POVERTY: CHARACTERISTICS, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES, TYPES, SOLUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The poverty is defined as the situation where a person can not meet their minimum physical and psychological needs. This lack of resources ranges from food shortages to lack of electricity, to the unavailability of drinking water.

Apart from that definition, experts broaden the concept of poverty beyond the lack of resources and income. Aspects such as the lack of decent housing, not being able to access education or not having health care are also considered as situations of poverty.

“Zero Poverty” demonstration in Madrid, Spain, 2006 - Source: Carlos Capote flickr.com

The causes of the existence of poverty are very varied. According to organizations like Intermón Oxfam, aspects such as the current commercial system, the heritage of colonialism, wars, the poor distribution of resources or climatic factors appear. For this reason, the strategies to eradicate this scourge must be multidisciplinary.

According to statistics, poverty rates have declined in recent decades. However, its presence is still important in some geographical areas of the planet. To this must be added a relatively frequent concept: the lack of sufficient resources among workers in advanced countries due to their low salaries.

Characteristics of poverty

The Spanish word "poverty" derives from the Latin term paupertas, which was applied to poorly fertile livestock and land. Later, it began to be used to refer to the lack of resources to survive.

Similarly, the term also began to be used very early as a definition of lack of wealth.

Definition

In general terms, poverty is defined as the economic and social condition characterized by the lack of the resources that human beings need to maintain an adequate standard of living.

At first, importance was only given to aspects such as food or housing, but in recent decades it has expanded to others such as lack of access to education, health or basic services.

Experts use several different ways to measure poverty, although variables such as unemployment, lack of income to acquire the necessary resources to live or conditions of marginalization are almost always taken into account.

Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, updated the traditional approach to poverty and emphasized the impossibility of achieving vital fulfillment due to lack of possibilities, basic rights and capacities.

Scope

Data provided by non-governmental organizations and UN agencies show that, in 2015, 10% of the world's population survived on less than US $ 1.90 a day.

This represents a slight improvement of 1% over the 2013 reports, although this is a good figure compared to the 36% registered in 1990.

Geographical distribution

Although the data has improved in recent decades, experts believe that much remains to be done. The advance has been noticed in all regions of the planet, but many differences are still observed.

Thus, East Asia, the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia have managed to reduce extreme poverty to 3%. However, the African countries south of the Sahara desert concentrate more than half of the world's poor. In that area, those affected by this condition increased by 9 million people: in 2015 there were 413 million poor in the region.

One aspect that persists in most regions of the world is that the majority of the poor reside in rural areas, are engaged in agriculture and have little access to education.

Causes

The causes of poverty are multiple and complex. For the most part, behind this situation there are a series of historical, social and cultural conditions.

Experts consider that some of these historical causes are colonialism, slavery, war or invasions. On the other hand, other aspects such as the lack of distributional policies and the multinational business model are also pointed out.

Multinational business model

The current business model, based on multinationals that use the resources and cheap labor of the countries that suffer the most poverty, is considered one of the causes that prevent overcoming the situation.

These types of actions increase the impoverishment of the countries, since there is only concern about saving costs and increasing profits.

Corruption

Corruption represents a significant drain on the resources that should reach the general population to improve their situation.

Climatic factors

Droughts, floods, hurricanes and other climatic factors cause major episodes of food shortages.

In recent years, with climate change, the lack of water is affecting large areas of the planet. Crops are being negatively affected and, furthermore, erosion and desertification increase the problems.

Inequalities in the distribution of resources

Inequality in the distribution of resources affects both less developed and developed societies. In both cases, this circumstance prevents part of the population from meeting all their needs.

Armed conflicts

There is no doubt that armed conflicts cause the impoverishment of the affected countries. In addition to the loss of life, infrastructure (private and public) is destroyed.

Another effect of wars is the flight of part of the population. Refugees lose all their possessions and must move to safer places and depend on aid to survive.

Consequences of poverty

The consequences of poverty are, like its causes, multiple and varied. Generally, there are several consequences at the same time.

Similarly, these consequences are different depending on whether poverty affects a single individual, a more or less extensive community, or whether it occurs in a developed or developing country.

