Showing papers on "Poverty published in 1986"

Slipping into and out of poverty: the dynamics of spells

Abstract: This paper examines the dynamics of poverty. Previous analyses have examined either fluctuations in the male heads' earnings or the frequency of poverty periods over a fixed time frame. Our approach depends on a definition of spells of poverty. Using this methodology we find that the majority of poor persons at any time are in the midst of a rather long spell of poverty. The methodology also allows us to estimate that less than 40 percent of poverty spells begin because of a drop in the heads' earnings, while 60 percent of the spells end when the heads' earnings increase. Thus, researchers must focus on household formation decisions and on the behavior of secondary family members. There has been a dramatic resurgence recently of discussion of the "underclass." The discussion is reminiscent of debates about poverty during the 1960s, when the notions of a "culture of poverty," particularly as popularized by Michael Harrington's Other America (1962), dominated both intellectual and policy thinking. The idea of an underclass seems inconsistent, however, with much of the research on the dynamics of poverty during the 1970s. That research, using new longitudinal data, seemed to show that the bulk of the poor were poor for only a few years. The research also showed that the poor were a very heterogeneous group, including a small minority of persistently poor. The persistence of poverty is of interest both for understanding the phenomenon and for developing policy. Claims about dependency and separate life styles among the poor rest on assumptions about the long-term nature of poverty. Questions

Poverty and Hunger: Issues and Options for Food Security in Developing Countries. A World Bank Policy Study.

Abstract: Available data suggest that more than 700 million people in the developing world lack the food necessary for an active and healthy life. The problem of food security is not caused by an insufficient supply of food as has been commonly believed, but by the lack of purchasing power on the part of nations and households. This report outlines the nature and extent of food security problems in developing countries, explores the policy options available to these countries in addressing these problems, and indicates what international institutions such as the World Bank can and should do to help countries solve their food security problems. It suggests policies to achieve the desired goal in cost-effective ways. It also identifies policies that waste economic resources and fail to reach the target groups. It is in that sense as much about what should not be done as about what should be done

The economic emergence of women

Abstract: The Break-up of the Sex Role Caste System Why Did Women Emerge? The Social Factors: Births, Schools, Divorces, Ideas 'Women's Place' in the Labour Market Occupational Segregation by Sex: The Root of Women's Disadvantage Setting the Pay for the Jobs Women Hold Government Action against Discrimination Affirmative Action and Pay Equity The Occupation of Housewife Lone Parents and their Poverty Keeping House: The Economics and Politics of Family Care 'Industrializing' Housework and Child Care A Policy Agenda for the Sex Role Revolution

Poverty and Hunger: Issues and options for food security in developing countries

Abstract: Available data suggest that more than 700 million people in the developing world lack the food necessary for an active and healthy life. The problem of food security is not caused by an insufficient supply of food as has been commonly believed, but by the lack of purchasing power on the part of nations and households. This report outlines the nature and extent of food security problems in developing countries, explores the policy options available to these countries in addressing these problems, and indicates what international institutions such as the World Bank can and should do to help countries solve their food security problems. It suggests policies to achieve the desired goal in cost-effective ways. It also identifies policies that waste economic resources and fail to reach the target groups. It is in that sense as much about what should not be done as about what should be done

The perception of poverty

Abstract: The Poverty Concept. The Derivation of the Poverty Line. Determinants of Income. Determinants of Welfare Parameters. Determinants of Poverty. The Extent of Poverty. Description of the Data. Empirical Results: Differences in Welfare. Empirical Results: Determinants of Income. Empirical Results: Determinants of Welfare. Empirical Results: Poverty Lines and Poverty Determinants. Empirical Results: The Extent of Poverty. Conclusions. Bibliography. Index.

The Economic Mind: The Social Psychology of Economic Behavior

Abstract: Aperitif. The Social Psychology of Economic Behaviour. Socialism and the Psychology of Money. Socialisation and Economics. The Psychology of Money. Social Issues and Social Problems. Debt, Gambling, Addictive Spending (and Saving). Poverty. Wealth. Unemployment. Morals and the Market.

Women, poverty and agricultural growth in India

Abstract: This article explores the interlinkages between gender, poverty and agricultural growth in India. It shows how women and female children of poor rural households bear a disproportionately high share of the burden of poverty. This is manifest especially in a systematic bias against females in the intra‐household distribution of food and health care. However, there are significant cross‐regional differences in the extent of the bias which is much higher in the north‐western states relative to the southern. Some of the likely factors ‐ economic, social, historical ‐ underlying these differences are discussed here. The specific problems of female‐headed households are separately considered. Also, the on‐going debate on the relationship between rural poverty and agricultural growth is critically examined. In addition, a detailed quantitative analysis is undertaken of the differential effects of the new agricultural technology, and associated growth, on the employment and earnings of female and male agricultura...

