Poverty as seen by social scientists - Concepts - Chapter 3 Class 9 Economics - Poverty as a Challenge - Economics

Poverty as seen by social scientists

•  Usually, the indicators are used to relate to the levels of income and consumption.
  
  
•  Now, poverty is looked at through other social indicators like illiteracy level, lack of general resistance due to malnutrition, lack of access to healthcare, lack of job opportunities, lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, etc.

Social exclusion 

• Poverty must be seen in terms of the poor having to live only in poor surroundings with other poor people, excluded from enjoying the social equality of better-off people in better surroundings.
  
  
• Social exclusion can be both a cause as well as a consequence of poverty in the usual sense.
  
  
• It is a process through which individuals or groups are excluded from facilities, benefits, and opportunities that others enjoy.
  
  
• Example - The caste system in India in which people belonging to certain castes are excluded from equal opportunities.

Vulnerability

• Vulnerability to poverty is a measure, which describes the greater probability of certain communities or individuals becoming, or remaining, poor in the coming years.
  
  
• Vulnerability is determined by the options available to different communities for finding an alternative living in terms of assets, education, health, and job opportunities.