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July 20, 2017
20 Jul 2017

7 Things to Know About Costa Rica’s Poverty Rate

Costa Rica’s Poverty RateIn 2016, Costa Rica was named the happiest country in the world. But, while the country as a whole has enjoyed stability and a steadily growing economy in recent years, marginalized groups have been left behind.

Here are seven important facts about Costa Rica’s poverty rate that should not be overlooked:

  1. Costa Rica’s inequality rate has increased since 2000, a division that disproportionately affects indigenous and minority groups. Today, the country’s richest 20 percent receive an income 19 times higher than that of the poorest 20 percent.
  2. While, overall, Costa Rica’s poverty rate has dropped from 22.4 percent to 21.7 percent from 2014 to 2015, the country’s extreme poverty rate rose from 5.8 percent to 7.2 percent, the highest recorded rate in the last 60 years.
  3. While 19 percent of urban households live in poverty and 5.2 percent live in extreme poverty, 30.3 percent of rural households live in poverty and 10.6 percent in extreme poverty.
  4. Poor Costa Ricans have, on average, three years less schooling than their economically stable peers.
  5. In Costa Rica, 43.5 percent of poor households are headed by women.
  6. Since an inflation crisis in the ’80s and ’90s, the Costa Rican government has managed to boost the economy through international tourism and exports. These sectors benefit qualified workers, while unskilled workers, over-represented by indigenous and minority groups, see no change or a decrease in their salaries.
  7. Public assistance to poor families increased by 9.3 percent per household and 6.9 percent per person from 2014 to 2015.

Costa Rica’s poverty rate seems to be sewed up neatly on the surface, but the growth of a country doesn’t always reflect the growth of its people. The disparity of incomes and opportunities between uneducated people in rural areas versus educated people in urban areas threatens to rob Costa Rica of its good economic reputation.

– Sophie Nunnally

Photo: Flickr

in Costa Rica, Economics, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 19, 2017
19 Jul 2017

What are the Causes of Poverty in Haiti?

Causes of Poverty in HaitiHaiti is known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to a Global Sisters Report, more than half of its citizens live either on or below the poverty line, contributing to a dearth of resources like food. Severe hunger is one of the biggest consequences of Haitian poverty, which has gotten worse in recent times. Given the severity of the situation, it’s important to know what the causes of poverty in Haiti are.

One of the biggest causes of poverty in Haiti is government instability. Throughout the past 30 years, Haiti has had 18 different leaders, with 18 different governments. Due to this upheaval, several officials and businesses have taken advantage of the situation for their own power and wealth, to the detriment of the rest of the Haitian people.

Another consequence of this instability is the lack of government funds due to a lack of paid taxes. This leads to poor or even nonexistent services, such as aid for natural disasters. When these disasters occur, it creates a bigger burden for a country already struggling with few resources.

Two recent disasters that have exacerbated Haitian poverty are the 2010 earthquake and 2016’s Hurricane Matthew. According to The Economist, the earthquake left tens of thousands homeless, many of them still living in relief tents seven years later.

Still reeling from the earthquake, Hurricane Matthew destroyed much of the country’s livestock and crops. According to the Miami Herald, this leads to either desperate measures to attain food, like eating poisonous plants, or an over-dependence on foreign aid.

A study explored in the Global Sisters Report discussed how “[imported] rice accounts for the vast bulk [83 percent] of consumption.” The dependency on foreign food leads to less investment on local foods, hurting the already fragile economy.

Regardless, foreign relief alleviates a lot of the burden of Haitian poverty. Organizations like Food for the Poor and Misiόn Belem feed Haitians in areas where food is scarce.

In response to those areas of scarcity, current Haitian President Jovenel Moise vows to build up Haitian agriculture, like clearing the Duclos canal so the waters can be used to grow rice. Moise is also considering matters in Haiti beyond agriculture.

The Economist discussed how he received a report from The Copenhagen Consensus Centre outlining what it felt were the best investments into Haiti’s future. These investments included electricity reform, first responder training and infant immunization.