Malnutrition

It is surely the most serious consequences of poverty. Malnutrition mainly affects the child population, with which the mortality rates of this sector of the population increase.

Social exclusion

Poverty is one of the most frequent causes of social exclusion. Individuals or entire groups are left on the fringes of society, with no options to access basic services.

This circumstance causes, in turn, an increase in resentment. It is not uncommon for discontent to erupt into violence or, in democratic countries, to grow support for populist politicians.

On the other hand, although experts deny that there is a direct relationship between poverty and crime, situations of exclusion and lack of resources can be a breeding ground for increased crime and drug addiction.

Sanitary problems

Both malnutrition and lack of medical services put the health of poor populations at greater risk of disease.

Also, in recent times, several studies have linked the growing obesity epidemic to the lack of resources, both financial and educational.

Types of poverty

As mentioned above, the definition of poverty is no longer just economic. In addition, it also includes issues such as lack of water, education, housing, sanitation or integration.

Material poverty

It occurs in those countries with a low rate of social exclusion. Those affected present, in addition to scarce resources, lower levels of schooling, great inequality in income, more illiteracy and precarious wages.

Rural poverty

It occurs when the economic situation in rural areas is much worse than in urban areas. Thus, it is possible that the urban inhabitants of a country enjoy good living standards, while those who live in the countryside go through real problems.

Urban poverty

Many times, rural poverty ends up causing the appearance of urban poverty. Generally, this happens when people in rural areas have to migrate to cities to try to find better opportunities.

The consequence is the emergence of low-income ghettos and increased social inequality.

Child poverty

Children are one of the groups most affected by poverty. In some countries, the most perverse effect is malnutrition. Although there have been improvements in recent years, the infant mortality rate is still much higher in poor areas of the planet.

In addition to the above, poverty entails less access to education and health services.

Relative poverty

Relative poverty occurs in countries where there are large differences in development depending on the region. This type of poverty affects certain places neglected by national governments.

It is not usually absolute poverty, but is related to the lack of social resources for the population.

Structural poverty

It is the type of poverty that affects a stratum of society. It shows, on the one hand, the high segmentation of that same society, with groups of people who have unequal access to resources.

The characteristic elements of structural poverty are social insecurity, less political participation by those affected and chronic impoverishment.

Extreme poverty

As its name indicates, extreme poverty is the most severe. It includes any individual who cannot cover their food for a certain time.

Solutions

Data from the last decades show how poverty has been declining across the planet. However, this does not mean that it has disappeared: 10% of people in developing countries survive on less than 1.9 dollars a day, an amount that is taken as a reference to measure poverty.

The solutions to the problem are complex, since they must take into account from political to climatic factors.

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The United Nations has launched the so-called 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to try to alleviate poverty in the world. Among the 17 objectives set, the end of this scourge appears first.

The solution that the UN proposes in the first place is to achieve a mobilization of resources, both public and private, that allows developing countries to improve their situation. It is about promoting a series of programs and practices aimed at combating poverty in all its dimensions.

On the other hand, the Sustainable Development Goals also seek to create national, regional and international standards aimed at favoring the most impoverished areas, with special dedication to women.

The ultimate goal is that, by 2030, all human beings have the same rights to economic resources. Likewise, they must also be able to access basic services, control of land, natural resources and new technologies.

However, the latest reports indicate that extreme poverty cannot be eradicated by the indicated date.

Multidimensional approach

All experts agree that eradicating poverty requires a multidimensional approach. This means that it is not enough to improve the economic conditions of the population, but it is essential to provide impoverished areas with basic social resources.

Among the most important are education, health, clean water and electricity. In addition, work must be done to eliminate any type of social differentiation for reasons of gender, ethnicity or beliefs.

Poverty in Mexico

The indicators to measure poverty in Mexico take into account aspects such as nutrition, access to drinking water, health care or housing, among others. According to national legislation, four types of poverty have been established: moderate, relative, absolute and extreme.

2019 data

The report issued in 2019 by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) indicates that there are 52.4 million poor people in the country, 41.9% of the population. This figure represents a decrease of 2.5% compared to that registered in 2008.

