversial.
The idea of the gender gap tries to explain differences in income between genders. Culture and religion are thought to play a role in creating inequality by either encouraging or discouraging wealth-acquiring behavior, and by providing a basis for discrimination. In many countries individuals belonging to certain racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be poor. Proposed causes include cultural differences amongst different races, an educational achievement gap, and racism.
There are many reasons for economic inequality within societies. These causes are often inter-related, non-linear, and complex. Acknowledged factors that impact economic inequality include the labour market, innate ability, education, race, gender, culture, preference for earning income or enjoying leisure, willingness to take risks, wealth condensation, and development patterns.
The labor market
A major cause of economic inequality within modern market economies is the determination of wages by the market, provided, that this market is a free market ruled only by the law of supply and demand. In this view, inequality is caused by the differences in the supply and demand for different types of work.
A job where there are many willing workers (high supply) but only a small number of positions (low demand) will result in a low wage for that job. This is because competition between workers drives down the wage. An example of this would be low-skill jobs such as dish-washing or customer service. Because of the persistence of unemployment in market economies and the fact that these jobs require very little skill results in a very high supply of willing workers. Competition amongst workers tend to drive down the wage since if any one worker demands a higher wage the employer can simply hire another employee at an equally low wage.
A job where there are few willing workers (low supply) but a large demand for the skills these workers have will results in high wages for that job. This is because competition between employers will drive up the wage. An example of this would be high-skill jobs such as engineers, professional athletes, or capable CEOs. Competition amongst employers tends to drive up wages since if any one employer demands a low wage, the worker can simply quit and easily find a new job at a higher wage.
While the above examples tend to identify skill with high demand and wages, this is not necessarily the case. For example, highly skilled computer programmers in western countries have seen their wages suppressed by competition from computer programmers in Developing Countries who are willing to accept a lower wage.
The final results amongst these supply and demand interactions is a gradation of different wages representing income inequality within society.
Innate ability
Many people believe that there is a correlation between differences in innate ability, such as intelligence, strength, or charisma, and an individual's wealth. Relating these innate abilities back to the labor market suggests that such abilities are in high demand relative to their supply and hence play a large role in increasing the wage of those who have them. Contrariwise, such innate abilities might also affect an individuals ability to operate within society in general, regardless of the labor market.
Various studies have been conducted on the correlation between IQ scores and wealth/income. The book titled "IQ and the Wealth of Nations", written by Dr. Richard Lynn, examines this relationship with limited success; other peer-reviewed research papers have also been criticised harshly. Without further research on the topic, incorporating statistical models that are universally accepted, it is fairly difficult to come towards an objective conclusion regarding any relationship between intelligence and wealth or income.
Education
One important factor in the creation of inequality is variation in individuals' access to education. Education, especially in an area where there is a high demand for workers, creates high wages for those with this education. As a result, those who are unable to afford an education, or choose not to pursue optional education, generally receive much lower wages. Many economists believe that a major reason the world has experienced increasing levels of inequality since the 1980s is an increase in the demand for highly skilled workers in high-tech industries. They believe that this has resulted in an increase in wages for those with an education, but has not increased the wages of those without an education, leading to greater inequality.
Gender, race, and culture
The existence of different genders, races and cultures within a society is also thought to contribute to economic inequality. Some psychologists such as Richard Lynn argue that there are innate group differences in ability that are partially responsible for producing race and gender group differences in wealth (see also race and intelligence, sex and intelligence) though this assertion is highly controversial.
The idea of the gender gap tries to explain differences in income between genders. Culture and religion are thought to play a role in creating inequality by either encouraging or discouraging wealth-acquiring behavior, and by providing a basis for discrimination. In many countries individuals belonging to certain racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be poor. Proposed causes include cultural differences amongst different races, an educational achievement gap, and racism.
Economic inequality
Economic inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among nations. Economic Inequality generally refers to equality of outcome, and is related to the idea of equality of opportunity. It is a contested issue whether economic inequality is a positive or negative phenomenon, both on utilitarian and moral grounds.
Economic inequality has existed in a wide range of societies and historical periods; its nature, cause and importance are open to broad debate. A country's economic structure or system (for example, capitalism or socialism), ongoing or past wars, and differences in individuals' abilities to create wealth are all involved in the creation of economic inequality.