Although the causes of poverty in Haiti are varied and extreme, there are many people both within and outside of the island who are working towards ending Haitian poverty.

– Cortney Rowe

Photo: Flickr

in Developing Countries, Haiti, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 19, 2017
19 Jul 2017

Why Is the Dominican Republic Poor?

Why Is the Dominican Republic PoorWith more than 800 miles of coastline, the six million tourists that visited the Dominican Republic in 2016 would likely attest to the country’s great beauty. However, not all is well on the island nation. One in three Dominicans and half of Dominican youths are either poor or live below the poverty line. With an increase in tourism flowing to the island, it stands to reason to ask “why is the Dominican Republic poor?”

According to a 2014 World Bank Report on Dominican inequality, only 2 percent of the population climbed to a higher income group, as opposed to the Latin American and Caribbean average of 41 percent. The 2003-2004 Dominican economic crisis is partly to blame. Several Dominican banks collapsed and the Dominican Peso experienced severe inflation. While the economy has recovered from the crisis, the nation’s poorest residents have been left behind.

As recently as 2013, according to the Palma ratio, the wealthiest 10 percent of Dominicans earn as much as 2.5 times as the bottom 40 percent. In the U.S., that earning disparity is only 1.9.

Why is the Dominican Republic poor? Poor Dominicans have it especially bad in urban areas. The cost of living is so high in urban areas that the Dominican minimum wage has failed to keep pace. At 8,310 Dominican Pesos (DOP) per month, roughly $175, many residents have a hard time covering the basic necessities.

Access to basic education is another issue that needs addressing when answering the question “why is the Dominican Republic poor?” Many kids simply drop out of school to help provide for their families. Children that do attend schools must cope with overcrowding and inexperienced teachers. Failure to receive an education lends itself to several problems and has been linked to an increased teen pregnancy rate on the island.

Fortunately for the Dominican Republic, GDP per capita has been steadily growing at one of the fastest rates in the world, due in part to an injection of American tourism dollars. In December 2016, President Danilo Medina promised to redouble efforts to include the country’s poorest citizens in the economic boom, and increase spending on the nation’s public school system.

The World Bank has suggested that the government make direct investments in both informational and physical infrastructure that promote upward mobility and increase access to the expanding labor market. This could include expanding access to the internet and investment in the nation’s schools and teachers.

In answering the question of why the Dominican Republic is poor, we must understand that while the island nation itself isn’t poor, problems of wealth inequality and barriers to accessing information and education still persist. But, the Dominican government is not oblivious to these problems. Through investment in infrastructure and the expanding labor market, the government hopes to raise the incomes of its poorest citizens.

– Tj Anania

Photo: Flickr

in Developing Countries, Dominican Republic, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 19, 2017
19 Jul 2017

Why Is Swaziland Poor?

Why is Swaziland PoorBuffeted over the course of the last few years by drought, the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and increasing food insecurity, the Kingdom of Swaziland continues its struggle with poverty. It is a lower-middle-income nation with approximately 63 percent of Swazis living below the poverty line. Why is Swaziland poor?

In understanding why Swaziland is poor, there is a need to explore the unequal distribution of land and wealth within the nation. A small, landlocked country in southern Africa, Swaziland is home to 1.1 million people. The majority live on government-owned Swazi National Lands, often less than one hectare in size. On the other hand, private title deed lands receive significant investment and produce important Swazi exports like sugar and wood.

With a rapidly increasing population size, land availability has decreased, and Swaziland’s poor have been forced to farm on the increasingly over-cultivated land. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the intensification of land use may lead to a further decrease in productivity, poorer living conditions and an increase in a number of people living in poverty.

During the 2015-16 agricultural season, Swaziland, already susceptible to low and unpredictable amounts of rainfall, experienced one of its worst droughts in the last 35 years. The drought caused poor harvests and a decrease in food security, which now affects more than 30 percent of the population. Approximately 6 percent of children under the age of five are underweight, and 3 percent of Swaziland’s annual GDP is lost due to child malnutrition.

