9.2 Global wealth and poverty  (Page 5/16)

Consequences of poverty

Not surprisingly, the consequences of poverty are often also causes. The poor often experience inadequate health care, limited education, and the inaccessibility of birth control. But those born into these conditions are incredibly challenged in their efforts to break out since these consequences of poverty are also causes of poverty, perpetuating a cycle of disadvantage.

According to sociologists Neckerman and Torche (2007) in their analysis of global inequality studies, the consequences of poverty are many. They have divided the consequences into three areas. The first, termed “the sedimentation of global inequality,” relates to the fact that once poverty becomes entrenched in an area, it is typically very difficult to reverse. As mentioned above, poverty exists in a cycle where the consequences and causes are intertwined. The second consequence of poverty is its effect on physical and mental health. Poor people face physical health challenges, including malnutrition and high infant mortality rates. Mental health is also detrimentally affected by the emotional stresses of poverty, with relative deprivation carrying the most robust effect. Again, as with the ongoing inequality, the effects of poverty on mental and physical health become more entrenched as time goes on. Neckerman and Torche’s third consequence of poverty is the prevalence of crime. Cross-nationally, crime rates are higher, particularly with violent crime, in countries with higher levels of income inequality (Fajnzylber, Lederman and Loayza 2002).

Slavery

While most of us are accustomed to thinking of slavery in terms of the antebellum South, modern day slavery goes hand-in-hand with global inequality. In short, slavery refers to any time people are sold, treated as property, or forced to work for little or no pay. Just as in pre-Civil War America, these humans are at the mercy of their employers. Chattel slavery , the form of slavery practiced in the pre-Civil War American South, is when one person owns another as property. Child slavery, which may include child prostitution, is a form of chattel slavery. Debt bondage , or bonded labor, involves the poor pledging themselves as servants in exchange for the cost of basic necessities like transportation, room, and board. In this scenario, people are paid less than they are charged for room and board. When travel is involved, people can arrive in debt for their travel expenses and be unable to work their way free, since their wages do not allow them to ever get ahead.

The global watchdog group Anti-Slavery International recognizes other forms of slavery: human trafficking (where people are moved away from their communities and forced to work against their will), child domestic work and child labor, and certain forms of servile marriage, in which women are little more than chattel slaves (Anti-Slavery International 2012).

Summary

When looking at the world’s poor, we first have to define the difference between relative poverty, absolute poverty, and subjective poverty. While those in relative poverty might not have enough to live at their country’s standard of living, those in absolute poverty do not have, or barely have, basic necessities such as food. Subjective poverty has more to do with one’s perception of one’s situation. North America and Europe are home to fewer of the world’s poor than Africa, which has most poor countries, or Asia, which has the most people living in poverty. Poverty has numerous negative consequences, from increased crime rates to a detrimental impact on physical and mental health.

Short answer

Further research

Students often think that America is immune to the atrocity of human trafficking. Check out the following link to learn more about trafficking in the U.S.: (External Link)

For more information about the ongoing practices of slavery in the modern world click here: (External Link)

References

Anti-Slavery International. 2012. “What Is Modern Slavery?” Retrieved January 1, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

Barta, Patrick. 2009. “The Rise of the Underground.” Wall Street Journal , March 14. Retrieved January 1, 2012 ( ttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB123698646833925567.html ).

Buvinić, M. 1997. “Women in Poverty: A New Global Underclass.” Foreign Policy , Fall (108):1–7.

Chen, Martha. 2001. “Women in the Informal Sector: A Global Picture, the Global Movement.” The SAIS Review 21:71–82

Chronicle of Higher Education. 2006. “Nearly Nude Penn State Students Protest Sweatshop Labor.” March 26. Retrieved January 4, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

Fajnzylber, Pablo, Daniel Lederman, and Norman Loayza. 2002. “Inequality and Violent Crime.” Journal of Law and Economics 45:1–40.

Neckerman, Kathryn and Florencia Torche. 2007. “Inequality: Causes and Consequences.” Annual Review of Sociology 33:335–357.

Shah, Anup. 2011. “Poverty around the World.” Global Issues. Retrieved January 17, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

U.S. Department of State. 2011a. “Background Note: Argentina.” Retrieved January 3, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

U.S. Department of State. 2011b. “Background Note: China.” Retrieved January 3, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

U.S. Department of State. 2011c. “Background Note: Rwanda.” Retrieved January 3, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

USAS. 2009. “Mission, Vision and Organizing Philosophy.” August. Retrieved January 2, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

World Bank. 2011. “Data.” Retrieved December 22, 2011 ( (External Link) ).

World Poverty. 2012a. “Poverty in Africa, Famine and Disease.” Retrieved January 2, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

World Poverty. 2012b “Poverty in Asia, Caste and Progress.” Retrieved January 2, 2012 ( (External Link) ).

World Poverty. 2012c. “Poverty in Latin America, Foreign Aid Debt Burdens.” Retrieved January 2, 2012 ( (External Link) ).