Causes of poverty

Causes of poverty mainly concern reasons behind the low wealth and
productivity of the poor or, conversely, the shortage and inflation of the
goods they consume.

[edit] Obstacles to productivity

Street children sleeping in Mulberry Street - Jacob Riis photo New York,
United States of America (1890)

People experiencing homelessness living in cardboard boxes in Los

Angeles, California.

The unwillingness of governments and feudal elites to give full-fledged

property rights of land to their tenants is cited as the chief obstacle to
development.[2] This lack of economic freedom inhibits entrepreneurship
among the poor.[3] New enterprises and foreign investment can be driven
away by the results of inefficient institutions, notably corruption, weak rule
of law and excessive bureaucratic burdens.[3][4] It takes two days, two
bureaucratic procedures, and $280 to open a business in Canada while an
entrepreneur in Bolivia must pay $2,696 in fees, wait 82 business days,
and go through 20 procedures to do the same. [3] Such costly barriers favor
big firms at the expense of small enterprises, where most jobs are created.
[3]
In India before economic reforms, businesses had to bribe government
officials even for routine activities, which was a tax on business in effect. [4]
War and political instability also discourage investment. Lack of
opportunities can further be caused by the failure of governments to
provide essential infrastructure.[5][6]. Opportunities in richer countries drives
talent away, leading to brain drains. Brain drain has cost the African
continent over $4 billion in the employment of 150,000 expatriate
professionals annually.[7] Indian students going abroad for their higher
studies costs India a foreign exchange outflow of $10 billion annually. [8]

Poor health and lack of affordable education severely affects productivity.[5]

Inadequate nutrition in childhood undermines the ability of individuals to
develop their full capabilities. Lack of essential minerals such as iodine and
iron can impair brain development. 2 billion people (one-third of the total
global population) are affected by iodine deficiency. In developing
countries, it is estimated that 40% of children aged 4 and younger suffer
from anemia because of insufficient iron in their diets. See also Health and
intelligence.[9] Similarly substance abuse, including for example alcoholism
and drug abuse can consign people to vicious poverty cycles.[10] Infectious
diseases such as Malaria and tuberculosis can perpetuate poverty by
diverting health and economic resources from investment and productivity;
malaria decreases GDP growth by up to 1.3% in some developing nations
and AIDS decreases African growth by 0.3-1.5% annually. [11][12][13]

As a result of the business cycle, poverty rates can increase in recessions

and decline in booms. During the Great Depression, in 1933, 25% of all
workers and 37% of all nonfarm workers in the United States were
unemployed.[14] In New York, one child in every five was hungry. [15]

In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber first
suggested that cultural values could affect economic success, arguing that
the Protestant Reformation led to values that drove people toward worldly
achievements, a hard work ethic, and saving to accumulate wealth. Others
expanded on Weber’s ideas, producing modernization theory and putting
forward a process that all nations should follow to become advanced
industrial nations. [16][17] However, researchers have gathered evidence that
suggest that values are not as deeply ingrained and that changing
economic opportunities explain most of the movement into and out of
poverty, as opposed to shifts in values. [18] Cultural factors, such as
discrimination of various kinds, can negatively affect productivity such as
age discrimination, stereotyping,[19] gender discrimination, racial
discrimination, caste discrimination.[20]

[edit] Shortage of basic needs

Hardwood surgical tables are commonplace in rural Nigerian clinics.

Rises in the costs of living make poor people poorer. Poor people spend a
greater portion of their budgets on food than richer people. As a result poor
households, and those near the poverty threshold can be particularly
vulnerable to increases in Shocks to food prices. For example in late 2007
increases in the price of grains[21] led to food riots in some countries[22][23][24].
The World Bank warned that 100 million people were at risk of sinking
deeper into poverty.[25] Threats to the supply of food may also be caused by
Drought and the water crisis.[26][27][28] Intensive farming often leads to a
vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields.
[29]
Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.
[30] [31]
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. [32]

Health care can be widely unavailable to the poor. There are more
Ethiopian doctors in Chicago than there are in Ethiopia.[33] The drain has a
damaging effect on the Philippine's health care system. It is estimated that
approximately 100,000 nurses emigrated between 1994 and 2006.[34]

Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods.[35][36] Note that

population growth slows or even become negative as poverty is reduced
due to the demographic transition.[37]

Armoede
Spring na: navigasie, soek
'n Jong seun in 'n krotbuurt langs 'n stortterrein in Jakarta, Indonesië, wys
sy vonds.