The answer to the question of why is Swaziland poor must also consider the presence of diseases like HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Swaziland has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. This leaves nearly 45 percent of children orphaned and vulnerable. HIV affects 26 percent of those between the ages of 15 and 49, greatly diminishing the country’s workforce and life expectancy, which is approximately 49 years.

Swaziland also has one of the highest incidence rates of tuberculosis, and 80 percent of tuberculosis patients are also affected by HIV. In its effort to provide care and treatment to HIV and tuberculosis patients, the CDC has provided thousands in Swaziland with antiretroviral treatment, HIV testing and counseling services since 2012. These services attempt to both help those needing treatments and ease the strain put on the economy by these diseases.

According to Geremia Palomba, in charge of conducting the International Monetary Fund 2017 visit to Swaziland, the main challenges currently facing the country are the significant fiscal readjustments and reforms needed to ensure future economic stability.

“Policies need to be carefully designed to address the main sources of recent fiscal deterioration and include both expenditure and revenue measures that can support long-term growth,” Palomba stated in an end-of-mission press release. “Structural reforms to address the lack of skilled workers, better align wage and productivity dynamics, simplify business regulations and strengthen the institutional environment have the potential to significantly boost investment and employment.”

By focusing reform efforts on these particular issues, Palomba believes that Swaziland may be able to achieve sustainable economic growth that is both strong and inclusive and will contribute greatly to the lasting stability of the country.

– Amanda Quinn

Photo: Flickr

in Africa, Poverty, Swaziland /by /#permalink
July 19, 2017
19 Jul 2017

The Main Causes of Poverty in Uganda

Poverty in Uganda
Although Uganda is a Sub-Saharan African country with one of the highest rates of poverty reduction, the country remains among the poorest in the world. According to a 2016 poverty assessment, poverty in Uganda reduced significantly between 2006 and 2013. The number of Ugandans living below the poverty line declined from 31.1 percent in 2006 to 19.7 percent in 2013.

The issue now is the sustainability of this poverty reduction, as Uganda is lacking important non-monetary resources. These include sufficient sanitation, access to electricity, health and well-being, education and nutrition.

Here are the top four causes of poverty in Uganda.

  1. Safety net programs are of limited availability in Uganda, which increases the vulnerability of households to fall back into poverty. In 2013, it was reported that only one percent of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was spent on social security. This percentage is much lower than the 2.8 percent average for Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to this lack of social security, 35 percent of Ugandans rely on their life savings and 25 percent rely on their family. This makes falling back into poverty highly likely for a majority of people.
  2. Diseases are another cause of poverty in Uganda. Infant and child mortality rates remain high, with 131 deaths per 1,000 births. Families in Uganda are often large. With the lack of finances and resources, larger families are highly likely to fall below the poverty line. Poor health also reduces a family’s work productivity, causing poverty to be passed down through generations.
  3. Agriculture contributed to 79 percent of poverty reduction in Uganda between 2006 and 2013, but there is still much room for improvement. Though a large portion of the population earns its livelihood through agriculture, there is still an excess in labor opportunities. Further improvement in productivity of agriculture is necessary to provide more work and bring people out of poverty.
  4. Due to a high dependency on work in agriculture and the informal sector, there is a lack of skilled labor among Ugandans. Without skilled labor, it is challenging for Uganda to obtain important non-monetary resources and narrows subsistence options. This also causes a deficiency in forward mobility, which preserves poverty.

The persistence of poverty in Uganda, despite significant poverty reduction, conveys the need for further governmental assistance and global contribution. To sustain poverty reduction for developing nations, more attention to foreign aid policy is needed.

– Haley Hurtt

Photo: Flickr

in Africa, Poverty, Uganda /by /#permalink
July 19, 2017
19 Jul 2017

Why is Honduras Poor?