There are various Numerical indexes for measuring economic inequality. Inequality is most often measured using the Gini coefficient, but there are also many other methods. One way to measure inequality is money based. For instance a person may be regarded as poor if their income falls below the line of poverty.
Economic inequality among different individuals or social groups is best measured within a single country. This is because country-specific factors tend to obscure inter-country comparisons of individuals' incomes. A single nation will have more or less inequality depending on the social and economic structure of that country
Economic inequality has existed in a wide range of societies and historical periods; its nature, cause and importance are open to broad debate. A country's economic structure or system (for example, capitalism or socialism), ongoing or past wars, and differences in individuals' abilities to create wealth are all involved in the creation of economic inequality.
There are various Numerical indexes for measuring economic inequality. Inequality is most often measured using the Gini coefficient, but there are also many other methods. One way to measure inequality is money based. For instance a person may be regarded as poor if their income falls below the line of poverty.
Economic inequality among different individuals or social groups is best measured within a single country. This is because country-specific factors tend to obscure inter-country comparisons of individuals' incomes. A single nation will have more or less inequality depending on the social and economic structure of that country
When Work Disappears
When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor (1996) is a book by William Julius Wilson, Professor of Social Policy at Harvard. Wilson's argument is that the disappearance of work and the consequences of that disappearance for both social and cultural life are the central problems in the inner-city ghetto. He sought to discuss social disorganization without stigmatizing the poor. Wilson writes that chronic joblessness has deprived those in the inner city of skills necessary to obtain and keep jobs. Wilson's book uses evidence from large-scale scientific surveys in the ghetto and information culled from "ethnographic" interviews of ghetto residents in order to create a complete picture of the problems that face the residents.Wilson writes that people who inhabit the disorganized, jobless ghettos face dim prospects. Poor public transportation often fails to provide access to job locations, stereotypes about poor blacks, especially black men also make jobs harder to find. Wilson rejects the idea that inner-city residents have a "culture of poverty" or damaged personalities. He holds that addressing the problem of joblessness is the solution to urban inner-city problems.Wilson supports work programs modeled after Depression-era projects.Wilson ties the disappearance of inner-city jobs to industrial restructuring, suburbanization, foreign competition, and racism
Culture of poverty
The culture of poverty concept is a social theory explaining the cycle of poverty. Based on the concept that the poor have a unique value system, the culture of poverty theory suggests the poor remain in poverty because of their adaptations to the burdens of poverty.The term "subculture of poverty" (later shortened to "culture of poverty") made its first prominent appearance in the ethnography Five Families: Mexican Case Studies in the Culture of Poverty (1959) by anthropologist Oscar Lewis. Lewis struggled to render "the poor" as legitimate subjects whose lives were transformed by poverty. He argued that although the burdens of poverty were systemic and therefore imposed upon these members of society, they led to the formation of an autonomous subculture as children were socialized into behaviors and attitudes that perpetuated their inability to escape the underclass.
Lewis gave some seventy characteristics (1996 [1966], 1998) that indicated the presence of the culture of poverty, which he argued was not shared among all of the lower classes.
The people in the culture of poverty have a strong feeling of marginality, of helplessness, of dependency, of not belonging. They are like aliens in their own country, convinced that the existing institutions do not serve their interests and needs. Along with this feeling of powerlessness is a widespread feeling of inferiority, of personal unworthiness. This is true of the slum dwellers of Mexico City, who do not constitute a distinct ethnic or racial group and do not suffer from racial discrimination. In the United States the culture of poverty of the Negroes has the additional disadvantage of racial discrimination. People with a culture of poverty have very little sense of history. They are a marginal people who know only their own troubles, their own local conditions, their own neighborhood, their own way of life. Usually, they have neither the knowledge, the vision nor the ideology to see the similarities between their problems and those of others like themselves elsewhere in the world. In other words, they are not class conscious, although they are very sensitive indeed to status distinctions. When the poor become class conscious or members of trade union organizations, or when they adopt an internationalist outlook on the world they are, in my view, no longer part of the culture of poverty although they may still be desperately poor. (Lewis 1998)
Although Lewis was concerned with poverty in the developing world, the culture of poverty concept proved attractive to US public policy makers and politicians. It strongly informed documents such as the Moynihan Report (1965) and the War on Poverty more generally.
