Cycle of poverty

(noun)

The idea that poverty operates in a dynamic cycle, with the effects of poverty increasing the likelihood that it will be transferred between generations.

Related Terms

Examples of Cycle of poverty in the following topics:

  • The Dynamics of Poverty

    • Poverty operates in a dynamic cycle, with the effects of poverty increasing the likelihood that it will be transferred between generations.
    • This perpetuation of deprivation is the cycle of poverty.
    • The basic premise of the poverty cycle the idea that poverty is a dynamic process—its effects may also be its causes.
    • In economics, the cycle of poverty has been defined as a phenomenon where poor families become trapped in poverty for at least three generations.
    • There are many disadvantages that collectively work in a circular process to make it virtually impossible for individuals to break the cycle of poverty.

  • The Feminization of Poverty

    • The feminization of poverty refers to the fact that women represent a disproportionate share of the world's poor.
    • Recent attempts to reduce global poverty have utilized systems of microcredit, which give small loans to poor households in an attempt to break the cycle of poverty.
    • Women's increasing share of poverty is related to the rising incidence of lone mother households.
    • Though low income is the primary cause of female poverty, there are many interrelated sources of this problem.
    • Microcredit, a system of providing small loans to individuals and families in impoverished areas in an attempt to reverse the cycle of poverty, is almost always distributed to women.

  • Industrialized Countries

    • Factors used to measure a country's development can include: per capita income, level of industrialization, extent of infrastructure, life expectancy, literacy rate, and general standard of living.
    • In terms of global stratification, industrialized countries are at the top of the global hierarchy.
    • One measure of a nation's level of development is the Human Development Index (HDI), a statistical measure developed by the United Nations that gauges a country's level of development.
    • The Human Development Index, along with the entire concept of "developing" and "developed" countries, has been criticized on a number of grounds.
    • Countries with low HDI tend to be caught in a national cycle of poverty -- they have little wealth to invest, but the lack of investment perpetuates their poverty.

  • Poverty

    • Poverty is the condition of not having access to material resources, income, or wealth.
    • Near poverty is when one earns up to 25% above the poverty line; put otherwise, a person near poverty has an income below 125% of the current poverty line.
    • Absolute poverty is the level of poverty where individuals and families cannot meet food, shelter, warmth, and safety needs, while relative poverty refers to economic disadvantage compared to wealthier members of society.
    • Poverty may correspond not only to lack of resources, but to lack of opportunity to improve one's standard of living and acquire resources.
    • Countries with low HDI tend to be caught in a national cycle of poverty -- they have little wealth to invest, but the lack of investment perpetuates their poverty.

  • Measuring Poverty

    • Economic measures of poverty focus on material needs, typically including the necessities of daily living such as food, clothing, shelter, or safe drinking water.
    • Poverty in this sense may be understood as a condition in which a person or community is lacking in the basic needs for a minimum standard of well-being, particularly as a result of a persistent lack of income.
    • Social measures of poverty may include lack of access to information, education, health care, or political power.
    • The World Bank uses this definition of poverty to label extreme poverty as living on less than US $1.25 per day, and moderate poverty as less than $2 or $5 a day.
    • Usually, relative poverty is measured as the percentage of the population with income less than some fixed proportion of median income.

  • Poverty

    • Poverty is the condition of not having access to material resources, income, or wealth.
    • Poverty describes the state of not having access to material resources, wealth, or income.
    • Poverty may correspond not only to lack of resources, but to the lack of opportunity to improve one's standard of living and acquire resources.
    • If there is a high level of social mobility, it is relatively easy for people to leave poverty.
    • While some factors that contribute to poverty are the result of individual choices, such as dropping out of school or committing a crime, other factors affect poverty that are beyond individual control.

  • Points of View: Micro-Meso-Macro

    • The poverty rate in 2003 was 37 percent including 20 percent who are identified as extremely poor.
    • The country is ranked 38 in the Human Poverty Index by the United Nations.
    • Students in central city schools and poverty stricken rural areas often attend rundown schools that lack necessary equipment and teaching materials.
    • Poverty and thoughts related to poverty may take up so many cognitive resources for the poor that it actually impedes cognitive functioning, which accounts, in part, for the lower IQs measured among poor people.
    • The cycle of wealth, power, and prestige continues.

  • Relative Deprivation Approach

    • Relative deprivation is the experience of being deprived of something to which one feels to be entitled.
    • Some scholars explain the rise of social movements by citing the grievances of people who feel that they have been deprived of values to which they are entitled.
    • A specific form of relative deprivation is relative poverty.
    • A measure of relative poverty defines poverty as being below some relative poverty line, such as households who earn less than 20% of the median income.
    • Notice that if everyone's real income in an economy increases, but the income distribution stays the same, the number of people living in relative poverty will not change.

  • Applying Knowledge

    • Students studying sociology can apply their knowledge of inequality and poverty by serving in a number of organizations in the U.S. and around the world.
    • Peace Corps volunteers help individuals and communities around the world improve their quality of life.
    • Census Bureau collects data on income and poverty in the United States.

  • The Lower Class

    • The lower class consists of those at the bottom of the socioeconomic hierarchy who have low education, low income, and low status jobs.
    • The poverty line is defined as the income level at which an individual becomes eligible for public assistance.
    • While only about 12% of households fall below the poverty threshold at one point in time, the total percentage of households that will, at some point during the course of a single year, fall below the poverty line, is much higher.
    • Lower class households are at the greatest risk of falling below this poverty line, particularly if a job holder becomes unemployed.
    • This is a model of the socio-economic stratification of American society, as outlined by Dennis Gilbert.