Why is Honduras Poor?
The statistics regarding poverty in Honduras tend to speak for themselves. With a population of nearly nine million, more than half of Hondurans live in poverty. Many of the poor live in rural areas, outside of the two most populous cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro. Not only do a majority of Hondurans live in poverty, but a third of them also face underemployment as a result of an economy that is not growing quickly enough. With these statistics, it is important to pose the question: why is Honduras poor?

By nature, the cycle of poverty is difficult to break. But, in particular, rampant violence and a lack of education in Honduras contribute to poor living conditions for many.

Honduras has long been considered one of the most violent places to live, not only in Central America, but in the world. A majority of this violence is the product of drug trafficking and related gang behavior, with which police are often complicit. Since 2014, when Honduras boasted the highest murder rate in the world, homicide rates have been in decline but remain high nonetheless. In 2016, the murder rate accounted for 59.1 deaths per every 100,000 people.

Although in recent years Honduras has become safer, violence—regardless of its magnitude—breeds instability, and those who live in extreme poverty are the most vulnerable to that conflict. Violence in poor areas only serves to perpetuate poverty and increases the difficulty of escaping from it, answering in part the question of why Honduras is poor.

Violence also fosters an environment that is not particularly welcoming to potential business investors. In a country where un- and underemployment contribute to both income inequality and poor living conditions, extreme violence further hinders the ability of those living in poverty to improve their quality of life.

The Honduran economy has achieved some recovery recently; however, violent disturbances and a lack of economic opportunity leave much to be desired. Honduras faces challenges attracting business—the World Bank ranked it 125 out of 185 countries in regards to ease of doing business—but the current dependence on agriculture also poses economic complications.

The livelihoods of many Hondurans depend on agriculture. Agricultural success relies on factors outside of human control, such natural disasters, which can render a poor family without food or means to support themselves. Over time, the agricultural sector in Honduras has lost its value and is now only two-thirds of its former revenue, as the price of Honduran exports has decreased.

Violence and agriculture are not the only answers that can be pointed to in regards to the question of why Honduras is poor. Although many Hondurans have access to education and primary school enrollment is close to 100 percent, the quality of education is poor. Once students move past primary school, there are simply not enough secondary school facilities, and the dropout rate skyrockets.

For many, an education is the first step to a life spent outside of poverty. The quality and accessibility of education in Honduras must be improved, especially in rural areas, in order to improve the lives of the poor.

While the answers to the question of why Honduras is poor are multifaceted, the solutions to these issues lie within those answers. By focusing on reducing violence and improving education within Honduras, improvements can be made to alleviate poverty.

— Jennifer Faulkner

Photo: Pixabay

in Developing Countries, Honduras, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 19, 2017
19 Jul 2017

Four Reasons Why Bolivia Is Poor

Why Bolivia Is Poor
Bolivia is a state plagued with inequality and inadequate development, making it the poorest nation in South America. Poverty affects the majority of the population, with almost 40 percent of Bolivians living in extreme poverty. Despite the land’s rich natural resources, Bolivia’s lack of human development hinders the state’s economic, social and political progress.

Here are four reasons why Bolivia is poor:

Political Instability
In the 1980s, Bolivia found itself in a deep economic recession and, in turn, suffered from inflation, unemployment and overall stagnation. It took the country 25 years to rebound in terms of GDP per capita. Just as the nation recovered, the early 2000s saw an outbreak of political instability with the resignation of President Hugo Banzer in 2001, followed by four controversial presidents within the next five years.

This political impermanence was greatly due to the recent discovery of natural gas in Bolivia and the government’s plans to export the reserves. This caused violent discourse between the Bolivian population and the government.

Insufficient Education
Public school education in Bolivia is of extremely poor quality, particularly in rural areas where teachers are not likely to be properly trained. Unsurprisingly, private education is too expensive for most. Thus, a vicious cycle of poor families staying poor while wealthy families progress is very apparent; without a good education, it is almost impossible to escape poverty.

Lack of Clean Water and Sanitation
In rural areas, many people are forced to drink contaminated water, as they are without clean, natural or portable water alternatives. This puts communities at significant risk for disease and illness. Diarrhea is one of the most common and serious consequences of drinking contaminated water and is responsible for over one-third of deaths of Bolivian children under five.

