Poverty, Aspirations, and the Economics of Hope

Abstract

This paper seeks to create a framework for understanding the role of hope and aspirations in economic development. We review the literature on hope from philosophy, theology, psychology, and its relationship to emerging work on aspirations in development economics. We then create an economic model of hope based on recent psychology literature that understands hope as a function of aspirations, avenues, and agency. This model of hope illustrates the vital role hope can play in the realization of causal effects from development interventions and how these effects emerge from the impact and interaction of three constituent elements of hope. By clarifying definitions and relationships among these concepts and by leveraging relevant work from other disciplines, we aim to create a framework within which economists can engage in rigorous empirical and experimental work that seeks to better understand the role of hope in economic development.

The Relations between Hope and Subjective Well-Being: a Literature Overview and Empirical Analysis

“…References to hope research can also be found in sociology (e.g., Jarymowicz and Bar-Tal 2006;Cohen-Chen, 2014;Petersen and Wilkinson, 2015), economics (e.g. Foster et al 2012;Frijters et al 2012;Foster and Frijters 2014;Lybbert and Wydick 2018) philosophy (Webb 2007;Martin 2011), and political science (Bar-Tal 2001;Drahos 2004;Cohen-Chen et al 2013;Sleat 2013;Boukala and Dimitrakopoulou 2016), although there are clear differences in the research methodology and definitions used. Specifically, many studies in these fields focus more on expectations of improvement or deterioration of the economic, social or personal situation of a country or individual.…”

Understanding the Role of Rural Poor’s Endogenous Impetus in Poverty Reduction: Evidence from China

“…On the spiritual level, evidence shows that the essence of the endogenous impetus of the poor is the exertion of their self-efficacy and the realization of their self-worth [18,41], that is, the poverty reduction aspiration, confidence, courage, and fighting spirit of the poor. On average, psychological variables are often statistically different in people living in poverty compared with people living in affluence [42], which is mainly reflected in the lack of desire and aspiration to change their poverty [43,44]. Aspiration is subordinate to the subjective well-being of the individual in a cognitive dimension and transcends material well-being [45][46][47].…”

The effects of teenage childbearing on education, physical health, and mental distress: evidence from Mexico

“…In addition to physical health outcomes, we also examine mental health outcomes. Mental health is of interest because poor mental health may affect socioeconomic outcomes and thus short-run shocks to mental health may have long-term consequences [Haushofer and Fehr (2014), Cornaglia et al (2015), Lybbert and Wydick (2015)]. Moreover, poor mental health negatively affects the birth weight of the infants, which has adverse long-term consequences [Conway and Kennedy (2004)].…”