5.2: the problem of poverty

poverty is

the state of being extremely poor and not having enough money or income to meet basic needs

absolute poverty is

living below subsistence so deprivation of basic human needs including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information

the world bank measures absolute poverty by

the number of people living on less than 1.25 a day

relative poverty is

when income is below a specified proportion of average income, in the UK it is those with below 60% of the median income

the causes of poverty in the UK are

old age, unemployment, low wages, regressive taxes, sickness and disability, poor health and education, corruption and political oppression, natural disasters

old age is a cause of poverty in the UK as

many older people rely on state pension and lack a private pension, however since the introduction of the triple lock in 2011, this is less severe

unemployment is a cause of poverty because

unemployment benefits are generally lower than the pay workers receive before loosing their jobs, so an increase in unemployment increases poverty. recently there has been more part time or temporary jobs rather than full time jobs, leaving people underemployed, also structural employment due to deindustrialisation forces skilled workers out of jobs

low wages cause poverty as

the low waged are often in relative poverty rather than absolute poverty, consisting of unskilled workers or skilled workers that have lost their jobs and been forced to take up unskilled work, this is especially harmful if there is no national minimum wage

regressive taxation causes poverty are

in the UK taxes such as VAT are regressive, meaning those on lower income bear a larger burden of the tax, which can increase inequality and relative poverty, as their disposable income is decreased

sickness and disability can lead to poverty as

health issues makes it hard to get a job, leaving people without an income and pushing people into absolute poverty, however in the UK we have benefits for these people meaning they may only be in relative poverty but this is a problem in sub saharan africa where disease and malnutrition mean people take lots of time off and this deters MNCs from investing in a country

poor health and education can lead to poverty as

undereducated people will have to find unskilled work, which can be harder but it also means they are more likely to have poor health due to lack of sanitary education, therefore making it even harder to find a job

corruption and political oppression can lead to poverty as

countries with corrupt leaders might have higher levels of poverty as the leads might keep most the wealth rather than redistributing it

natural disasters can lead to poverty as

they can destroy peoples livelihoods and belongings, destroying infrastructure, jobs, and homes e.g the nepal earthquake in 2015 pushing an estimated 1 mil people below poverty line

the effects of poverty are

educational deprivation, health deprivation, limited economic growth, societal issues

poverty causes educational deprivation because

CAPG argues that children from poorer backgrounds lag at all stages of education, with children receiving free schools meals having grades 1.7 lower than at GCSE, possible due to access to resources. in poorer countries children have to be sent to work to support their family, leaving them with poor literacy skills and limits their ability to escape poverty

poverty causes health deprivation as

CAPG says that poverty is associated with a higher risk of both illness and premature death with professionals living on average 8 years longer than unskilled workers. in poorer countries there are poorer standards of health and underdeveloped infants and malnutrition is an important issue which results in poor cognitive development in children, aswell as vulnerable to infections

poverty causes limited economic growth as

without a basic level of education, the higher paying jobs and opportunities for career progression are limited, hindering the economies ability to improve is productive potential and achieve long run economic growth

poverty causes societal issues such as

poor housing, crime and mental health issues, it causes social unrest to become more common and create problems within communities