Since the 1960s critics of culture of poverty explanations for the persistence of the underclasses have attempted to show that real world data do not fit Lewis' model (Goode and Eames, 1996). Despite decades of this criticism by prominent sociologists, anthropologists and other academics who argue that descriptions of the poor as being culturally unique have little explanatory power, the culture of poverty concept persists in popular culture.
Cycle of poverty
In economics, the cycle of poverty is the "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention."This is the idea that poverty is continued as a result of people trapped in an array of social situations including: low income, poor education, poor housing, or poor health. These disadvantages collectively work in a circular process making it virtually impossible for individuals to break the cycle. This occurs when impoverished people do not have the resources necessary to get out of poverty, such as financial capital, education, or connections. In other words, poverty-stricken individuals experience disadvantages as a result of their poverty, which in turn increases their poverty. This would mean that the poor remain poor throughout their lives.The poverty cycle is usually called "development trap" when it is applied to countries. Dr. Ruby K. Payne distinguishes between situational poverty, which can generally be traced to a specific incident within the lifetimes of the person or family members in poverty, and generational poverty, which is a cycle that passes from generation to generation, and goes on to argue that generational poverty has its own distinct culture and belief patterns
Theories and Strategies for Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
While many governmental officials are still trying to find an answer to poverty, many states and localities are making an effort to break the cycle. Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has been advocating a plan where parents are paid up to $5000 a year for meeting certain goals that will better their lives. This policy was modeled after a Mexican initiative that aims to help poor families make better decisions that will help them in the long-term and break cycle of poverty and dependence that have been known to last for lifetimes. In addition, many states also have been making an attempt to help break the cycle. For example, a bill has been proposed in the California Assembly that “would establish an advisory Childhood Poverty Council to develop a plan to reduce child poverty in the state by half by 2017 and eliminate it by 2027”. Even when the plan has poverty reduction as the goal, a rise in child poverty might be the reality for many states as it was in Connecticut. States are attempting to not only decrease the number of people in the cycle of poverty, but to also adjust the stringent work requirements that resulted from Congress’s welfare reform. The tougher work restrictions have upset many poverty advocates that believe the new regulations prevent individuals that are vulnerable or that lack skills from preparing for work. California Democrat Representative McDermott believes as a result of this and other effects of the new limitations, it has been harder for individuals to escape a life of poverty.
Standard of living
The standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people, and the way these goods and services are distributed within a population. It is generally measured by standards such as income inequality, poverty rate, real (i.e. inflation adjusted) income per person. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, educational standards and social rights are often used as well. Examples are access to certain goods (such as number of refrigerators per 1000 people), or measures of health such as life desires. It is the ease by which people living in a time or place are able to satisfy their wants.
The idea of a 'standard' may be contrasted with the quality of life, which takes into account not only the material standard of living, but also other more intangible aspects that make up to human life, such as leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life, mental health, environmental quality issues etc. More complex means of measuring well-being must be employed to make such judgments, and these are very often political, thus controversial. Even among two nations or societies that have similar material standards of living, quality of life factors may in fact make one of these places more attractive to a given individual or group.
However, there can be problems even with just using numerical averages to compare material standards of living, as opposed to, for instance, a Pareto index (a measure of the breadth of income or wealth distribution). Standards of living are perhaps inherently subjective. As an example, countries with a very small, very rich upper class and a very large, very poor lower class may have a high mean level of income, even though the majority of people have a low "standard of living". This mirrors the problem of poverty measurement, which also tends towards the relative. This illustrates how distribution of income can disguise the actual Standard of living.
There are many factors being considered before measuring standard of living. Some factors are gross domestic product, the per capita income, population, infrastructural development, stability (political and social), and many other indicators
The idea of a 'standard' may be contrasted with the quality of life, which takes into account not only the material standard of living, but also other more intangible aspects that make up to human life, such as leisure, safety, cultural resources, social life, mental health, environmental quality issues etc. More complex means of measuring well-being must be employed to make such judgments, and these are very often political, thus controversial. Even among two nations or societies that have similar material standards of living, quality of life factors may in fact make one of these places more attractive to a given individual or group.
