15 1 Poverty Poverty is complex and multi-faceted, a constellation of issues rather than a single problem. There are more concepts of poverty than it is possible to discuss in this book, but in previous work I have argued that it is possible to see several clusters of meaning – ‘families’ of interrelated concepts.1 Some concepts of poverty relate to material conditions: y A generally low standard of living, where poverty becomes a struggle to manage in everyday life. The World Bank has described poverty as ‘the inability to attain a minimal standard of
63 THREE Poverty Introduction We now turn to explore themes from the literature on poverty to get a firmer grasp of the goods people need to have and what they need to be able to do if they are to be included in mainstream society. The relationship between ‘having’ and ‘doing’ needs to be unpacked, as do their implications for identity, status and social acceptance (drawing on Walzer’s observation that ‘being’ and ‘doing’ have as much to do with distributive justice as ‘having’). As discussed in the previous chapter, tangible goods can convey intangible
Winner of the British Academy Peter Townsend Prize for 2013
How do men and women get by in times and places where opportunities for standard employment have drastically reduced? Are we witnessing the growth of a new class, the ‘Precariat’, where people exist without predictability or security in their lives? What effects do flexible and insecure forms of work have on material and psychological well-being?
This book is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between social exclusion, poverty and the labour market. It challenges long-standing and dominant myths about ‘the workless’ and ‘the poor’, by exploring close-up the lived realities of life in low-pay, no-pay Britain. Work may be ‘the best route out of poverty’ sometimes but for many people getting a job can be just a turn in the cycle of recurrent poverty – and of long-term churning between low-skilled ‘poor work’ and unemployment. Based on unique qualitative, life-history research with a ‘hard-to-reach group’ of younger and older people, men and women, the book shows how poverty and insecurity have now become the defining features of working life for many.
In this persuasive study, social welfare and policy expert Paul Spicker makes a case for a relational view of poverty.
Poverty is much more than a lack of resources. It involves a complex set of social relationships, such as economic disadvantage, insecurity or a lack of rights. These relational elements tell us what poverty is – what it consists of, what poor people are experiencing, and what problems need to be addressed.
This book examines poverty in the context of the economy, society and the political community, considering how states can respond to issues of inequality, exclusion and powerlessness. Drawing on examples of social policy in both rich and poor countries, this is an accessible contribution to the debate about the nature of poverty and responses to it.
1 Introduction: Representations of poverty This book is about poverty. It is distinctive in two ways: in the case it makes for a relational view of poverty, and in its attempt to draw out common themes relating to developed and developing countries. Poverty is represented in many different ways. Here are some examples from around the world. ‘Many of the world’s poorest people are women who must, as the primary family caretakers and producers of food, shoulder the burden of tilling land, grinding grain, carrying water and cooking. This is no easy burden
Naomi Eisenstadt and Carey Oppenheim explore the radical changes in public attitudes and public policy concerning parents and parenting. Drawing on research and their extensive experience of working at senior levels of government, the authors challenge expectations about what parenting policy on its own can deliver.
They argue convincingly that a more joined-up approach is needed to improve outcomes for children: both reducing child poverty and improving parental capacity by providing better support systems. This is vital reading for policymakers at central and local government level as well as those campaigning for the rights of children.
FoUR Poverty nobody seriously defends poverty, and few doubt the intrinsic value of strategies aimed at its eradication, but there is less agreement on exactly what ‘poverty’ is. It conjures up images of starving children in Africa, homeless beggars outside the theatre or downtrodden parents struggling to make ends meet. numerous factors contribute to the confusion. Political values are influential, the right-wing perspective generally more at ease with harsher, subsistence thresholds. Then there are different languages and cultures; Persian alone has over
FIVE Poverty Jonathan Bradshaw In the 10 years between the mid-1950s and the mid-1960s Peter Townsend published three of the most outstanding social policy studies ever produced in this country. In 1957 he published his superb interview and observational study, The family life of old people. Then in 1962 he published The last refuge, a survey of residential institutions for the aged. Even today no one can fail to be transfixed by this combination of empirical research, passionate, beautiful writing and outrage at the conditions of old people in Poor Law
This book analyses government relationships with international financial institutions by evaluating the role of citizen participation when national poverty reduction policies are formulated in low-income countries. Based on in-depth research from Bangladesh, the concept of participation is investigated from the contrasting perspectives of theory and practice. The first part of the book explores the rhetoric of participation in development policies, while the second part presents empirical evidence of participation in the formulation of Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper where, at local level, development brokers play an important role. It argues that participatory policies are not enough, that an overhaul is needed in the approach to poverty reduction which will require strong political commitment.
This topical book will make essential reading for academics, students and researchers in international development studies and poverty-related fields.
The largest UK research study on poverty and social exclusion ever conducted reveals startling levels of deprivation. 18m people are unable to afford adequate housing; 14m can’t afford essential household goods; and nearly half the population have some form of financial insecurity.
Defining poverty as those whose lack of resources forces them to live below a publicly agreed minimum standard, this text provides unique and detailed insights into the nature and extent of poverty and social exclusion in the UK today.
Written by a team of leading academics, the book reports on the extent and nature of poverty for different social groups: older and younger people; parents and children; ethnic groups; men and women; disabled people; and across regions through the recent period of austerity. It reflects on where government policies have made an impact and considers potential future developments.
A companion volume Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK Volume 2 focuses on different aspects of poverty and social exclusion identified in the study.
