Question

Briefly describe the difference between temporary and chronic poverty. Give examples

Answer 1

People in chronic poverty have benefited least from economic growth and development. They, and their children, will make up the majority of the 900 million people who will still be in poverty in 2015, even if the Millennium Development Goals are met. International efforts to reduce poverty cannot be selectively applied, with chronically poor people excluded on the basis that they are too hard to reach.

The MDGs can be fully achieved only if chronic poverty is tackled effectively. This means that understanding the manifestations, attributes and social dynamics of chronic poverty to develop additional national and international interventions is crucial.

Absolute poverty:

When a household does not have sufficient income to sustain even a basic acceptable standard of living / meet basic needs
Absolute poverty thresholds will vary between developed and developing countries
The extreme poverty measure now used by the World Bank is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day (PPP)
Relative poverty

A level of household income that is considerably lower than the median level of income within a country
The official UK relative poverty line is household disposable income (adjusted for household size) of less than 60% of median income.

The UN Human Rights Council has defined poverty as “A human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights”.

Poverty manifests itself in the form of both absolute poverty as well as relative poverty