However, there can be problems even with just using numerical averages to compare material standards of living, as opposed to, for instance, a Pareto index (a measure of the breadth of income or wealth distribution). Standards of living are perhaps inherently subjective. As an example, countries with a very small, very rich upper class and a very large, very poor lower class may have a high mean level of income, even though the majority of people have a low "standard of living". This mirrors the problem of poverty measurement, which also tends towards the relative. This illustrates how distribution of income can disguise the actual Standard of living.
There are many factors being considered before measuring standard of living. Some factors are gross domestic product, the per capita income, population, infrastructural development, stability (political and social), and many other indicators
Poverty threshold
The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.Almost all societies have some citizens living in poverty. The poverty threshold is useful as an economic tool with which to measure such people and consider socioeconomic reforms such as welfare and unemployment insurance to reduce poverty.
Determining the poverty line is usually done by finding the total cost of all the essential resources that an average human adult consumes in one year. This approach is needs-based in that an assessment is made of the minimum expenditure needed to maintain a tolerable life. This was the original basis of the poverty line in the United States, whose poverty threshold has since been raised due to inflation. In developing countries, the most expensive of these resources is typically the rent required to live in an apartment. Economists thus pay particular attention to the real estate market and housing prices because of their strong influence on the poverty threshold.
Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. The poverty threshold is adjusted each year. In 2006, in the United States of America, the poverty threshold for a single person under 65 was US$10,488; the threshold for a family group of four, including two children, was US$20,444.
Defining poverty thresholds
Poverty thresholds can be defined in different ways:
Social Security benefit based. If a government guarantees to make income up to some particular level then it may be presumed that that level is the poverty threshold. This is a problematic definition, because an uncharitable government may reduce the guaranteed income, thus reducing the incidence of poverty so defined while increasing the incidence of actual poverty.
A relative income line, related to some fraction of typical incomes. This excludes the wealthiest individuals from the calculation. For example, the OECD and the European Union uses 60% of national median equivalised household income.
A relative figure fixed in time and only adjusted for inflation - thus avoiding the possibility that if income inequality increases, then poverty may otherwise also increase.
When the World Bank calculates its "$1 a day" statistics, it uses a poverty threshold.
Social Security benefit based. If a government guarantees to make income up to some particular level then it may be presumed that that level is the poverty threshold. This is a problematic definition, because an uncharitable government may reduce the guaranteed income, thus reducing the incidence of poverty so defined while increasing the incidence of actual poverty.
A relative income line, related to some fraction of typical incomes. This excludes the wealthiest individuals from the calculation. For example, the OECD and the European Union uses 60% of national median equivalised household income.
A relative figure fixed in time and only adjusted for inflation - thus avoiding the possibility that if income inequality increases, then poverty may otherwise also increase.
When the World Bank calculates its "$1 a day" statistics, it uses a poverty threshold.
Absolute poverty
A measure of absolute poverty quantifies the number of people below a poverty threshold, and this poverty threshold is independent of time and place. For the measure to be absolute, the line must be the same in different countries, cultures, and technological levels. Such an absolute measure should look only at the individual's power to consume and it should be independent of any changes in income consumed goods and services are counted and when PPP-exchange rates are used ( purchasing power parity). The intuition behind an absolute measure is that mere survival takes essentially the same amount of resources across the world and that everybody should be subject to the same standards if meaningful comparisons of policies and progress are to be made. Notice that if everyone's real income in an economy increases, and the income distribution does not change, absolute poverty will decline. distribution. Such a measure is only possible when allMeasuring poverty by an absolute threshold has the advantage of applying the same standard across different locations and time periods, making comparisons easier. On the other hand, it suffers from the disadvantage that any absolute poverty threshold is to some extent arbitrary; the amount of wealth required for survival is not the same in all places and time periods. For example, a person living in far northern Scandinavia requires a source of heat during colder months, while a person living on a tropical island does not.
This type of measure is often contrasted with measures of relative poverty (see below), which classify individuals or families as "poor" not by comparing them to a fixed cutoff point, but by comparing them to others in the population under study.
The term absolute poverty is also sometimes used as a synonym for extreme poverty.
According to a UN declaration that resulted from the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995, absolute poverty is "a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services."
David Gordon's paper, "Indicators of Poverty & Hunger", for the United Nations, further explains that absolute poverty is the absence of any two of the following eight basic needs:
*Food: Body Mass Index must be above 16.
