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The poverty percentage in today's Romania is large related to the EU context and compared to other former communist countries. Large differences can be observed in the cases of certain groups which are vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. For these groups, the most important thing is the intervention of supportive social policies. Besides the higher incidence of poverty and vulnerability, the efficiency of the social transfers in reduction of the poverty (other than pensions) is three times lower in Romania compared to the European average. One of the explanations proposed in this paper refers to the philosophy of the social protection system focused mainly on categorical benefits offered to some large categories presumed to have certain pre-defined vulnerabilities. The rate of the benefits based on testing means is low and the rate of the benefits for supporting those in need of urgent intervention is extremely low. On the other hand, the rate of financial benefits is significantly higher comparing to social services (only 0.7% of GDP, four times lower than the European average). Wasting already insufficient resources by over-addressing certain categories affects those who need the most the support of the social protection system and perpetuates the lack of efficiency of this system in reducing poverty. The over-protection generates in certain cases major social inequities. The analysis starting from the profile of the vulnerable ones will oversee the efficiency and the adequacy/inadequacy of some social protection measures, related to the nature and severity of the identified needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explore MCMA's residents' housing and energy needs, transport and mobility patterns, and challenges to health. • MCMA residents often perceived troubling patterns of discrimination, racism, violence and social intolerance. • Most participants face an intensified risk of experience energy and transport poverty simultaneously. • We discuss approaches to improve the quality of life and energy and mobility outcomes of MCMA residents. So-called "slum-dwellers" living in informal settlements in Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) often confront poor health outcomes, face chronic accommodation insecurity and are frequent victims of social intolerance, discrimination and racism. In addition, they usually reside in living environments with precariously hazardous conditions that often lead to their well-being endangerment. Based on extensive original research with slum-dwellers from the MCMA including focus groups (N = 18 participants), household interviews (N = 51 participants), and site visits (N = 5), this study investigates their energy and housing needs, transport and mobility patterns and challenges to their overall quality of life and health. The MCMA is one of the largest metropolitan regions globally, and most of its inhabitants experience a "double energy vulnerability," circumstances whereby people are at an intensified risk of energy and transport poverty simultaneously. Our investigation circles around three key themes. In exploring the subject of extreme poverty and vulnerability, we show not only the problems they confront but also illegal practices such as electricity thefts and coping strategies. In investigating the subject of perpetual peripheralization, we show troubling patterns of discrimination, racism and social intolerance. In exploring the subject of spatial justice, we suggest a set of policies that ought to help achieve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The common notion that extreme poverty is the "natural" condition of humanity and only declined with the rise of capitalism rests on income data that do not adequately capture access to essential goods. • Data on real wages suggests that, historically, extreme poverty was uncommon and arose primarily during periods of severe social and economic dislocation, particularly under colonialism. • The rise of capitalism from the long 16th century onward is associated with a decline in wages to below subsistence, a deterioration in human stature, and an upturn in premature mortality. • In parts of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, wages and/or height have still not recovered. • Where progress has occurred, significant improvements in human welfare began only around the 20th century. These gains coincide with the rise of anti-colonial and socialist political movements. This paper assesses claims that, prior to the 19th century, around 90% of the human population lived in extreme poverty (defined as the inability to access essential goods), and that global human welfare only began to improve with the rise of capitalism. These claims rely on national accounts and PPP exchange rates that do not adequately capture changes in people's access to essential goods. We assess this narrative against extant data on three empirical indicators of human welfare: real wages (with respect to a subsistence basket), human height, and mortality. We ask whether these indicators improved or deteriorated with the rise of capitalism in five world regions - Europe, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and China – using the chronology put forward by world-systems theorists. The evidence we review here points to three conclusions. (1) It is unlikely that 90% of the human population lived in extreme poverty prior to the 19th century. Historically, unskilled urban labourers in all regions tended to have wages high enough to support a family of four above the poverty line by working 250 days or 12 months a year, except during periods of severe social dislocation, such as famines, wars, and institutionalized dispossession – particularly under colonialism. (2) The rise of capitalism caused a dramatic deterioration of human welfare. In all regions studied here, incorporation into the capitalist world-system was associated with a decline in wages to below subsistence, a deterioration in human stature, and an upturn in premature mortality. In parts of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, key welfare metrics have still not recovered. (3) Where progress has occurred, significant improvements in human welfare began several centuries after the rise of capitalism. In the core regions of Northwest Europe, progress began in the 1880s, while in the periphery and semi-periphery it began in the mid-20th century, a period characterized by the rise of anti-colonial and socialist political movements that redistributed incomes and established public provisioning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to discuss poverty estimates based on the minimum income that different household types would need to acquire the minimum consumption basket. The article reviews Adina Mihăilescu’s book presenting her main results: the minimum wage and the minimum pension are not set high enough to lift people out of poverty, the unemployment benefit and the minimum income guaranteed do not cover the basic costs of living, having more children increases the risk of poverty, since children’s allowance does not offset the cost.