Education and Rural Development

Abstract: PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Background to the Study The Problem RURAL DEVELOPMENT Land Labour Levels of Living PART TWO: EDUCATION Non-formal Education Formal Education Poverty, Inequality and Formal Education Ascribed Versus Achieved Status CONCLUSION Educational Aspirations and Rural Development

The Great War and the British People

Abstract: Introduction Strategic Demography: Population, Poverty and Military in Pre-1914 Britain PART ONE: THE DEMOGRAPHIC COSTS OF THE GREAT WAR Manpower and Military Service The Lost Generation PART TWO: THE PARADOX OF THE GREAT WAR Civilian Health in Wartime Britain Medical Care in Wartime Health Administration in Wartime Standards of Living and Standards of Health PART THREE: THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT WAR The Demographic Aftermath of the First World War Demographic History, Cultural History and Memories of War

Labour and Poverty in Kenya: 1900 - 1980

Abstract: Analyzes the nature of the labor market and its relationship with economic growth and income distribution in Kenya. Part 1 covers the historical evolution of the labor market from precolonial forms to a form of coercive monopsonistic organization under colonial rule over 1800-1948; the moderation of these coercive features under pressures of nationalism and humanitarian impulses over 1948-68; and the correction during 1968-80 of certain policy induced distortions. Presents an account of major events and decisions in each period and examines their impact on wage and employment trends and patterns. Part 2 analyzes these trends in terms of the predictions of "experts" and argues that an efficient poverty-redressing program involves the growth of smallholder agriculture and skill formation of the urban labor force. Discusses policy induced distortions in rural-urban wages, their impact on migration, unemployment, and urban poverty, and overall growth. Collier is a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford University. Lal is Professor of Political Economy, University College, London. Bibliography; index.

President Johnson's War On Poverty: Rhetoric and History

Abstract: Analyzes the success or failure of the antipoverty programs in terms of their own discourse.

Development in Malaysia : Poverty, Wealth and Trusteeship

Abstract: Part One 1. The origins of Economic Trusteeship Part Two 2. The Structure and Incidence of Rural Poverty in Malaysia 3. Rural Poverty and Policy Interventions Under Trusteeship 4. Managed Industrialisation Under Trusteeship Part Three 5. Wealth Concentration Under Trusteeship: Corporate and Human Capital 6. The Social Costs of Trusteeship: Deficits, 'Distributional Coalitions' and Quasi-rents Part Four 7. Summing Up: Problems, Prospects and Alternatives Index

Paradigms of Poverty: A Rehabilitation of B.S. Rowntree

Abstract: Rowntree is widely regarded as having originated in 1901 the ‘scientific’ definition of poverty as the minimum income level required for physical subsistence. He is quoted as defining ‘secondary poverty’ above this income level as mismanagement. Critics of this approach confuse Rowntree's use of concepts with his discussion of causes, and they overlook Rowntree's own explanation that his concept of poverty was relativistic life-style, and that his distinction between primary and secondary poverty was a heuristic device to convince individualists that the life-style of the poor was at least in part caused by low income and not by improvidence. Townsend's major life work in defining and measuring poverty as relative deprivation is usually presented as overthrowing Rowntree's paradigm. The paper shows that Rowntree's early views and methods have been widely misunderstood by later authors, and it argues that the evidence necessitates a reconsideration of Rowntree's position, which would show Townsend's achievement as a paradigmatic shift not from absolutist to relativistic models of poverty but from relativistic models based on standards prescribed by expert observers to relativistic models based on standards derived from the whole population by social surveys.

Flight into despair: a profile of recent Haitian refugees in South Florida.

Abstract: Based on a 1983-1984 random sample survey of 499 Haitians who had recently arrived in the US plus participant observation and intensive interviewing this article examines the following areas: 1) individual background characteristics of Haitian immigrants; 2) their arrival and early resettlement experiences; 3) their education knowledge of English and information about the US; 4) current employment status and occupation; 5) income and use of public assistance; 6) predictors of employment occupation and income; and 7) beliefs and orientations. Few immigrant groups in recent history have suffered unemployment downward occupational mobility and poverty to the extent that Haitians have. In part this situation is a consequence of the modest education and occupational training brought by these refugees--above average in the country of origin but significantly below US standards. However even among the better educated and knowledgeable unemployment rates are unacceptably high and occupational status and income extremely low. The 2nd part of the explanation must be found in the reception accorded to this group. Haitians arrived into a social context unprepared to receive them either as economic immigrants or as political refugees. Their claims for political asylum have been repeatedly rejected by the US. The motivation of individuals who crossed 700 miles of open sea to Florida aboard barely seaworthy craft is high enough to succeed but the Haitians inability to gain more than a temporary entrant status weighs heavily against their eventual success.

Empirical Properties of Economic Incentives and Command-and-Control Regulations for Air Pollution Control

Abstract: What are appropriate strategies for protecting the environment in developing countries that also seek to promote growth and reduce poverty? This article reviews the literature on cost-effective intervention, comparing regulatory and fiscal instruments

Child Support, Welfare Dependency, and Poverty

Abstract: Female-headed families have among the highest poverty rates of any major demographic group in the United States. The purpose of this paperis to investigate empirically the effectiveness of current child-support enforcement policies and to determine their role in reducing poverty and welfare dependency. A special supplement to the April 1982 Current Population Survey provides the data for the analysis. The results indicate that child support enforce-ment may represent an effective means for re-ducing welfare program costs but isunlikely to have a dramatic effect on either welfare de-pendency or poverty. Copyright 1986 by American Economic Association.