*Safe drinking water: Water must not come from solely rivers and ponds, and must be available nearby (less than 15 minutes' walk each way).
*Sanitation facilities: Toilets or latrines must be accessible in or near the home.
*Health: Treatment must be received for serious illnesses and pregnancy.
*Shelter: Homes must have fewer than four people living in each room. Floors must not be made of dirt, mud, or clay.
*Education: Everyone must attend school or otherwise learn to read.
*Information: Everyone must have access to newspapers, radios, televisions, computers, or telephones at home.
*Access to services: This item is undefined by Gordon, but normally is used to indicate the complete panoply of education, health, legal, social, and financial (credit) services.
For example, a person who lives in a home with a mud floor is considered severely deprived of *shelter. A person who never attended school and cannot read is considered severely deprived of education. A person who has no newspaper, radio, television, or telephone is considered severely deprived of information. All people who meet any two of these conditions — for example, they live in homes with mud floors and cannot read — are considered to be living in absolute poverty.
Relative poverty
A measure of relative poverty defines "poverty" as being below some relative poverty threshold. An example is when poverty is defined as households with an accumulated income less than 50% of the median income is a measure of relative poverty. Notice that if everyone's real income in an economy increases, but the income distribution stays the same, relative poverty will also stay the same.Relative poverty measurements can produce odd results in small or unusual populations. For example, if the median household in a wealthy neighborhood earns US$1 million each year, then a family that earns US$100,000 would be considered poor on the relative poverty scale. At the other end of the scale, if the median household in a very poor neighborhood earned only 50% of what it needs to buy food, then a person who earned that amount would not be considered poor on a relative poverty scale, even though the person is clearly poor on an absolute poverty scale.
Measures of relative poverty are almost the same as measuring inequality: If a society gets a more equal income distribution, relative poverty will fall. Following this, some argue that the term 'Relative Poverty' is itself misleading and that 'Inequality' should be used instead. They point out that if society changed in a way that hurt high earners more than low ones, then 'relative poverty' would decrease, but every citizen of the society would be worse off. Likewise in the reverse direction: it is possible to reduce absolute poverty while increasing relative poverty.
The phrase relative poverty can also be used in a different sense to mean "moderate poverty" – for example, a standard of living or level of income that is high enough to satisfy basic needs (like water, food, clothing, shelter, and basic health care), but still significantly lower than that of the majority of the population under consideration.
Basic needs
Some measurements combine certain aspects of absolute and relative measures. For example, the Fraser Institute publishes a basic needs poverty measure for Canada. According to the Fraser Institute, "the basic-needs approach is partly absolute is limited to items required for long-term physical well-being and partly relative, reflecting 
the standards that apply in the individual's own society at the present time."The Fraser Institute's list of necessities for living creditably in Canada includes not only food, shelter, clothing, and health care, but also personal care, furniture, transportation, communication, laundry, and home insurance. It is criticized for not including any entertainment items like cable television, daily newspapers, and tickets to movies or sporting events.Criticisms
Using a poverty threshold is problematic because having an income marginally above it is not substantially different from having an income marginally below it: the negative effects of poverty tend to be continuous rather than discrete, and the same low income affects different people in different ways. To overcome this problem, poverty indices are sometimes used instead; see income inequality metrics.
A poverty threshold relies on a quantitative, or purely numbers-based measure of income. If other human development-indicators like health and education are used, they must be quantified, which is not a simple (if even achievable) task.
Public and private charitable gifts are not counted when calculating a poverty threshold. For example, if a parent pays the rent on an apartment for an adult daughter, that money does not count as income to the daughter. If a church or non-profit organization gives food to an elderly person, that also does not count as income. Rea Hederman, a senior policy analyst in the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation, in the United States, complained,
The official poverty measure counts only monetary income. It considers antipoverty programs such as food stamps, housing assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid and school lunches, among others, "in-kind benefits" -- and hence not income. So, despite everything these programs do to relieve poverty, they aren't counted as income when Washington measures the poverty rate.
A poverty threshold relies on a quantitative, or purely numbers-based measure of income. If other human development-indicators like health and education are used, they must be quantified, which is not a simple (if even achievable) task.