Since the 1990s, access to clean water has improved significantly. However, this improvement is concentrated in urban areas, rather than the rural areas where sanitation is needed most.

Low Productivity in Rural Areas
More than 80 percent of Bolivia’s rural population lives below the poverty line, a fact that is largely due to the low productivity of small-scale farming. With no mass production techniques and frequent water shortages, the quality of product and the money said products generate remain low.

Furthermore, a basic lack of infrastructures, such as water management systems and roads, is also responsible for why rural Bolivia is so poor. Without roads, transportation is expensive and ultimately inhibits farmers’ profits.

Bolivia’s human development index ranks 104th out of 174 countries and territories. Lack of prosperous and equal human development is the biggest challenge facing the nation and is the foremost reason why Bolivia is poor. Fortunately, the Bolivian government recognizes this and has put forward a variety of programs to alleviate poverty. Poverty decreased immensely in Bolivia from 65.2 percent in 2002 to 35.7 percent in 2007, demonstrating Bolivia’s progress and dedication to assisting its impoverished citizens.

– Catherine Fredette

Photo: Google

in Bolivia, Developing Countries, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 18, 2017
18 Jul 2017

News from Africa: The DRC Poverty Rate Continues to Stagnate

DRC Poverty Rate
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the largest countries in Central Africa and is a land rich with natural resources and raw materials, inevitably leading to an economic boom for its mining industry.

Despite a population of 77 million people, 80 million acres of land suitable for farming and an abundance of over 1,100 different rare metals and minerals, the DRC poverty rate remains among the highest in the world. While many consider it to be the poorest, the most recent United Nations Human Development Index of 2015 ranked the country at 176 out of 187 countries.

Between 1970 and 2012, the average annual growth rate of the DRC’s GDP per capita remained at -2.1 percent. From 1990-2012, annual inflation rates increased by 191 percent. As of 2011, an estimated 87.7 percent of the population, about 67.5 million people, remained under the international poverty line, which is currently $1.25 per day.

Currently, the average income for a Congolese citizen is about $400 per year. One example of the negative results of the DRC poverty rate is an extremely high infant mortality rate, with one in seven newborns dying before the age of 5.

Among other things, the poverty rate has caused a high usage of child labor, with about 25 percent of children ages 5-14 employed, an increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS and a notable decline in school enrollment.

Additionally, the country has a 45 percent vaccination rate for some of the most commonly known diseases, a lack of access to clean drinking water and severe malnutrition nationwide.

Reasons for DRC Poverty

The reasons for the DRC poverty rate stem from a number of factors, however, can be summarized as the result of political instability and corruption, particularly in the mining industry.

In addition to this, there are large swaths of land in the country that are controlled by militia groups, the land where many mines are located, allowing for them to be the financial beneficiaries to some foreign investors.

This problem originates from government corruption and an intended overall lack of transparency in the mining contracts from all parties involved, specifically in regards to where the money will be directed. All of these factors have resulted in the DRC government losing more than $5 billion in revenue that could have been allotted to fund infrastructure, public health, education or foreign commerce.

Fortunately, two prominent activists have emerged to speak out against these injustices. American television star Robin Wright in “House of Cards,” in coordination with JD Stier, president of the social activist organization Stier Forward, has created the “Stand With Congo” campaign.

Stand With Congo

Founded in the spring of 2016, the campaign’s main focus geared toward influencing the Congolese mining industry to achieve full transparency, under the idea that doing so could inherently solve other problems for the country.

Another focus of the campaign is to demand that the current DRC President, Joseph Kabila, who is often associated with corruption, vacate office immediately. Kabila has been in power since 2006, and ignored the provisions of the DRC constitution, exceeding the two-term limit.

In 2016 alone, the Stand With Congo campaign hosted 88 events in 17 countries and has also joined the Congolese Youth Movement who is advocating for reelections and Kabila to be removed from office.

