Résultat de la recherche
The multidimensional nature of poverty in upper-middle-income countries
This thesis deals with the multidimensional nature of poverty in upper-middle-income countries with a specific eye on Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey by employing national household surveys. I conceptualize poverty based on Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach by categorizing functionings in terms of micro and macro aspects. This typology shows the importance of social bonds (e.g., relationships with family members, community, colleagues at work, friends, people in daily life) in determining capabilities of people. Multidimensional poverty based on capabilities is often measured via indices such as the Multidimensional Nature of Poverty developed by Alkire and Foster, which is used by the United Nations in annual human development reports since 2010. However, such indices do not show the combinations of functionings and provide the number-oriented studies (such as headcount ratio of poverty, intensity of poverty, severity of poverty rates, contribution of each indicator to the index). Sen defines capabilities as the combinations of functionings and I argue that for understanding the real liberty of people we need to capture comprehensively living conditions. Accordingly, I propose a new poverty measurement methodology by employing classification trees (Breiman et al.’s CART) and profiles extraction method. Through the 4 case studies (Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey), I demonstrate the most relevant combinations of functionings (‘multi-configurations of poverty’), distinguishing poverty groups. The results show the major inequalities between poverty groups, from the most prosperous to the poorest. Moreover, I explain how this methodology can be used by policy makers to reduce poverty, and I present in an extensive way the poverty approaches from the literature such as relative deprivation, social exclusion, social disqualification, underclass, basic needs, marginalidad, absolute poverty, monetary poverty, culture of poverty, subjective poverty. Résumé Cette thèse explique la nature multidimensionnelle de la pauvreté dans les pays à revenu intermédiaire de la tranche supérieure avec un oeil particulier sur le Brésil, le Mexique, l'Afrique du Sud et la Turquie en utilisant des enquêtes nationales sur les ménages. Je conceptualise la pauvreté sur la base de l’approche des capabilitiés d’Amartya Sen en catégorisant les functionings en termes d’aspects micro et macro. Cette typologie montre l'importance des liens sociaux (par exemple, les relations avec les membres de la famille, la communauté, les collègues de travail, les amis, les personnes dans la vie quotidienne) dans la détermination des capabilités des personnes. La pauvreté multidimensionnelle basée sur les capabilités est souvent mesurée à l'aide d'indices tels que l’indice de la pauvreté multidimensionnelle développée par Alkire et Foster, qui est utilisée par les Nations Unies dans les rapports annuels sur le développement humain depuis 2010. Cependant, ces indices ne montrent pas les combinaisons de functionings et fournissent les études axées sur le nombre de pauvres (telles que le taux de pauvreté, l'intensité de la pauvreté, la contribution de chaque indicateur à l'indice). Sen définit les capabilités comme des combinaisons de functionings et pour comprendre la liberté réelle des personnes, nous devons saisir les conditions de vie de manière complète. En conséquence, je propose une nouvelle méthodologie de mesure de la pauvreté en utilisant des arbres de classification (Breiman et al.) et la méthode d’extraction de profils. À travers les 4 études de cas (Brésil, Mexique, Afrique du Sud, Turquie), je démontre les combinaisons de functionings les plus pertinentes (‘multi-configurations de la pauvreté’), en distinguant les groupes de pauvreté. Les résultats montrent les inégalités majeures entre les groupes de pauvreté, des plus prospères aux plus pauvres. De plus, j'explique comment cette méthodologie peut être utilisée par les décideurs politiques pour réduire la pauvreté, et je présente de manière détaillée les approches de la pauvreté à partir de la littérature telles que la privation relative, l'exclusion sociale, disqualification sociale, underclass, basic needs, marginalidad, la pauvreté absolue, la pauvreté monétaire, la culture de la pauvreté, la pauvreté subjective.
Sociological Perspectives on Poverty
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.