Public and private charitable gifts are not counted when calculating a poverty threshold. For example, if a parent pays the rent on an apartment for an adult daughter, that money does not count as income to the daughter. If a church or non-profit organization gives food to an elderly person, that also does not count as income. Rea Hederman, a senior policy analyst in the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation, in the United States, complained,
The official poverty measure counts only monetary income. It considers antipoverty programs such as food stamps, housing assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid and school lunches, among others, "in-kind benefits" -- and hence not income. So, despite everything these programs do to relieve poverty, they aren't counted as income when Washington measures the poverty rate.
Measuring poverty
Although the most severe poverty is in the developing world, there is evidence of poverty in every region. In developed countries, this condition results in wandering homeless people and poor suburbs and ghettos. Poverty may be seen as the collective condition of poor people, or of poor groups, and in this sense entire nation-states are sometimes regarded as poor. To avoid stigma these nations are usually called developing nations.When measured, poverty may be absolute or relative poverty. Absolute poverty refers to a set standard which is consistent over time and between countries. An example of an absolute measurement would be the percentage of the population eating less food than is required to sustain the human body (approximately 2000-2500 kilocalories per day).
Relative poverty, in contrast, views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context. One relative measurement would be to compare the total wealth of the poorest one-third of the population with the total wealth of richest 1% of the population. In this case, the number of people counted as poor could increase while their income rise. There are several different income inequality metrics, one example is the Gini coefficient.
The main poverty line used in the OECD and the European Union is a relative poverty measure based on "economic distance", a level of income set at 50% of the median household income.
The United States, in contrast, uses an absolute poverty measure. The US poverty line was created in 1963-64 and was based on the dollar costs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "economy food plan" multiplied by a factor of three. The multiplier was based on research showing that food costs then accounted for about one third of the total money income. This one-time calculation has since been annually updated for inflation.The US line has been critiqued as being either too high or too low. For example, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative U.S. think tank, objects to the fact that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46% of those defined as being in poverty in the U.S. own their own home (with the average poor person's home having three bedrooms, with one and a half baths, and a garage). Others, such as economist Ellen Frank, argue that the poverty measure is too low as families spend much less of their total budget on food than they did when the measure was established in the 1950s. Further, federal poverty statistics do not account for the widely varying regional differences in non-food costs such as housing, transport, and utilities.
Both absolute and relative poverty measures are usually based on a person's yearly income and frequently take no account of total wealth. Some people argue that this ignores a key component of economic well-being.
The World Bank defines poverty in absolute terms. The bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1 per day US (PPP), and moderate poverty as less than $2 a day. It has been estimated that in 2001, 1.1 billion people had consumption levels below $1 a day and 2.7 billion lived on less than $2 a day. The proportion of the developing world's population living in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2001. Much of the improvement has occurred in East and South Asia. In Sub-Saharan Africa GDP/capita shrank with 14 percent and extreme poverty increased from 41 percent in 1981 to 46 percent in 2001. Other regions have seen little or no change. In the early 1990s the transition economies of Europe and Central Asia experienced a sharp drop in income. Poverty rates rose to 6 percent at the end of the decade before beginning to recede. There are various criticisms of these measurements.
Some economists such as Guy Pfeffermann say that other non-monetary indicators of "absolute poverty" are also improving. Life expectancy has greatly increased in the developing world since WWII and is starting to close the gap to the developed world where the improvement has been smaller. Even in Sub-Saharan Africa, the least developed region, life expectancy increased from 30 years before World War II to a peak of about 50 years before the HIV pandemic and other diseases started to force it down to the current level of 47 years. Child mortality has decreased in every developing region of the world. The proportion of the world's population living in countries where per-capita food supplies are less than 2,200 calories (9,200 kilojoules) per day decreased from 56% in the mid-1960s to below 10% by the 1990s. Between 1950 and 1999, global literacy increased from 52% to 81% of the world. Women made up much of the gap: Female literacy as a percentage of male literacy has increased from 59% in 1970 to 80% in 2000. The percentage of children not in the labor force has also risen to over 90% in 2000 from 76% in 1960. There are similar trends for electric power, cars, radios, and telephones per capita, as well as the proportion of the population with access to clean water.