Since the 1988 Federal Constitution social assistance has become a duty of the State and a right to everyone, guaranteeing the population a dignified life. To ensure these rights federal government has created programs that can supply the main needs of people in extreme poverty. Among the programs that provide social assistance to the population, the best known are the ”Bolsa Família” Program — PBF and the Continuous Cash Benefit - Continuous Cash Benefit — BPC. This research’s main purpose is to analyze the relationship between the main macroeconomic variables and the Federal government spending on social welfare policy in the period from January 2004 to August 2014. The used methodologies are the Vector auto regression model — VAR and Error Correction Vector — VEC. The conclusion, was that there is a meaningful relationship between macroeconomic variables and social assistance programs. This indicates that if the government takes a more abrupt resolution in changing the existing programs it will result in fluctuations in the main macroeconomic variables interfering with the stability of Brazilian domestic economy up to twelve months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite significant progress towards the Millennium goals, more than one billion people live on less than 1.25 US dollars per day. Previous research suggests that globalization stimulates poverty reduction, but does not investigate what role institutions play in this relationship. Theoretically, globalization could act as either a complement or a substitute to institutional quality in reducing poverty. We find that the poverty-reducing effect of globalization is stronger when institutions are weak. In particular, increasing social globalization reduces poverty more when corruption is high and democratic accountability is low. Thus, globalization has the power to reduce poverty even in countries with low institutional quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While much progress has been made over the last 25 years in measuring global poverty, there are a number of challenges ahead. The paper discusses three sets of problems: (i) how to allow for social effects on welfare, recognizing the identification issues involved; (ii) the need to monitor progress in raising the consumption floor above its biological level, in addition to counting the number of people living near the floor; and (iii) addressing the longstanding concerns about prevailing approaches to making inter-country comparisons of price levels facing poor people. Some suggestions are offered for operational solutions, building on past research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Determining interventions to address food insecurity and poverty, as well as setting targets to be achieved in a specific time period have been a persistent challenge for development practitioners and decision makers. The present study aimed to assess the changes in food access and consumption at the household level after one-year implementation of an integrated food security intervention in three rural districts of Rwanda.Design: A before-and-after intervention study comparing Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) scores and household Food Consumption Scores (FCS) at baseline and after one year of programme implementation.Setting: Three rural districts of Rwanda (Kayonza, Kirehe and Burera) where the Partners In Health Food Security and Livelihoods Program (FSLP) has been implemented since July 2013.Subjects: All 600 households enrolled in the FSLP were included in the study.Results: There were significant improvements (P<0·001) in HFIAS and FCS. The median decrease in HFIAS was 8 units (interquartile range (IQR) -13·0, -3·0) and the median increase for FCS was 4·5 units (IQR -6·0, 18·0). Severe food insecurity decreased from 78% to 49%, while acceptable food consumption improved from 48% to 64%. The change in HFIAS was significantly higher (P=0·019) for the poorest households.Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that an integrated programme, implemented in a setting of extreme poverty, was associated with considerable improvements towards household food security. Other government and non-government organizations' projects should consider a similar holistic approach when designing structural interventions to address food insecurity and extreme poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the degree to which exposure to natural disasters and poor governance (quality of governance) is associated with absolute child poverty in sixty-seven middle- and low-income countries. The data is representative for about 2.8 billion of the world´s population. Institutionalist tend to argue that many of society’s ills, including poverty, derive from fragile or inefficient institutions. However, our findings show that although increasing quality of government tends to be associated with less poverty, the negative effects of natural disasters on child poverty are independent of a country´s institutional efficiency. Increasing disaster victims (killed and affected) is associated with higher rates of child poverty. A child´s estimated odds ratio to be in a state of absolute poverty increases by about a factor of 5.7 [95% CI: 1.7 to 18.7] when the average yearly toll of disasters in the child´s country increases by one on a log-10 scale. Better governance correlates with less child poverty, but it does not modify the correlation between child poverty and natural disasters. The results are based on hierarchical regression models that partition the variance into three parts: child, household, and country. The models were cross-sectional and based on observational data from the Demographic Health Survey and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which were collected at the beginning of the twenty-first millennium. The Sustainable Development Goals are a principle declaration to halt climate change, but they lack a clear plan on how the burden of this change should be shared by the global community. Based on our results, we suggest that the development agencies should take this into account and to articulate more equitable global policies to protect the most vulnerable, specifically children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the discussion within European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes on how development studies are changing, by setting out recent views on new and changing research topics, and drawing out implications for current discussions on inclusive development. The contributions are written by authors working at the cutting edge of development studies, in terms of their perspectives on development pathways and engagement with other disciplines. They centre on three concerns: (i) poverty and inequalities, (ii) economic development through