The study highlights the improvement in 24 of the country's states, while pointing out that the southeast of the country continues to be the poorest area.

Extreme poverty

Within the global figure, extreme poverty has decreased in the last decade. In 2008, there were 12.3 million Mexicans within that category, while in 2018 they were reduced to 9.3 million.

In Spain

The latest economic crisis has led to a significant increase in the number of households below the poverty line in Spain. It is important to consider, however, that the poverty standards of the European Union establish different conditions than those of Latin America.

Among the aspects that the EU takes into account are levels of employment, income and the ability to meet expenses such as rent or heating.

Risk of exclusion

Spain is the seventh country in the European Union with the most poverty. Almost 25% of the population is at risk of exclusion, although if only income is taken into account, the percentage drops to 21.6%.

The limit for considering a household at risk has been set at income below € 1,552 per month in the case of married couples with two children or € 739 per month if living alone.

Severe material deprivation

The indicator that marks the Severe Material Deprivation in the EU includes not being able to turn on the heat, not being able to eat meat or fish at least every two days or not being able to cover unforeseen expenses, such as the purchase of a television or a telephone.

Spain has seen how this indicator has increased in recent years. Thus, 5.1% of the population is in this situation.

In colombia

As in other countries, Colombia has suffered a considerable increase in poverty in recent years.

The National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) establishes two different categories when measuring the family economy: monetary poverty and multidimensional poverty. The latter, in addition to income, includes housing conditions, access to education, children's conditions and health.

Multidimensional poverty

El Dane, in its latest report, states that 9.69 million Colombians live in conditions of multidimensional poverty. This represents 19.6% of the total population.

Monetary poverty

Monetary poverty is measured from household consumption. Thus, both income and expenses are taken into account and related to a basic basket of goods. These can be food or other.

Based on this methodology, the latest data affirms that almost 30% of Colombians are in monetary poverty. Consequently, they cannot acquire these basic goods.

Within this indicator there is a subcategory called extreme monetary poverty. To measure it, the calculation is made taking into account only the ability to purchase basic food to survive. In 2018, in Colombia there were 3 and a half million people in that category.

In Peru

Peru shows positive dynamics in its efforts to reduce poverty. The economic limit to be considered poor has been established at 344 soles per person. This amount is reduced to 183 soles to measure extreme poverty.

Monetary poverty

Between 2017 and 2017, monetary poverty in Peru fell by just over one percentage point. Thus, 20.5% of its inhabitants are within that category. Some 313,000 people were no longer poor in that period.

This decline has been fairly constant in recent years. Official figures indicate that the number of people in monetary poverty has fallen by 3.4% in the last five years and by 16.8 if the last decade is taken as a reference.

Extreme poverty

On the other hand, extreme poverty also shows a positive evolution, with a decrease in the last year of one percentage point. At present, 2.8% of Peruvians are in this situation.

In Argentina

The latest data on poverty in Argentina show that the population has suffered a great loss of resources in recent times.

The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses pointed out that during the first half of 2019, poverty increased by more than one million people. The current percentage reaches 35.4% of the population, with 7.7% indigent.

Another study carried out by the Observatory of the Argentine Social Debt of the Argentine Catholic University (UCA) shows that a good part of the new poor came from the middle class.

Increase in poverty

In just one year, poverty in Argentina has grown by 8.1%. Currently, 35.4% of its population is below the index that marks this condition and 25.4% of households cannot afford a basic diet.

Furthermore, the forecasts are very negative. The same study predicts that by the end of 2019 the percentage of poor people will reach 37%.

References

1. United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from un.org
2. United Nations. End poverty. Retrieved from un.org
3. World Bank. Poverty. Retrieved from worldbank.org
4. Marchilón, Miriam. Why is there poverty in the world? Obtained fromvanaguardia.com
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Poverty. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Government of New Brunswick. What is poverty ?. Retrieved from gnb.ca
7. The Borgen Project. The worst consequences of poverty. Obtained from borgenproject.org
8. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Poverty rate. Retrieved from data.oecd.org
9. Jensen, Eric. Understanding the Nature of Poverty. Recovered from ascd.org