Food Poverty Profile Applied to Kenyan Smallholders

Abstract: that can be used to test conflicting hypotheses. This paper analyzes data from the First Kenyan Integrated Rural Survey (IRS-I) household expenditure data collected by the Central Bureau of Statistics to estimate the magnitude, distribution of, and factors associated with food poverty among Kenyan small farmers.' The analysis uses a new methodology with three improvements over previous empirical studies: (1) food poverty is estimated using an additively decomposable measure that allows poverty to be distributed among population subgroups, (2) the food poverty line is based on observed dietary preferences in response to regional food prices, and (3) the food poverty measure is adjusted to use regional food poverty lines without sacrificing its theoretical properties or decomposability. This paper consists of two main parts. Section II reviews the methodology underlying the setting of the regional food poverty line. On the basis of a detailed integrated rural survey of Kenyan smallholders, the cost of food consumption corresponding to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of calories is computed. Since this food poverty line was calculated on the basis of the observed diet consumed, it presumably reflects the prevailing regional food preferences and prices faced by households consuming around the calorie RDA level. The next part of Section II presents a food poverty measure that-in addition to satisfying the major fundamental properties of such measuresis decomposable and allows regional food poverty deprivation to be estimated.

The Relief of Poverty, 1834-1914

Abstract: Acknowledgements - Editor's Preface - Introduction - The Extent of Poverty - The Causes of Poverty - The Investigation of Poverty - The Treatment of Poverty - Appendices - Bibliography - Index

Access to ambulatory care services for economically disadvantaged children.

Abstract: Using data from the 1981 Child Health Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey, we examined differences in access to ambulatory services for children of different family incomes. The results indicate that much progress has been made in equalizing access since the War on Poverty was initiated in the mid-1960s. Poor children with superior health status now generally see physicians at the same rates as children in similar health but from higher income families. However, children with substantial health problems from low-income families continue to lag behind their higher income counterparts in similar health. Medicaid was shown to substantially improve access to ambulatory services for economically disadvantaged children in poor health, but less than half of these children are covered by Medicaid. Recent changes in federal and state policies concerning Medicaid are discussed as well as policy options for addressing the needs of children afflicted by both poverty and ill health.

Do Rising Tides Lift All Boats? The Impact of Secular and Cyclical Changes on Poverty

Abstract: Discussions about the antipoverty effects of economic growth in the United States have largely been predicated on John Kennedy's metaphor that a rising tide lifts all boats. But the magnitude of these effects has been a subject of debate since the inception of the War on Poverty (see Lowell Gallaway, 1965, and Henry Aaron, 1967). This debate has public policy as well as academic implications-the greater the antipoverty effectiveness of growth, the less the need for special programs or income supplements during economic expansions. Elsewhere, we have shown that increased real income need not be associated with a decline in poverty (see our 1984 and 1985 papers). In fact, poverty rates did not fall from 1982 to 1983, even though real median income increased. And in 1984 the official poverty rate was about the same as it was in 1967, while real median family income was 7.1 percent above its 1967 level.' If a rising tide was lifting all boats, the tide was late in many harbors. In this paper we examine the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and poverty. Section I argues that several factors now limit the effectiveness of growth in reducing poverty. Section II differentiates the effects of secular economic growth from those of cyclical recoveries. The next section presents our interpretation of the data, followed by a brief conclusion. We show that growth had a large antipoverty effect through the early 1970's, but that the more recent experience has been different because growth rates have slowed and inequality has increased.

The world economic crisis. Part 1: repercussions on health

Abstract: The widesread economic crisis has resulted in a fall in living standards in the western hemisphere of over 9% (1981-83) and in sub-Saharan Africa they have fallen to the levels in 1970. Food production in the African countries most seriously affected by drought dropped by 15% between 1981-83. Living standards also fell in some countries in Europe and in some of the poorest Asian countries. The high cost of fuel the heavy burden of interest payments and unfavorable terms of trade in Africa and Latin America led to serious unemployment devaluation of national currencies and formidable austerity policies. While some countries have succeeded in protecting their health services from cuts in public expenditure in many others cuts in the health budget have been substantial. The effects of the crisis in some countries have amounted to the virtual disintegration of rural health services. There are limited data available to show what has been happening to levels of expenditure on health but those presented have demonstrated that levels of health expenditure/head have fallen in many countries. The cumulative effects on health of increased poverty unemployment underemployment and famine and the reduced capacity of health services to respond to health problems can be documented with facts for a number of countries in Latin America and Africa. Malnutrition has increased and improvements in infant mortality have been checked or reversed. The economic crisis has placed at risk the health of the most vulnerable. (authors)