Main Interpretations of Poverty in Economic Science

Abstract

The article attempts to generalize some interpretations of the poverty phenomenon in Economics. We take into consideration the fact that the problem of poverty has not only economic but also political, social, legal, cultural and other dimensions. In modern science, there is a pluralism of approaches to the definition, classification and measurement of poverty, that depend on the country, time frame and the researcher’s own opinion. Many publications of Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Danish, Chilean and other researchers have been used in this article. We have tried to apply the results of their researches to Ukrainian reality. Modern authors consider many dimensions of poverty. It can be explained as the financial, socioeconomic, moral and psychological state of a person, family or the whole population of a country or a region. Poverty is also considered as the inability of a certain section of society to participate in fullfledged social and economic life. Economic, financial, material, social, psychological and other factors of poverty have been considered. Positive correlation between physical abilities and disabilities and poverty has been shown. Some features of the worldview and behavior of the poor are described. Active, passive and parasitic poverty have been distinguished. People who suffer from active poverty usually rely on their own resources. Due to social mobility, some of these people are sometimes able to raise themselves above the category of the poor. Passive poverty means the lack of resources due to the circumstances that are beyond people’s control. Parasitic poverty is tightly connected with the use of other people’s resources and is characterized by deviant behaviour, which is generally condemned by society and punished by the state. The main indicators of poverty are given. Absolute and relative poverty are considered. Relative poverty cannot be eliminated, since even in the richest countries there are people who cannot afford the benefits available to others. It has been shown that poverty is hereditary, and the children of poor parents are more likely to become poor in the future. Families with many children are often poor, so they cannot afford good education for their children. Therefore, young people without good education remain poor. It has been underlined that poverty is associated with social exclusion and deprivation. Poor citizens do not have the opportunity to organize themselves, as well as to maintain social ties and defend their interests. The interpretations of poverty given by Ukrainian scientists have been considered. In particular, the authors analyze poverty as a consequence of the de-industrialization in independent Ukraine. Special attention has been paid to the following trend: the smaller a town or a village, the higher the level of poverty.