Income inequality for the world as a whole is diminishing. A 2002 study by Xavier Sala-i-Martin finds that this is driven mainly, but not fully, by the extraordinary growth rate of the incomes of the 1.2 billion Chinese citizens. However, unless Africa achieve economic growth, then China, India, the OECD and the rest of middle-income and rich countries will diverge away from it, and global inequality will rise. Thus, the economic growth of the African continent should be the priority of anyone concerned with decreasing global income inequality.
Poverty Gap Index The mean distance below the poverty line as a proportion of the poverty line where the mean is taken over the whole population, counting the non-poor as having zero poverty gap.
Even if poverty may be lessening for the world as a whole, it continues to be an enormous problem:
One third of deaths - some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day - are due to poverty-related causes. That's 270 million people since 1990, the majority women and children, roughly equal to the population of the US.
Every year nearly 11 million children die before their fifth birthday.
In 2001, 1.1 billion people had consumption levels below $1 a day and 2.7 billion lived on less than $2 a day
800 million people go to bed hungry every day.
The World Bank's "Voices of the Poor" . based on research with over 20,000 poor people in 23 countries, identifies a range of factors which poor people consider elements of poverty. Most important are those necessary for material well-being, especially food. Many others relate to social rather than material issues.
*precarious livelihoods
*excluded locations
*gender relationships
*problems in social relationships
*lack of security
*abuse by those in power
*dis-empowering institutions
*limited capabilities, and
*weak community organizations
Holodomor
The Ukrainian famine (1932–1933), or Holodomor (Ukrainian: Голодомор), was one of the largest national catastrophes in the modern history of the Ukrainian nation. Modern scholarly estimates of the direct loss of human life due to the famine range between 2.6 million and 3-3.5 millionalthough much higher numbers are sometimes published in the media and cited in political debates.The term Holodomor is applied only to the famine that took place in the territories of the Ukrainian SSR during the wider famine that affected other regions of the USSR. The term Holodomor is sometimes applied to the famine that occurred at the same time in other areas of the Soviet Union populated by ethnic Ukrainians outside of the Ukrainian SSR. 
The reasons of the famine are the subject of intense scholarly and political debate. Some historians claim the famine was purposely engineered by the Soviet authorities to attack Ukrainian nationalism, while others view it as an unintended consequence of the economic problems associated with radical economic changes implemented during the period of Soviet industrialization. It is sometimes argued that natural causes may have been the primary reason for the disaster.
There is no international consensus among scholars or politicians on whether the Soviet policies that caused the famine fall under the legal definition of genocide. However, as of March 2008, the parliament of Ukraine and the governments of several countries have recognized the Holodomor as an act of genocide
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a general term for a medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. It most often refers to undernutrition resulting from inadequate consumption, poor absorption, or excessive loss of nutrients, but the term can also encompass overnutrition, resulting from overeating or excessive intake of specific nutrients. An individual will experience malnutrition if the appropriate amount of, or quality of nutrients comprising a healthy diet are not consumed for an extended period of time. An extended period of malnutrition can result in starvation, disease, and infection.Malnutrition is the lack of sufficient nutrients to maintain healthy bodily functions and is typically associated with extreme poverty in economically developing countries. It is a common cause of reduced intelligence in parts of the world affected by famine. Malnutrition as the result of inappropriate dieting, overeating or the absence of a "balanced diet" is often observed in economically developed countries (eg. as indicated by increasing levels of obesity).
Most commonly, malnourished people either do not have enough calories in their diet, or are eating a diet that lacks protein, vitamins, or trace minerals. Medical problems arising from malnutrition are commonly referred to as deficiency diseases. Scurvy is a well-known and now rare form of malnutrition, in which the victim is deficient in vitamin C.
Prisoners who died from the malnutrition in Gulag.
Common forms of malnutrition include protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient malnutrition. PEM refers to inadequate availability or absorption of energy and proteins in the body. Micronutrient malnutrition refers to inadequate availability of some essential nutrients such as vitamins and trace elements that are required by the body in small quantities. Micronutrient deficiencies lead to a variety of diseases and impair normal functioning of the body. Deficiency in micronutrients such as Vitamin A reduces the capacity of the body to resist diseases. Deficiency in iron, iodine and vitamin A is widely prevalent and represent a major public health challenge. An array of afflictions ranging from stunted growth, reduced intelligence and various cognitive abilities, reduced sociability, reduced leadership and assertiveness, reduced activity and energy, reduced muscle growth and strength, and poorer health overall are directly implicated to nutrient deficiencies. Also, another, although rare, effect of malnutrition is black spots appearing on the skin.
