Causes of Poverty — Global Issues Global IssuesSocial, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us AllMain menu:HomeAboutIssuesWhats NewSupportContactYou are here:HomeIssuesCauses of PovertyCauses of PovertyAuthor and Page informationby Anup ShahThis Page Last Updated Wednesday, September 03, 2008This page: http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty.To print all information e.g. expanded side notes, shows alternative links, use the print version:http://www.globalissues.org/print/issue/2Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s 7 richest people combined.Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).— More Facts (and Sources) »Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed.Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization are global decisions, policies, and practices. These are typically influenced, driven, or formulated by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors such as multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people.In the face of such enormous external influence, the governments of poor nations and their people are often powerless. As a result, in the global context, a few get wealthy while the majority struggle.These next few articles and sections explore various poverty issues in more depth:Articles on “Causes of Poverty”:Poverty Facts and StatsLast updated Wednesday, September 03, 2008.Most of humanity lives on just a few dollars a day. Whether you live in the wealthiest nations in the world or the poorest, you will see high levels of inequality. The poorest people will also have less access to health, education and other services. Problems of hunger, malnutrition and disease afflict the poorest in society. The poorest are also typically marginalized from society and have little representation or voice in public and political debates, making it even harder to escape poverty. By contrast, the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to benefit from economic or political policies. The amount the world spends on military, financial bailouts and other areas that benefit the wealthy, compared to the amount spent to address the daily crisis of poverty and related problems are often staggering. Some facts and figures on poverty are an eye-opener, to say the least.Read “Poverty Facts and Stats” to learn more.Structural Adjustment—a Major Cause of PovertyLast updated Monday, July 02, 2007.Cutbacks in health, education and other vital social services around the world have resulted from structural adjustment policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as conditions for loans and repayment. In addition, developing nation governments are required to open their economies to compete with each other and with more powerful and established industrialized nations. To attract investment, poor countries enter a spiraling race to the bottom to see who can provide lower standards, reduced wages and cheaper resources. This has increased poverty and inequality for most people. It also forms a backbone to what we today call globalization. As a result, it maintains the historic unequal rules of trade.Read “Structural Adjustment—a Major Cause of Poverty” to learn more.Poverty Around The WorldLast updated Wednesday, September 03, 2008.Inequality is increasing around the world while the world appears to globalize. Even the wealthiest nation has the largest gap between rich and poor compared to other developed nations. In many cases, international politics and various interests have led to a diversion of available resources from domestic needs to western markets. Historically, politics and power play by the elite leaders and rulers have increased poverty and dependency. These have often manifested themselves in wars, hot and cold, which have often been trade- and resource-related. Mercantilist practices, while presented as free trade, still happen today. Poverty is therefore not just an economic issue, it is also an issue of political economics.Read “Poverty Around The World” to learn more.Today, over 26,500 children died around the worldLast updated Thursday, January 31, 2008.Around the world, 27–30,000 children die every day. That is equivalent to 1 child dying every 3 seconds, 20 children dying every minute, a 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every week, or 10–11 million children dying every year. Over 50 million children died between 2000 and 2005. The silent killers are poverty, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.Read “Today, over 26,500 children died around the world” to learn more.World Hunger and PovertyLast updated Sunday, July 06, 2008.Read “World Hunger and Poverty” to learn more.Food Dumping [Aid] Maintains PovertyLast updated Monday, December 10, 2007.Read “Food Dumping [Aid] Maintains Poverty” to learn more.Food and Agriculture IssuesLast updated Sunday, July 06, 2008.Read “Food and Agriculture Issues” to learn more.Trade, Economy, & Related IssuesLast updated Sunday, October 05, 2008.Read “Trade, Economy, & Related Issues” to learn more.CorruptionLast updated Sunday, September 23, 2007.We often hear leaders from rich countries telling poor countries that aid and loans will only be given when they show they are stamping out corruption. While that definitely needs to happen, the rich countries themselves are often active in the largest forms of corruption in those poor countries, and many economic policies they prescribe have exacerbated the problem. Corruption in developing countries definitely must be high on the priority lists, but so too must it be on the priority lists of rich countries.Read “Corruption” to learn more.US and Foreign Aid AssistanceLast updated Sunday, April 