Who are Characterised as the Poor in the Society - Article Example

Who are characterised as the poor in the society' Discuss with reference to social issue policy and strategies for reducing poverty Introduction Poverty is one of the most significant social problems in modern society. In fact, poverty has been traditionally a criterion for the differentiation of people within a particular society. The issue of poverty has been extensively examined by theorists and researchers in the context of social and political initiatives taken through the years for the improvement of life of poor. The study of Chapman et al. (2006, 102) showed that 'late 19th century novels provide graphic descriptions of working and living conditions and their impact on population health, in particular the detrimental effects of hunger, poor housing, environmental conditions, hazardous work and poor pay, smoking and alcohol and crime, but also the transformative possibilities of social and political action'. The above novels - because of their popularity among people internationally have helped towards the promotion of a series of measures for the reduction of poverty both by governmental and non-governmental organizations. Current paper examines the effectiveness of policies and strategies used for the reduction of poverty by states within the international community. It is proved that poverty is a problem that has been extensively addressed by all governments worldwide but the initiatives taken for its reduction have been either limited or inappropriately designed. 2. Poverty - definition and characteristics Poverty has been defined using many different descriptions. In accordance with a definition given by U.S. researchers, poverty is 'the state of living in a family with income below the federally defined poverty line' [1]. In accordance with a definition given by the Business Dictionary (2007) poverty trap is 'situation created by tax laws and income related social security benefits that prevents people from climbing out of welfare dependency' [2]. On the other hand, Hagenaars (1985, 137) supported that 'if poverty is seen to be a situation of absolute deprivation, a poverty line will usually be defined to be independent of the general style of living in society; if poverty is considered to be a situation of relative deprivation, a poverty line will be defined in relation to the general style of living in society'. Many efforts have been made in order to identify the key elements of poverty as it can be observed in societies around the world. In accordance with Woolcock (2007,1) 'in recognizing that poverty is "multi-dimensional", contemporary policy discourses - drawing on scholarship on 'networks', 'exclusion', and 'culture' - have made important (if often underappreciated) steps to incorporate insights from social and political theory, but these (hardwon) gains now need to be consolidated, advanced and sharpened'. In other words poverty can be considered as having many aspects; however it is clear that it is closely related with the social and political conditions of a particular country being influenced by the choices and the policies of the governmental authorities in each specific region. However, it should be noticed that the external characteristics of poverty are common in all countries within the international community; just the causes of poverty can be differentiated in each particular state taking into account the social and cultural characteristics of each society and the response of local governments to the needs of citizens in all aspects of daily human activities - with an emphasis on the health sector. 3. Strategies for reducing poverty The policies applied by governments around the world in order to reduce poverty tend to differentiate - under the terms explained in the previous section. As for the appropriateness of the methods used for the reduction of poverty and the range of available solutions towards this direction, many suggestions have been made based on different sociological and political criteria. In this context, it is noticed by Cho (2004, 1) that 'technology is only one instrument for helping the poor, and it is not always the most effective one; its role must be seen within the broader context of rural development and grassroots development efforts'. Apart from technology other 'supportive tools' of everyday life have been also engaged in order to support the reduction of poverty worldwide. On the other hand, it is supported by Sahn et al. (2004) that in order for poverty to be reduced emphasis should be paid on particular sectors of daily social and political life, like the following ones: 'human resource development, vulnerability and risk management, and fiscal management through decentralisation' (Sahn et al., 2004, 66) National and international organizations In order for the reduction of poverty to be achieved, it is necessary that both national and international authorities cooperate effectively aiming at the limitation of the events that lead to the development of poverty within the international community (and within a specific country). However, it seems that in any case the role of the governmental authorities should be further developed. As an example, Porter (2003) refers to the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the reduction of poverty worldwide with a special reference to Ghana. His study in the above country showed that 'local understandings about poverty are being overridden by so-called programmes of partnership support that erode local confidence in home-grown ideas about poverty and how to combat it' (Porter, 2003, 131). In other words, the reaction of governmental and non-governmental authorities in the development of poverty cannot be estimated or evaluated in advance. In fact, it can be highly differentiated in accordance with the social and political structure of each specific country as well as its financial strength to respond to the realization of specific plans against poverty. Towards this direction Gien et al. (2007) examined the policies applied by the government of Vietnam in order for the poverty in the country to be