innovations in local production and international value chains, and global innovations impacting people and policies everywhere, and (iii) hybrid governance arrangements, emerging as non-state actors take on governing activities. Analysing their contributions shows that authors link several dimensions of inclusive development. The conclusion is that thinking about inclusive development must engage with disciplines that are non-traditional for development studies scholars in framing what areas of concern are relevant and strategic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the debate on the changing 'geography' or location of global poverty. Specifically, that most global poverty is concentrated in a set of populous countries that have transitioned from low income countries to middle income countries. The article argues that the shift in global poverty implies a questioning of the dominant theory of absolute poverty in all but the world's very poorest countries: that is, that poverty in developing countries is explicable at societal level by insufficient public and private resources to address absolute poverty. Instead, it is argued that a structural theory - meaning here a theory that takes account of questions of distribution - is increasingly relevant to most (but not all) of global poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the perceptions of the causes of poverty is warranted because individual perceptions shape behavior toward poor people and actions related to poverty. Prior studies relying heavily on survey methodology fail to capture deeper and fuller meanings participants apply to poverty. This study explores how child welfare workers understand poverty by examining their definitions of, and what they see as causal explanations of, poverty. Individual interviews were conducted with 30 child welfare workers throughout a Midwestern state. Analysis indicated that workers all defined poverty as ‘not getting basic needs met,’ corresponding to the underlying assumptions of absolute poverty measures. Workers simultaneously augmented these definitions using other poverty constructions, namely the federal guidelines and more complex views – conceptually in line with relative poverty measures – that account for factors outside income or consumption. Workers’ causal explanations of poverty were multifaceted. Causal explanations included structural/systemic, individual, family/generational, and luck, with the first three being most prominent. These findings have implications for practice and training in the child welfare system as it relates to poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary global crisis can be explored in different perspectives. This text focuses on constitutionalism. It asks whether constitutionalism still matters. Responding to this question requires revisiting the basic analytical and normative concepts that shape individual autonomy, polity, law and democracy in the context of globalization. Part I of the article introduces the question of the crisis of constitutionalism. It briefly explores the dispute between proponents of state and post-state constitutionalism, and proceeds with an analysis of societal constitutionalism. The critical reading of this theory prepares the ground for a positive normative argument. Part II of the article argues for the return to the moral core of constitutionalism. It defends the claim that justice at the global stage requires establishing a minimum common denominator that would be composed of universalizable substantive principles. The institutional question follows. Its focus should be on the authoritative identification, protection and advancement of the core values of constitutionalism in the social and legal-political realms of the world society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to compare the poverty level in the United States versus the BRIC countries. The researchers examined the Ibn Khaldun theory that was written 650 years ago to better understand the meaning of poverty in the United States versus the emerging economies market. Results indicate BRIC countries are under absolute poverty. Poverty is a complex issue because the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States and regulatory financial agencies in the emerging economies market needs to comply with public policy rules and regulations and meet the supply and demand at the institutional level. The poverty levels in the United States, Brazil, Russia, India, and China remain persistent. Therefore, the middle class in the emerging economies market will surpass the G7 economies by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article begins with an examination of Peter Singer's ‘solution’ to global poverty as a way to develop a theory of ‘justice in assistance.’ It argues that Singer's work, while compelling, does not seriously engage with the institutions necessary to relieve global poverty. In order to realise our obligations it is necessary to employ secondary agents, such as non-governmental organisations, that produce complex social relationships with the global poor. We should be concerned that the affluent and their secondary agents are complicit with unjust institutions or can be the source of injustice. What is needed is a theory of justice in assistance. This is a distinct area of justice theory because these agents are not primary agents, like states, but they often provide the basic social goods that we associate with primary agents. The article ends by putting forward a provisional conception of justice in assistance based on the republican idea of non-domination. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

En este artículo hacemos una reflexión sobre los miedos, las angustias y los dilemas éticos que enfrentamos como estudiantes en la práctica de enfermería, ante una mujer con cáncer avanzado, en pobreza absoluta y aferrada a la vida. Resaltamos entre los constructos éticos de la praxis de enfermería, la responsabilidad, la compasión y la solidaridad en la práctica cuidante. En esta experiencia encontramos una brecha entre la preparación científico-técnica y la práctica del cuidar. Nuestro aprendizaje en el cuidado nos plantea muchos dilemas, sobre todo en nuestro contexto, caracterizado por profundos problemas sociales y económicos.In this article we reflect about fears, anxieties and the ethical dilemmas we face as practising nursing students in relation to an advanced cancer female patient in absolute poverty but willing to live. We emphasize some ethical principles in nursing practice like responsibility, compassion and solidarity. In this experience we found a gap between scientific-technical preparation and nursing practice. Our nursing training creates many dilemmas for us when we consider the economic and social problems in our environment.