– Hunter McFerrin

Photo: Flickr

in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Development, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 17, 2017
17 Jul 2017

Why is Nepal Poor? Cyclical Poverty, Industrial Stagnation, & More

Why Is Nepal Poor
Nepal has a long history as the poorest country in South Asia and the twelfth poorest in the world. Although progress was made to decrease poverty from 22 percent to 10 percent in urban areas and from 43 percent to 35 percent in rural areas, these numbers are still high and extremely damaging to Nepal.

Why is Nepal Poor?

Four out of five people in the Nepalese workforce live in rural areas and depend on subsistence farming. They often have little or no access to primary health care, education, clean drinking water or proper sanitation services.

Less than half of the population has access to safe drinking water, and half of all children under the age of five are underweight. These troubling health and safety statistics manifest themselves in the life expectancy of 54 years, compared to countries like Canada that have been able to achieve 80-year life expectancy because of greater infrastructure and development.

So why is Nepal poor? Cyclical poverty in Nepal is partly due to a history of limited education access. Before 1951 education was reserved for the ruling classes, and accessibility problems persisted even after it was opened to the general public.

The legacy of this educational restriction is that today, two-thirds of the country’s adult population cannot read or write. Women and girls are disproportionately uneducated and often sold into child labor or child marriages before they have a chance to contribute to the workforce.

Industrial stagnation also played a role in the country’s poverty, with 80 percent of the labor force still employed in agriculture despite lowered consumption levels in recent years. There is a huge need to move workers into industry and services to expand the economy. Because the government cannot subsidize large-scale development of infrastructure, it needs to allow private sector development to pay for things like roads.

Ways to Improve

Government policies also need to become more pro-business and create employment opportunities by encouraging new industries, eliminating curbs on foreign investment, lowering taxes on income, imports and production, and promoting free trade.

Nepal has a long way to go to strengthen both their educational system and foreign investment in the private sector, however steady progress is being made to industrialize and increase infrastructure build-up in rural areas of the country.

– Saru Duckworth

Photo: Pixabay

in Asia, Nepal, Poverty /by /#permalink
July 17, 2017
17 Jul 2017

A Prominent Unbalance: The Fight to End Sexism in Poverty

Sexism in Poverty
Words associated with poverty tend to be hunger, disease or politics but rarely sexism. In 2015, over 80 prominent media figures, from Bono to Beyoncé, signed a letter petitioning to end sexism in poverty. The public letter received recognition from ONE, a campaigning and advocacy organization, and continues to accumulate attention in the media and raise awareness of how sexism is more abundant and destructive in impoverished regions.

ONE plans to decrease sexism in poverty by  improving education and healthcare systems. Over 130 million girls are not allowed to pursue education. In order for girls and women living in poverty to improve their standards of living, education is necessary.

According to ONE, educating women provides a more bountiful future because “every additional year of school that a girl completes increases her future earnings, which is good for her family, her community and her country.”

The current educational obstacles that influence sexism in poverty are poor infrastructure within the education system, cultural restraints that do not support female education and the need for women to remain in the household to ensure the survival of their children.

Another factor contributing to sexism in poverty is the lack of availability of healthcare for women. Impoverished women are especially susceptible to preventable diseases. According to Time, “women spend about twice as much time as men doing the unpaid work that makes life possible for everyone, like cooking, cleaning and caring. In developing countries, the gap is even bigger. As a result, women have no time to finish their education, learn new skills, open a business or even go to the doctor.”

Preventable diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV and malaria, must be targeted by the governments of impoverished countries to counter the sexually unbalanced spread of disease.

If women succeed, the world succeeds. Neglecting the potential of half the world’s population due to societal and cultural limitations is irresponsible for the future.

Organizations like ONE are fighting to end sexism in poverty to guarantee a prosperous social, political and economic future for women who are not given the chance to thrive due to poverty.

– Kaitlin Hocker

Photo: Flickr

in Development, Discrimination, Poverty /by /#permalink