Hunger is the normal psychological response brought on by the physiological condition of needing food. Hunger can also affect the mental state of a person, and is often used as a metonym for general undernourishment.
Hunger is the normal psychological response brought on by the physiological condition of needing food. Hunger can also affect the mental state of a person, and is often used as a metonym for general undernourishment.
Famine
A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any faunal species, which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality.
Although most famines coincide with regional shortages of food, famine in some human populations has occurred amid
plenty or on account of acts of economic or military policy that have deprived certain populations of sufficient food to ensure survival. Historically, famines have occurred because of drought, crop failure, pestilence, and man-made causes such as war or misguided economic policies. Bad harvests, overpopulation, and epidemic diseases like the Black Death helped cause hundreds of famines in Europe during the Middle Ages, including 95 in the British Isles and 75 in France.During the 20th century, an estimated 70 million people died from famines across the world, of whom an estimated 30 million died during the famine of 1958–61 in China. The other most notable famines of the century included the 1942–1945 disaster in Bengal, famines in China in 1928 and 1942, and a sequence of famines in the Soviet Union, including the Holodomor, Stalin's famine inflicted on Ukraine in 1932–33. A few of the great famines of the late 20th 
century were: the Biafran famine in the 1960s, the disaster in Cambodia in the 1970s, the Ethiopian famine of 1983–85 and the North Korean famine of the 1990s.
Famine is typically induced by a human population exceeding the regional carrying capacity to provide food resources. An alternate view of famine is a failure of the poor to command sufficient resources to acquire essential food (the "entitlement theory" of Amartya Sen), analyses of famine that focused on the political-economic processes, an understanding of the reasons for mortality in famines, an appreciation of the extent to which famine-vulnerable communities have strategies for coping with the threat of famine, and the role of warfare and terrorism in creating famine. Modern relief agencies categorize various gradations of famine according to a famine scale.
Many areas that suffered famines in the past have protected themselves through technological and social development. The first area in Europe to eliminate famine was the Netherlands, which saw its last peacetime famines in the early 17th century as it became a major economic power and established a complex economic organization. Noting that many famines occur under dictatorship, colonial rule, or during war, Amartya Sen has posited that no functioning democracy has suffered a famine in modern times.
Although most famines coincide with regional shortages of food, famine in some human populations has occurred amid
plenty or on account of acts of economic or military policy that have deprived certain populations of sufficient food to ensure survival. Historically, famines have occurred because of drought, crop failure, pestilence, and man-made causes such as war or misguided economic policies. Bad harvests, overpopulation, and epidemic diseases like the Black Death helped cause hundreds of famines in Europe during the Middle Ages, including 95 in the British Isles and 75 in France.During the 20th century, an estimated 70 million people died from famines across the world, of whom an estimated 30 million died during the famine of 1958–61 in China. The other most notable famines of the century included the 1942–1945 disaster in Bengal, famines in China in 1928 and 1942, and a sequence of famines in the Soviet Union, including the Holodomor, Stalin's famine inflicted on Ukraine in 1932–33. A few of the great famines of the late 20th century were: the Biafran famine in the 1960s, the disaster in Cambodia in the 1970s, the Ethiopian famine of 1983–85 and the North Korean famine of the 1990s.Famine is typically induced by a human population exceeding the regional carrying capacity to provide food resources. An alternate view of famine is a failure of the poor to command sufficient resources to acquire essential food (the "entitlement theory" of Amartya Sen), analyses of famine that focused on the political-economic processes, an understanding of the reasons for mortality in famines, an appreciation of the extent to which famine-vulnerable communities have strategies for coping with the threat of famine, and the role of warfare and terrorism in creating famine. Modern relief agencies categorize various gradations of famine according to a famine scale.
Many areas that suffered famines in the past have protected themselves through technological and social development. The first area in Europe to eliminate famine was the Netherlands, which saw its last peacetime famines in the early 17th century as it became a major economic power and established a complex economic organization. Noting that many famines occur under dictatorship, colonial rule, or during war, Amartya Sen has posited that no functioning democracy has suffered a famine in modern times.