Poverty

Poverty – is a shortage, deficit or lack of personal resources.Necessities - Required resources that all citizens are entitled to. (food, shelter, clothes)Want – an item or resource that an individual desires but is deemed non-essential

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Poverty is one of the most important factors

influencing human life

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It is an indicator of a country’s relative status within the world

It is a relative term as individual wants and needs vary from place to

place

UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

HDI IS BASED ON THREE INDICATORS:

(Life expectancy, Literacy Rates, Per Capital GDP.

1. Life Expectancy– A baby girl born in Canada can expect to live to 85 years of age,

have sufficient food, vaccinations and a good education. On average she will have $550 spent on medication per year for her needs, with more available if necessary.

If she were born in Sierra Leone she would have a life expectancy of just 36 years, not be immunized, be undernourished and if she survived childhood would marry as a teenager and give birth to six children. Childbirth would represent a high risk to her. One or more of her children would die in infancy. She could expect only $3 a year to be spent on medication.

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2. Literacy Rates– Determined by calculating adult and youth

literacy rates, primary and secondary school enrolment, % of children who reach 5th grade and the # of students who enroll in math, science and engineering programs at the end of secondary school careers

– South Asian, Sub-Saharan and Arabic countries tend to have the lowest literacy rates, as low as 20-30%

– Canada’s literacy rate is 99%

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3. Per Capita GDP– Gross Domestic Product is the sum total of all goods and

services produced over a period of time within a country.– The poorest countries have as low as $400GDP per

capita– Canada’s is $22 000GDP per capita

• The 2006 UN Human Development Report listed these countries:

• Top 5 Norway / Iceland / Australia / Ireland / Sweden / Canada

• Bottom 5 Niger / Sierra Leone / Mali / Burkina Faso / Guinea-Bisseau

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2013 (Based on 2012 info)

What causes poverty throughout the world? – Copy onto your note sheet

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1. War and international conflict

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2. Natural catastrophes***

3. Low levels of education = no personal choices

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4. Lack of natural resources

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5. Mounting debt ***

4. Poverty can be a trap that turns into a cycle – difficult to get out of

(put into own words briefly for your notes)

The Poverty Cycle – page 347 of old Counterpoints

Family in debt

Baby born to a Malnourished mother

Baby’s developmentis slowed

Poor nutrition &medical care

Physical/mentaldevelopment slowed

Poor performance in schoolLow literacy

level

Reduced likelihoodOf economic success

Limited diet,Poor general health

Many young;Few job prospects

Solutions?

1. International Monetary Fund

The IMF uses “Structural Adjustment Policies” (SAPS) as

conditions to receiving loans

Organization of 184 Countries who provide loans to poor countries. Money can only be used to help a country balance their budget.

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2. The World Bank

Agency of the UN – Provides Loans and Grants to poor countries. Money can be used for development projects.

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3. Forgiving Debt…

Debt payments in developing countries takes money away from the development of services that could improve their standard of

living.

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Factoids!

• For every US $1 received in Aid, the world’s most impoverished countries repay $13 on old debts.

• Debt payments in some countries are 3X the amount spent on healthcare. (ie: US $22 on debt, $14 on Education, $8 on Healthcare.)

• Every African man, woman, child owes US $357 to Northern Creditors. They live on 27 cents per day!

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TRADITIONAL ECONOMY – subsistence agriculture (low productivity)

DEVELOPING ECONOMY – new technology and infrastructure increase productivity, such as transportation and banking

DEVELOPED ECONOMY – diverse areas of wealth generation, strong secondary industries and dominant tertiary industries. Massive consumption of consumer goods and services. Market economy based on supply and demand of capitalism!