27, 2008.Since 1970, the world’s rich countries agreed to give 0.7% of their gross national income as official international development aid. Since that time, billions have certainly been given, but rarely have these rich nations actually met their agreed target. For example, the US is often the largest donor in dollar terms, but often ranks amongst the lowest in terms of meeting the stated 0.7% target. Furthermore, aid has often come with a price of its own for the developing nations. This article explores who has benefited most from this aid, the recipients or the donors.Read “US and Foreign Aid Assistance” to learn more.United Nations World Summit 2005Last updated Sunday, September 18, 2005.The UN World Summit for September 2005 is supposed to review progress since the Millennium Declaration, adopted by all Member States in 2000. However, the US has proposed enormous changes to an outcome document that is to be signed by all members. There are changes on almost all accounts, including striking any mention of the Millennium Development Goals, that aim for example, to halve poverty and world hunger by 2015. This has led to concerns that the outcome document will be weakened. Developing countries are also worried about stronger text on human rights and about giving the UN Security Council more powers.Read “United Nations World Summit 2005” to learn more.IMF & World Bank Protests, Washington D.C.Last updated Friday, July 13, 2001.To complement the public protests in Seattle, the week leading up to April 16th/17th 2000 saw the other two global institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, as the focus of renewed protests and criticisms in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the mass demonstrations was to protest against the current form of globalization, which is seen as unaccountable, corporate-led, and non-democratic, and to show the link between poverty and the various policies of the IMF and the World Bank.Read “IMF & World Bank Protests, Washington D.C.” to learn more.Economic DemocracyPosted Sunday, November 26, 2000.This next page is a reposting of a flyer about a new book from J.W. Smith and the Institute for Economic Democracy, whom I thank for their kind permission. The book is called Economic Democracy: The Political Struggle Of The 21st Century. Typically on this site, I do not advertise books etc, (although I will cite from and link to some, where relevant). However, in this case, I found that the text in the flyer provides an excellent summary of poverty's historic roots, as well as of the multitude of issues that cause poverty. (Please also note that I do not make any proceeds from the sale of this book in any way.)Read “Economic Democracy” to learn more.Poverty Links for More InformationLast updated Monday, April 28, 2003.Links to other sites discussion issues on trade, the global economy, poverty and other related issues.Read “Poverty Links for More Information” to learn more.Trade, Economic Links For More InformationLast updated Wednesday, July 25, 2001.Read “Trade, Economic Links For More Information” to learn more.World hunger related links for more informationLast updated Monday, December 10, 2007.Links to web sites and articles that discuss world hunger, the relationship between populations and hunger, of poverty and hunger, agricultural issues, land rights and so on.Read “World hunger related links for more information” to learn more.Bookmark this page with:Bookmark or share this with others using some popular social bookmarking web sites: Digg Facebook StumbleUpon del.icio.us Reddit GoogleWant to link to this page on your site/blog?Use the following HTML code on your page:<p>Anup Shah, <a href="http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty">Causes of Poverty</a>, GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Wednesday, September 03, 2008</p>… to produce this:Anup Shah, Causes of Poverty, GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Wednesday, September 03, 2008Other optionsFind this page/site useful?Let a friend knowSupport this siteOther optionsPrintable VersionFeedbackAuthor and Page Informationby Anup ShahCreated: Monday, July 20, 1998Last Updated: Wednesday, September 03, 2008Back to topNavigationSearch this siteSubscribe to the RSS Web FeedOr Get Free Email UpdatesPage-related navigationRelated ArticlesPoverty Facts and StatsStructural AdjustmentPoverty Around The World26,500 children died todayCorruptionUS & Foreign AidUN World Summit 2005IMF & WB ProtestsEconomic DemocracyPoverty linksTrade, Economic LinksWorld Hunger LinksRelated IssuesWorld Hunger & Poverty (3)Food Dumping [Aid] (3)Food and Agriculture (21)Trade, Economic Issues (68)Related VideosMartin Khor: Debt Part 1Martin Khor: Debt Part 2Martin Khor: Structural Adjustment ExplainedDumisani Nyoni: Poverty UnderstoodSite navigationPage OptionsPrintable VersionEmail Page to a FriendBookmark this pageDiggFacebookStumbleUpondel.icio.usRedditGoogleMost Popular PagesCauses of PovertyPoverty Facts and StatsStructural AdjustmentUS & Foreign AidWorld Military SpendingRacismClimate Change and Global WarmingEnvironmental IssuesWomen’s RightsConsumption & ConsumerismRecently UpdatedGlobal Financial CrisisPoverty Around The WorldGlobal Health OverviewGlobal Food Crisis 2008DemocracyTobaccoUS & Foreign AidGlobal aid shortfallIllicit DrugsChinaUseful resourcesVideosNews HeadlinesBooks and Reading ListLinks and ResourcesFavorite QuotesOther IssuesTrade, Economic Issues (68)World Hunger & Poverty (3)Food Dumping [Aid] (3)Third World Debt (11)Free Trade (14)Corporations (13)Consumption & Consumerism (12)Sustainable Development (9)G8: Too Much Power? 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