Technology and Global Development
15-502
Instructors:
M. Bernardine Dias and Yonina Cooper
TA: Aysha Siddique
Spring 2009
Lecture 3
All about poverty…
Outline
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Logistics
Poverty – an introduction
Defining poverty
Measuring poverty (intro)
Studying poverty
Reading discussion
Assignments for
next class (reminder)
Logistics
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Movie viewing time?
Office hours?
How is assignment 1 going?
Any questions/comments?
Problem Solving
• Identify the problem
• Understand the problem
– Start with the big picture
– Drill down for details
– Different perspectives?
• Potentially decompose the problem
into smaller parts
– Always keep in mind how the component
problems relate to the larger one
• Identify the requirements and
constraints of the problem
• Define your role in solving the problem
• Design a solution
– Research related work
– Don’t reinvent the wheel
• Test and validate the solution
• Deploy the solution
Poverty
An Introduction
What does it mean to be poor?
• How do you identify poverty?
• Are all poor alike? If not, what commonalities do they share?
• How does the media portray poverty? How do academics
portray poverty? Do you agree with their portrayal?
• Why is all of this important? What are the implications of
these labels and numbers?
• “Us” versus “Them”
• How do we work to reduce poverty in a meaningful and
respectful manner?
World Bank PovertyNet
• PovertyNet provides an introduction to key
issues as well as in-depth information on
poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis,
and on poverty reduction strategies for
researchers and practitioners.
www.worldbank.org/poverty/
How do we reduce poverty?
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Define
Measure
Study
Experience
www.worldbank.org/poverty/
Defining Poverty
What is it?
What is Poverty?
Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick
and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access
to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a
job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is
losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty
is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.
Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across
time, and has been described in many ways. Most often, poverty
is a situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to
action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to
change the world so that many more may have enough to eat,
adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from
violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.
www.worldbank.org/poverty/
Challenges in defining poverty
• Different faces of poverty – how do you
compare? To what?
• Different elements of poverty – what are the
thresholds?
• The changing face of poverty with time
• Cultural differences in consumption and
“standards of living”
• Stigma of poverty and its repercussions
Why are the poor poor?
• What are the common perceptions and
misconceptions of why poverty exists?
Some labels?
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Bottom of the pyramid
Base of the pyramid
Emerging markets
Emerging regions
Developing communities
Underserved communities
And what should we use?
Recommendations
• Keep an open mind, don’t over-generalize, and be
wary of labels
• Be careful of an “us vs. them” attitude
• Don’t expect everyone to be grateful all the time
• Try to imagine their experience and perspective
• Always ask yourself what data/evidence you have to
back up your conclusions
• Watch for preconceived notions and labels
• Question common assumptions
• Collect real data
• Listen to the poor!
Measuring Poverty
How can we measure it?
Measuring poverty
• Why should we measure poverty?
Measuring poverty
• Different levels: global, country, state, city,
household, individual, etc.
• Different indicators: income, consumption,
education, health, access to services and
infrastructure, risk, vulnerability, social
exclusion, access to social capital, etc.
• The Poverty Line – what is it?
Poverty Trends
www.worldbank.org/poverty/
Local Measurements
• What is your impression of poverty in Qatar?
Challenges in measuring poverty
• Example: US Govt. Poverty Threshold?
– Devised in early 60s, took Dept of Agriculture
guideline for food costs when funds are low and
multiplied by 3 (typical share of food budget)
– Since then, adjusted for inflation.
Challenges in measuring poverty
• Critiques:
– Overstates poverty:
• Share of food in budget now around 1/6
• Does not take into account public assistance
– Understates:
• Expenses of today’s life are understated, including child care,
transportation.
– If poverty were redefined, it would certainly increase the
number deemed below the poverty threshold, and increase
government costs.
Challenges in measuring poverty
• Identifying appropriate measures
• Gathering reliable data
– Entrée into the community
– Finding the right people
– Gaining trust to receive accurate data
• Politics
– Ideology
– Budget
• Interpreting data
Studying Poverty
How should we study it?
Studying Poverty
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Some (perhaps surprising) numbers…
Urban versus rural poor…
What do we do about it?
What are the root causes?
Are there local solutions?
What are positive deviances?
Being poor can be expensive…
• Drinking Water
– 4-100x the cost compared to middle class
– Lima, Peru: 20x base cost, plus transportation
• Food: 20-30% more (even in poor areas of US)
• Credit:
– 10-15% interest/day is common (>1000% APR)
– GrameenBank is 50% APR
• Cell phone:
– $1.50/minute prepaid (about 10x) in Brazil
Suburbs of Mumbai (Bombay)
Dharavi
Warden Road Ratio
(shantytown)
600-1000%
12-18%
60-75x
$0.43
$0.011
37x
Phone (cents/min)
4-5
2.5
2x
Diarrhea Meds
$20
$2
10x
$0.28
$0.24
1.2x
Credit (APR)
Water (100 gal)
Rice ($/kg)
Example from Eric Brewer’s talk on ICTD
Urban Slums
• Over the next two decades, 90 per cent of population
growth in developing countries will be urban.
• In some slums, 50 families share a single toilet.
• The land where slum dwellers settle is often dangerous steep slopes, flood plains, railway lines, industrial zones.
• Diseases from dirty water and sanitation kill 2.2 million
people a year worldwide - many of them slum children.
• Slum dwellers' livelihoods are bound to the marketplace.
http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2004/chapter7.asp
Looking at developing communities
through “their” eyes
http://www.positivedeviance.org/
The Power of
Positive Deviance
Solutions before our very eyes
The Premise:
In every community there are certain individuals whose uncommon
practices/behaviors enable them to find better solutions to problems
than their neighbors who have access to the same resources
http://www.positivedeviance.org/
How do we study poverty?
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Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSP)
Achieving shared growth
Poverty analysis
Poverty mapping
Poverty monitoring
Impact evaluation
Poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA)
Empowerment
Employment and shared growth
Migration and development
Moving out of poverty
Social capital
Poverty and health
Safety nets and transfers
Reading
Discussion
Reading Assignment
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What were the author's motivations for studying the
poor (surveying Jobra’s economy)?
Why do economists usually not consider the issues of
poverty and hunger?
How did Yunus plan to assist the villagers of Jobra
overcome the famine? How did the villagers view his
plan? Why?
What strategies did Yunus use to overcome challenges?
Why did Yunus’ experience with Jobra’s deep tubewell
lead him to concentrate on the landless poor?
Why was trying to help the women particularly difficult?
Why would the banks not lend to the poor?
Other References
• 15502 lecture slides from 2006 and 2007 –
jointly prepared by Rahul Tongia, Joe
Mertz, Jay Aronson, and Bernardine Dias
• Some images are from TechBridgeWorld
(www.techbridgeworld.org)
What Next?
• More about measuring poverty (and development)
and experiencing poverty
• Find out more about the HDR development
indicators for Thursday
• Watch the movie “Children of Heaven” by Majid
Majidi (available on reserve at the library)
– Preparation questions are available on the course
website in the “assignments” section.
• Special note: first do the viewing and then look at the
questions and come prepared to discuss them in class.