poverty and income distribution in asian countries
Poverty and income distribution in Asian countries
Almost half of the world, that is, three billion people lives on less than $2.50 a day and at least half of the humanity lives in countries where income disparities are present.[Anup Shah, Poverty facts and stats] If we perceive things in a materialistic manner, then poverty is the lack of basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. However, in economic terms, many social scientists believe that poverty can be measured in terms of income and standard of living. A low level of income and standard of living indicates poverty. On the other hand, income inequality is the state of an economy, in which the shares of the total income earned by the various participants in the economy are distributed unequally.
Poverty and income inequality is a global issue, and is discussed widely on platforms such as the social media, electronic media and print media. Significant measures have been taken to eradicate and alleviate these issues by various organizations and policy makers. However, the success of their acts is debatable. Most of the developing economies are facing these issues; however, I will be shedding light on Asian countries like India and Cambodia. There are several contributing factors to the high rate of poverty and income inequalities in these economies. India is a massive nation with immense resources. An interesting fact highlighted by Ejaz Ghani is that “if income in India was distributed completely equally, the entire nation would still be living on less than half the UK poverty line. (The UK poverty line is a relative line: you’re poor in the UK when your income after tax is below 60% of the national median)”. [Statistics on poverty in India] The government of India practices a rather different method for calculating the poverty rate. They believe that a person consumes food nutrition which varies from 2000-2500 calories per day to sustain their body. So, an individual who is not earning
Almost half of the world, that is, three billion people lives on less than $2.50 a day and at least half of the humanity lives in countries where income disparities are present.[Anup Shah, Poverty facts and stats] If we perceive things in a materialistic manner, then poverty is the lack of basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. However, in economic terms, many social scientists believe that poverty can be measured in terms of income and standard of living. A low level of income and standard of living indicates poverty. On the other hand, income inequality is the state of an economy, in which the shares of the total income earned by the various participants in the economy are distributed unequally.
Poverty and income inequality is a global issue, and is discussed widely on platforms such as the social media, electronic media and print media. Significant measures have been taken to eradicate and alleviate these issues by various organizations and policy makers. However, the success of their acts is debatable. Most of the developing economies are facing these issues; however, I will be shedding light on Asian countries like India and Cambodia. There are several contributing factors to the high rate of poverty and income inequalities in these economies. India is a massive nation with immense resources. An interesting fact highlighted by Ejaz Ghani is that “if income in India was distributed completely equally, the entire nation would still be living on less than half the UK poverty line. (The UK poverty line is a relative line: you’re poor in the UK when your income after tax is below 60% of the national median)”. [Statistics on poverty in India] The government of India practices a rather different method for calculating the poverty rate. They believe that a person consumes food nutrition which varies from 2000-2500 calories per day to sustain their body. So, an individual who is not earning
Bibliography: Bank, T. W., 2013. Poverty and Equity. [Online] Available at: http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/country/IND Chambers, R., 1988. Poverty in India: Concepts, Research and Reality. Ghosh, J., 2010 Gupta, K., 2008. Poverty in India. Delhi: Atlantic publishers and distributors. India, T. T. O., 2011. India 's income inequality has doubled in 20 years. [Online] Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indias-income-inequality-has-doubled-in-20-years/articleshow/11012855.cms J.Malcolm Dowling, M. V., 2004. Economic Development in Asia. Singapore: publishing solutions. Kuan, H., 2013. Income Inequality in China and India: Structural Comparisons. Lord, M., 2001 P.A.P.-BLOG, H. R. E., 2010. Statistics on poverty in India. [Online] Available at: http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/stats-on-human-rights/statistics-on-poverty/statistics-on-poverty-in-india/ Ram, C. L. a. R., 2010. Growth Elasticity of Poverty: Estimates from new data. Research, T Ross H.Mcleod, R. G., 1998. East Asia in crisis. Usa and Canada: Routledge. Shah, A., 2013. Poverty facts and stats. [Online] Available at: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats Unit, P. R. a. E. M. S. U. a. H. D. S., 1999. Cambodia Poverty Assessment.