Armoede is die status waarin 'n indiwidu verkeer wanneer die persoon nie
sy eie, sowel as die mense wat afhanklik is van hom of haar, se basiese
behoeftes kan bevredig nie, en gevolglik nie 'n voldoende lewenstandaard
handhaaf nie.

Oorsake [wysig]

Vir indiwidue wat 'n ondergemiddelde vermoë het om geld te verdien, is die
kans veel groter dat hulle arm sal wees. Hierdie groep mense sluit
gewoonlik die ouer geslag en mense met gestremdhede in. Die gebrek aan
onderwys dra grotendeels by tot die ontstaan van armoede. Lae
ekonomiese ontwikkeling dra ook tot armoede by.

Armoede en ontwikkeling [wysig]

Armoede kan ook aanleiding gee tot dakloosheid, soos hierdie hawelose
man in Parys (Frankryk).
Vroeg in die 21ste eeu leef die helfte van Afrika se bevolking suid van die
Sahara in armoede. Van die 48 minste ontwikkelde lande in die wêreld kom
33 in Afrika voor, waaronder van Suid-Afrika se onmiddellike bure soos
Mosambiek, Lesotho en Angola.

Daar word bereken dat 'n halfbiljoen mense daagliks honger ly en dat
tussen 15 en 20 miljoen jaarliks weens hongersnood sterf. Die gevolg van
armoede, veral onder die plattelandse bevolkings, is dat ál hoe meer
mense na die stede trek. Die afgelope 40 jaar het die stedelike bevolking
van ontwikkelde lande verdubbel, terwyl dit in ontwikkelende lande
vyfvuldig toegeneem het.

references

1. Huston, A. C. (1991). Children in Poverty: Child Development and

Public Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
a b
2. ^ Solley, Bobbie A. (2005). When Poverty’s Children Write:
Celebrating Strengths, Transforming Lives. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann, Inc.
3. ^ Atkins, M. S., McKay, M., Talbott, E., & Arvantis, P. (1996). "DSM-
IV diagnosis of conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder:
Implications and guidelines for school mental health teams," School
Psychology Review, 25, 274-283. Citing: Bell, C. C., & Jenkins, E. J.
(1991). "Traumatic stress and children," Journal of Health Care for
the Poor and Underserved, 2, 175-185.
4. ^ Atkins, M. S., McKay, M., Talbott, E., & Arvantis, P. (1996). "DSM-
IV diagnosis of conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder:
Implications and guidelines for school mental health teams," School
Psychology Review, 25, 274-283. Citing: Osofsky, J. D., Wewers, S.,
Harm, D. M., & Fick, A. C. (1993). "Chronic community violence:
What is happening to our children?," Psychiatry, 56, 36-45; and,
Richters, J. E., & Martinez, P (1993). "The NIMH community violence
project: Vol. 1. Children as victims of and witnesses to violence,"
Psychiatry, 56, 7-21.

5. Poverty has many causes, some of them very basic. Some experts
suggest, for instance, that the world has too many people, too few
jobs, and not enough food. But such basic causes are quite
intractable and not easily eradicated. In most cases, the causes and
effects of poverty interact, so that what makes people poor also
 creates conditions that keep them poor. Primary factors that may lead
to poverty include (1) overpopulation, (2) the unequal distribution of
resources in the world economy, (3) inability to meet high standards
of living and costs of living, (4) inadequate education and
employment opportunities, (5) environmental degradation, (6) certain
economic and demographic trends, and (7) welfare incentives.

Overpopulation

6. Overpopulation, the situation of having large numbers of people with

too few resources and too little space, is closely associated with
poverty. It can result from high population density (the ratio of people
to land area, usually expressed as numbers of persons per square
kilometer or square mile) or from low amounts of resources, or from
both. Excessively high population densities put stress on available
resources. Only a certain number of people can be supported on a
given area of land, and that number depends on how much food and
other resources the land can provide. In countries where people live
primarily by means of simple farming, gardening, herding, hunting,
and gathering, even large areas of land can support only small
numbers of people because these labor-intensive subsistence
activities produce only small amounts of food.