This paper attempt to presents the pattern of distribution poverty among Iranian households calculated by the two criteria, absolute poverty and relative poverty considering socio-economic characteristics (e.g. urban or rural), the household head's educational level, age, occupation, and economic activity, as well as the location of the household's residence. The research results indicate that during the period in review the rural population poverty share to the country's total poverty has exceeded that of the urban peoples, the former following a downward trend and the latter has an upward trend. The households whose head is in the age group above 55 are poorer than those in the other age groups, and the households whose head is engaged in the agricultural activities or in unskilled jobs are poorer than those in the other occupations. The results also indicate that the highest rate relates to the households whose head is a family worker or a self-employed worker.

Globalisation may have accentuated global income inequalities – but, says Rajesh Chandy, developing countries are well‐placed to exploit new technologies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1980s saw a shift in the emphasis of discourse on poverty from production relations to consumption relations, with levels of consumption and purchasing power used to define poverty. Based on this concept, much of the research establishes absolute poverty lines or develops relative indicators to distinguish between "poor" and "non-poor." This paper makes the case that such poverty measurement, while useful for assessing trends over the long term or taking into account relative dynamics, distorts our knowledge of poverty by hiding its root causes and results in overly optimistic interpretations. These discussions also decontextualize poverty from its political and economic context by uncritically accepting and promoting neoliberal regime. Moreover, the article questions the meaning of the "eradication of poverty" and suggests that the nominal rise in PPP income obscures historical capitalist accumulation processes (such as dispossession, proletarianization and depeasantization). As a result, the study suggests to recenter the analysis on the material causes of poverty, which are rooted in the functioning of the capitalist system, its antagonistic character, and the class-based contradictions of production itself., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Özgün and Dolcerocca.)

Background: In sub-Saharan Africa many children live in extreme poverty and experience a burden of illness and disease that is disproportionately high. The emergence of HIV and AIDS has only exacerbated long-standing challenges to improving children’s health in the region, with recent cohorts experiencing pediatric AIDS and high levels of orphan status, situations which are monitored globally and receive much policy and research attention. Children’s health, however, can be affected also by living with HIV-infected adults, through associated exposure to infectious diseases and the diversion of household resources away from them. While long recognized, far less research has focused on characterizing this distinct and vulnerable population of HIV-affected children. Methods: Using Demographic and Health Survey data from 23 countries collected between 2003 and 2011, we estimate the percentage of children living in a household with at least one HIV-infected adult. We assess overlaps with orphan status and investigate the relationship between children and the adults who are infected in their households. Results: The population of children living in a household with at least one HIV-infected adult is substantial where HIV prevalence is high; in Southern Africa, the percentage exceeded 10% in all countries and reached as high as 36%. This population is largely distinct from the orphan population. Among children living in households with tested, HIV-infected adults, most live with parents, often mothers, who are infected; nonetheless, in most countries over 20% live in households with at least one infected adult who is not a parent. Conclusion: Until new infections contract significantly, improvements in HIV/AIDS treatment suggest that the population of children living with HIV-infected adults will remain substantial. It is vital to on-going efforts to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality to consider whether current care and outreach sufficiently address the distinct vulnerabilities of these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempt to examine the factors that determine non-farm occupations among rural farming households and to what extent has livelihood strategies improved the wellbeing of their households. Primary data were generated through random sampling of 200 respondents from four (4) Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Kwara State, Nigeria through field surveys. Descriptive statistics, double hurdle models and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) index were employed in the analysis. The result confirmed the assertion that economic factors are often the most important determinants of searching for non-farm job. The proceeds from non-farm activities were used mainly either for consumption (34.5%) to minimize the income fluctuation or, to supplement the working capital (26.5%) for their primary occupation through purchase of farm inputs. The results also indicated that the factors that influence the rural farming household decision to participate in non-farm activities showed slight variation from those influencing level of decision (livelihood strategies) taken to engage in non-farm activities and where it does, not by the same magnitude and direction. For instance, distance travelled and adjusted household size was found to significantly influence the farmer's decision. In contrary, education, poverty status and per capita income did influence the level of participation significantly. Of the sampled 200 respondents, 49.5% live on less than US$1 a day which portends extreme poverty and about 87% on less than US $1.5 a day. Concerted effort by stakeholders must encourage continuous farming throughout the year through irrigation to avoid part-time farming which may become the dominant farm model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]