Ravazzini, Laura

2017, Suter, Christian, Beycan, Tugce, Ravazzini, Laura, Odell Korgen, Kathleen

Poverty, the social question of the 19th century, is still one of the most pressing global issues both in the economically advanced, affluent societies of the global North and in the developing countries of the global South. Since the emergence of social problems and deviance as sociological concepts and fields of study in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, poverty has been a focus of concern. Other social phenomena labeled as social problems or forms of deviance (like violence, crime, alcoholism and drug addiction, divorce, family breakdown, suicide) are often considered to be directly linked to, and caused by, poverty. As with other phenomena treated as social problems, research on poverty has typically been applied and policy-oriented, i.e., pragmatic and solution-driven, often related to reform efforts and social policy measures. The diverse sociological perspectives on poverty, therefore, have emerged in specific national, regional and global policy contexts. Furthermore, poverty research often has a strong empirical focus, which is demonstrated by the fact that some of the first comprehensive sociological surveys dealt with poverty issues. Theoretically, diverse approaches have been developed to address poverty, and there is no consensus on the exact definition and conceptualization of poverty. Poverty research, finally, is a field of interdisciplinary research. Sociological perspectives on poverty, therefore, have emerged from a discourse among scholars of sociology, social work, economics and political science. Based on these considerations, the chapter is organized as follows: The first section presents the pioneers of classical sociological poverty research. The second section deals with the different poverty concepts and measurement debates that emerged during the early postwar period of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The third section focuses on the issue of poverty policy. The fourth section looks at contemporary sociological perspectives on poverty in the era of globalization. Finally, the last section summarizes the main trends in sociological poverty analysis over the past decades and points to the challenges for future research.