Global Distribution of Resources

7. Many experts agree that the legacy of colonialism accounts for much
of the unequal distribution of resources in the world economy. In
many developing countries, the problems of poverty are massive and
pervasive. In recent decades most of these countries have tried to
develop their economies with industry and technology with varying
levels of success. Some nations have become fairly wealthy,
including the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South
Korea, and Thailand. Many developing countries, however, lack
essential raw materials and the knowledge and skills gained through
formal education and training. They also often lack the infrastructure
provided by, for example, transportation systems and power-
 generating facilities. Because these things are necessary for the
development of industry, developing countries generally must rely on
trade with developed countries for manufactured goods, but they
cannot afford much.

High Standards of Living and Costs of Living

8. Because people in developed nations may have more wealth and

resources than those in developing countries, their standard of living
is also generally higher. Thus, people who have what would be
considered adequate wealth and resources in developing countries
may be considered poor in developed countries. People in the United
States, for example, may expect to make, on average, about $30,000
each year. They also probably expect to rent an apartment or own a
house with electricity and running water, to be able to afford to eat
and dress well, and to receive quality health care. In addition, many
people aspire to afford discretionary expenses—that is, purchases
unessential to survival, such as cars, higher-priced foods, and
entertainment.
9. In contrast, people in developing countries may consider themselves
to be doing well if they have productive gardens, some livestock, and
a house of thatch or mud-brick. In rural areas, people may be
accustomed to not having plumbing, electricity, or formal health care.
By the standards of developed countries, such living conditions are
considered hallmarks of poverty.

Inadequate Education and Employment

10. Illiteracy and lack of education are common in poor countries.

Governments of developing countries often cannot afford to provide
for good public schools, especially in rural areas. Whereas virtually all
children in industrialized countries have access to an education, only
about 60 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa even attend
elementary school. Without education, most people cannot find
income-generating work. Poor people also often forego schooling in
order to concentrate on making a minimal living. In addition,
 developing countries tend to have few employment opportunities,
especially for women. As a result, people may see little reason to go
to school.

Environmental Degradation

11. In many parts of the world, environmental degradation—the

deterioration of the natural environment, including the atmosphere,
bodies of water, soil, and forests—is an important cause of poverty.
Environmental problems have led to shortages of food, clean water,
materials for shelter, and other essential resources. As forests, land,
air, and water are degraded, people who live directly off these natural
resources suffer most from the effects. People in developed
countries, on the other hand, have technologies and conveniences
such as air and water filters, refined fuels, and industrially produced
and stored foods to buffer themselves from the effects of
environmental degradation.

Economic and Demographic Trends

12. Poverty in many developed countries can be linked to economic

trends. In the 1950s and 1960s, for example, most people in the
United States experienced strong income growth. Taking inflation into
account, average family income almost doubled during this period.
However, between the early 1970s and the early 1990s typical
incomes, adjusted for inflation, grew little while the cost of living
increased. Periods of economic recession tend to particularly affect
young and less-educated people, who may have difficulty finding jobs
that pay enough to support themselves.

Individual Responsibility and Welfare Dependency

13. There are differing beliefs about individual responsibility for

poverty. Some people believe that poverty is a symptom of societal
 structure and that some proportion of any society inevitably will be
poor. Others feel that poverty results from a failure of social
institutions, such as the labor market and schools. These people feel
that poverty is beyond the control of those who experience it, but
might be remedied if appropriate policies were enacted. Other people
feel that the poor intentionally behave in ways that cause or
perpetuate their poverty. For instance, if people voluntarily choose to
use drugs and this leads them to poverty, it can be argued that they
are to blame for their situation. However, such an argument cannot
completely explain cases in which poverty leads to drug dependence.

14. Suid-Afrika word vandag as een van die gevorderde ontwikkelende

lande gereken, en sommige stedelike gebiede beskik reeds oor die
infrastruktuur van 'n tipiese nywerheidsland. Nogtans toon groot dele
van die land die kenmerke van 'n ontwikkelende land, en meer as die
helfte van die Swart bevolking leef tans onder die broodlyn.

