Poverty
Regional Disparities Still Exist
In the last decades of the twentieth century, according to the World Bank (2001), living standards improved all over the world. The proportion of the developing world's population living in extreme economic poverty—defined as living on less than $1 per day (in 1993 dollars, adjusted to account for difference in purchasing power across countries)—fell from 28 percent in 1987 to 23 percent in 1998. Improvement in social indicators accompanied growth in average incomes. Infant mortality rates fell; growth occurred in food production; governments reported rapid progress in primary school enrollment; adult literacy rose; gender disparities also narrowed.
In some countries, the increasing poor population overshadowed the improvement in social indicators. Poverty continued to rise in Sub-Saharan Africa. Child mortality rose quickly because of the AIDS epidemic. On average, 151 of every 1,000 African children died before the age of five. Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, and Niger have fewer than half of their children enrolled in primary school.
In South Asia, it is estimated that four in ten households (more than 500 million people) remained in poverty. Countries such as India made tremendous positive strides in educating their poor women. Gender disparities still existed in education. Female disadvantage in education remained large in Western and Central Africa, North Africa, and South Asia (World Bank web site).
See also: ADOLESCENT PARENTHOOD; CHRONIC ILLNESS; FAILURE TO THRIVE; FAMILY LITERACY; FAMILY POLICY; GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP; HOMELESS FAMILIES; HOUSING; INDUSTRIALIZATION; JUVENILE DELINQUENCY; MIGRATION; NEIGHBORHOOD; RESOURCE MANAGEMENT; RUNAWAY YOUTHS; RURAL FAMILIES; SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES; STRESS; UNEMPLOYMENT; URBANIZATION; WAR/POLITICAL VIOLENCE; WIDOWHOOD; WOMEN'S MOVEMENTS; WORK AND FAMILY
Bibliography
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Barker, R. L. (1997). The Social Work Dictionary, 3rd edition. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
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Carlson, D. L. (1999). The Welfare of My Neighbor. Washington, DC: Family Research Council.
Coulton, C. J., and Chow, J. (1995). "Poverty." In Encyclopedia of Social Work. 19th edition, ed. R. L. Edwards. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Edwards, R. L., ed. (1998). Encyclopedia of Social Work, 19th edition, 1997 supplement. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Ellwood, D. (1986). Poor Support. New York: Basic Books.
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Orshansky, M. (1965). "Counting the Poor: Another Look at the Poverty Profile." Social Security Bulletin 28:3–20.
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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (1997). "Human Development Report, 1997." New York: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, W. J. (1988). The Truly Disadvantaged. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wilson, W. J. (1996). When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. New York: Vintage Books.
World Bank. (2001). "Annual Report, 2000-2001." New York: Oxford University Press.
Other Resources
International Monetary Fund. Web site. Available from http://www.imf.org.
OneWorld. Web site. Available from http://www. oneworld.net.
United Nations Children's Fund. Web site. Available from http://www.unicef.org.
United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI). (1996). "The Geography of Poverty." Available from http://www.rrojasdatabank.org/pvgeo.htm.
United Nations Development Programme. Web site. Available from http://www.undp.org.
World Bank Group, The. Web site. Available from http://www.worldbank.org
World Health Organization. Web site. Available from http://www.who.int/home-page/.
World Summit for Social Development and Beyond: Copenhagen +5. Web site. Available from http://www.unicef.org/copenhagen5/factsheets.htm.
GAYNOR YANCEY
Additional topics
Marriage and Family EncyclopediaOther Marriage & Family TopicsPoverty - Definition Of Poverty, Global Poverty, Measuring Poverty, Welfare Response, Categories Of Dependence, Weakened Families And Kinship Systems