reduced. The plan used in the above case focused on 'the reduction of poverty and the enhancement of human development through improving public health and social services in rural Vietnam and was achieved by training the trainers and building capacity for the social workers; as a result, all the project's objectives were achieved beyond original expectations' (Gien et al., 2007, 304). The plan used by the government of Vietnam regarding the reduction of poverty in the country can be considered as well structured and effective - if taking into account the results produced. It seems that appropriately structured social services can improve the quality of life of citizens within any country around the world even if the level of poverty within the specific country is relatively high. From a similar point of view, it is stated by Allen (2007) that 'family planning plays a pivotal role in population growth, poverty reduction, and human development; failure to sustain family planning programs, both domestically and abroad, will lead to increased population growth and poorer health worldwide, especially among the poor' (Allen, 2007, 110). However, in order for the above plans to be successful (in relation with the target required) they should be appropriately designed and aligned with the needs of local population. On the other hand, initiatives made in particular sectors (e.g. healthcare) cannot be successful unless they are supported by relevant governmental plans. For this reason it is supported by Williamson et al. (1999) that 'policy makers in the health sector cannot independently reduce poverty; instead they should work collaboratively with their counterparts from a broad range of government and non-government sectors to develop an innovative network of social assistance, economic and employment policies that effectively reduce poverty within a specific region' (Williamson et al., 1999, 355). In other words, the efforts made by the leaders of institutions and organizations in order to reduce poverty should be developed in accordance with the existed governmental policies regarding this problem; independent initiatives for the reduction of poverty are welcomed but they should meet specific criteria in order to ensure their effectiveness in the long term. It should be noticed that the provision of aid to specific regions worldwide (like in the case of Africa) has not been proved to be sufficient for the limitation of poverty in the relevant regions. More specifically, in accordance with the study of Arvin et al. (2002) while the reduction of poverty is the main target of the organizational and the individuals that provide aid to people that suffer from poverty in the long term their efforts do not effectively support the reduction of poverty; these initiatives could be considered just as temporary measures for meeting the needs of local population in basic goods. 4. Conclusion In accordance with the issues developed above, it could be noticed that poverty is a major social problem for governments worldwide. On the other hand, poverty is not observed only in developing countries (as one could expect) but also in developed ones. In the case of Britain 'it has been noted that the failure to meet the target set by the government for reducing the head count ratio of child poverty in the country is partly due to the failure of government policy in generating economic growth' (Angeriz et al., 2007, 995). In other words, when the governmental policies are focused on the financial development of the country ignoring the conditions of life of the 'weakest' part of the population it would be expected that poverty within the specific country will be increased. This fact can have many consequences in the country's social life. The increase of crime within specific region has been found to be related with poverty. The above issue which was examined by Allen (2007) led to the conclusion that governments around the world should make additional efforts in order to reduce poverty; temporary measures cannot offer significant help to poor people around the world. A long-term strategy would be required instead in order for the conditions of life of millions of people (who are characterized as poor) to be improved. References Allen, R. (2007) The Role of Family Planning in Poverty Reduction. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 110: 999-1002 Angeriz, A., Chakravarty, S. (2007) Changing Patterns of UK poverty, 1997-2004. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 31(6): 995-1006 Arvin, B., Barillas, F. (2002) Foreign aid, poverty reduction and democracy. Applied Economics, 34(17): 2151-2156 Chapman, P., Kawachi, I. (2006) Paths to and from poverty in late 19th century novels. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60: 102-107 Cho, K. (2004) Rural Poverty Reduction through Research for Development and Transformation. Deutscher Tropentag, October 5 - 7, 2004 in Berlin, [online], available at http://www.tropentag.de/2004/abstracts/links/Cho_y1wU3G5x.php Hagenaars, A., Praag, B. (1985) A SYNTHESIS OF POVERTY LINE DEFINITIONS. Review of Income and Wealth 31 (2), 139-154 Lan. G., Sharon T., Ken B., Nguyen T., Bui X. M., Nguyen T. L. (2007) Poverty reduction by improving health and social services in Vietnam. Nursing & Health Sciences 9 (4), 304-309 Porter, G. (2003) NGOs and poverty reduction in a globalizing world: perspectives from Ghana. Progress in Development Studies, 3(2): 131-145 Sahn, D., Younger, S. (2004) Growth and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa: Macroeconomic Adjustment and Beyond. Journal of African Economies, 13: 66-95 Williamson, D., Reutter, L. (1999) Defining and measuring poverty: implications for the health of Canadians. Health Promotion International, 14(4): 355-364 Woolcock, M. (2007) Toward an Economic Sociology of Chronic Poverty: Enhancing the Rigor and Relevance of Social Theory. Working Paper 104. Manchester: IDPM/Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) Websites http://economics.about.com/od/economicsglossary/g/poverty.htm [1] http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/poverty-trap.html [2] Read More