15. Suid-Afrika het in die jare ná die algemene verkiesing van 1994 in die
rigting van 'n vrye markekonomie beweeg, wat ook sy sosiale
verantwoordelikheid teenoor minderbevoorregtes erken. Die
transformasie van die ekonomie is nog nie afgesluit nie, en die
regering spits hom tans veral op die bestryding van armoede en
werkloosheid toe. Die ekonomiese gelykstelling van voorheen-
benadeeldes soos vroue, nie-blankes en gestremdes en breë-basis
Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging geniet tans besondere aandag. Met
sy strewe om meer geleenthede aan hierdie benadeeldes te bied en
daarmee gepaardgaande maatreëls soos regstellende aksie loop die
regering egter ook gevaar om die steun van baie hoogs opgeleide
blankes te verloor. Honderdduisende blankes het hulle reeds in
oorsese lande gevestig. Daarnaas gooi die VIGS-pandemie en die
hoë vlakke van misdaad en geweldpleging 'n skadu oor die land se
ekonomiese toekoms.

Die bestryding van armoede [wysig]

Suid-Afrika word as 'n middelinkomsteland geklassifiseer. Nogtans word

die meeste Suid-Afrikaners volgens internasionale standaarde as arm
beskou. Die inkomste van Swart huishoudings het tussen 2000 en 2005
met sowat 9 persent gestyg, en sedert 1994 het 'n bykomende nege
miljoen mense toegang tot skoon water en 1,5 miljoen huishoudings
toegang tot elektrisiteit gekry. Van Suid-Afrika se 10,7 miljoen huishoudings
het in 2005 meer as drie miljoen nog steeds geen toegang tot elektrisiteit,
en ag miljoen van sy 43 miljoen inwoners het geen regstreekse toegang tot
skoon water nie.

Daar het wél 'n herverdeling van inkomste plaasgevind. Tussen 1970 en
1990 het die Blanke bevolking se aandeel aan die totae inkomste van 71
tot 54 persent gedaal, terwyl Swartmense se aandeel tot 33 persent gestyg
het. Die rykste tien persent van die bevolking was in 1975 merendeels
Blankes (95 persent), in 1996 egter nog net 22 persent.

verwysings

1. Der Fischer Weltalmanach 2007. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer

Taschenbuch Verlag 2006, bl. 457
2. ^ Gilroy, Bernard Michael; Gries, Thomas en Naudé, Willem A.
(uitgewers): Multinational Enterprises, Foreign Direct Investment and
Growth in Africa. South African Perspectives. Heidelberg (Duitsland):
Physica 2005, bl. 166
3. ^ Gilroy/Gries/Naudé (2005), bl. 249
4. ^ South African Business Guidebook 1999-2000, 4de uitgawe,
WriteStuff Publishing 2000, bl. 88
5. ^ Naudé, W. en Krugell, W. (Noordwes-Universiteit, Suid-Afrika):
Human Resource Development: A Sine Qua Non for Foreign Direct
Investment in South Africa. In: Gilroy/Gries/Naudé (2005), bl.249-250

6. Meer as ’n miljoen Suid-Afrikaanse werkloses kon dalk ’n werk gehad

het as Suid-Afrika nie die laaste paar jaar ’n toestroming van
hoofsaaklik onwettige immigrante ervaar het nie.

7. Dit is die resultate van ramings wat ekonome vir Sake-Rapport

gedoen het oor die invloed wat onwettige immigrante op die
arbeidstoneel in Suid-Afrika het.

8. Ramings dui daarop dat enigiets van 1 miljoen tot 2,8 miljoen van
hulle poste beklee wat dalk aan Suid-Afrikaners werk kon gegee het.

9. Omdat Statistieke Suid-Afrika (SSA) nie onwettige immigrante in sy

bevolking- en arbeidsyfers insluit nie, is die kans goed dat die aantal
werkgeleenthede in Suid-Afrika deur die amptelike statistieke
onderskat word.
dit lei na armoede in ons land

Dobbelary : rook drank drugs

Werkloosheid

Onwettige immigrante

Hoë standaard van lewenskoste

Belasting

Oorpopulasie

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