Causes of poverty

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
2 CAUSES
2.1 LACK OF EDUCATION
2.2 LARGE SCALE IMPORT
2.3 DIVISION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
2.4 MORAL CULTURE
2.5 GOVERNMENT POLICIES
2.6 CORRUPTION
2.7 PRIVATIZATION
2.8 OVERPOPULATION
2.9 UNEMPLOYMENT
2.10 LAW AND ORDER
2.11 LOW NATIONAL INCOME
2.12 INCREASE IN UTILITY CHARGES
2.13 INFLATION
2.14 IMPOSITION OF TAX

2.15 NONPRODUCTIVE EXPENDITURES
2.16 LOW LIVING STANDARD
2.17 LANDLORDISM
2.18 LOW LIVING STANDARDS
2.19 NEPOTISM
2.20 BACKWARD INFRASTRUCTURE
2.21 LOW RATE OF CAPITAL FORMATION
3 EFFECTS
3.1 CHILD LABOUR IN PAKISTAN
3.2 CRIMES AND VIOLENCE
3.3 HEALTH PROBLEMS
3.4 MORAL AND RELIGIOUS VALUES
3.5 HOMELESSNESS
3.6 SHORTER LIVES
3.7 CHILDREN ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
3.8 HUNGER
4 SOLUTIONS

4.1 ENSURING RESOURCES FOR POOR:
4.2 BY EMPOWERING THE POORS
4.3 EQUAL ACESS OVER MARKETS:
4.4 INCREASING AGRICULTURE
4.5 DEVELOPMENT IN CONSTRUCTION
4.6 ROLE OF MICROFINANCE
4.7 HEALTH FACILITIES
4.8 POVERTY ELIMINATING PROGRAMMES
4.9 ECOCOMIC GROWTH
4.10EDUCATION
4.11POPULATION
4.12DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

Introduction
The word poverty derived from Latin word “pauper” means “poor”. Poverty refers
to the condition of not having the means to afford basic human needs such as clean
water, nutrition, health care, clothing and shelter. Poverty is the condition of
having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or
compared to worldwide averages. Poverty is one of the major social problems which
Pakistan is facing. It is one of the most important and sensitive issue not only for
Pakistan but for the whole world. Poverty can cause other social problems like
theft, bribe, corruption, adultery, lawlessness, injustice etc.
It is the fundamental duty and responsibility of the country to fulfill the basic
needs of its people. Basic needs of man comprises of shelter, food and clothing.
When these needs are not fulfilled they bring about problems termed as socio-
economic problems. Pakistan has also been suffering from these problems. The real
issue is not the presence of these problems in the society. But the extent to which
they are being paid attention and solved. When these problems are not met timely
the results in the form of deviant behavior, drug abuse, smuggling, corruption,
poverty, illiteracy and many other social evils.
Poverty Condition in Pakistan
Poverty has been one of the biggest problems that Pakistan faces today. It is
rightly said that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. Nearly 60
per cent of the population of Pakistan lives in villages.
According to an analysis, poverty has increased roughly from 30% to 40% during
the past decade. It means that 40 per cent of the country‟s population is earning
their livelihood below the poverty line. In such condition people are depressed of
their basic necessities of life. Proper education and medicine are becoming distant
from them. They are forced to think of their survival only of due to poverty and
unemployment, parents instead of sending their children to schools, prefer child
labor for them. They make them do so to support their family and use them as
earning hands from the early age.

Causes of poverty
 Lack of education: The literacy rate of Pakistan is very low. Most of
people do not have any concept about the modern earning sources. Most
people are unable to adopt technology for their business needs, that‟s why
business do not meet international standards and results as decrease in
revenue which lead the society to poor financial conditions.
 Large Scale Import:The import of Pakistan is greater than export. Big
revenue is consumed in importing good every year, even raw material has to
import for industry. If we decrease import and establish own supply chains
from our country natural resources the people will have better opportunities
to earn.
 Division of Agricultural land:Pakistan is an agricultural country.
Most of people are farmers by profession. One has land which is fulfilling
the needs of his family but he has to divide the land into his children when
they got young. After division the land is not sufficient to support a family.
Now the families of his children are suffering and spending their lives below
poverty line.
 Moral Culture:The main reason for poverty is the social dishonesty and
irresponsible behavior of people. Every one is trying to get rich by using
unfair means. A shop keeper is ready to get whole money from the pocket of
customer. People doing jobs are not performing their duties well. In society
the man considered brave or respectful who do not pay taxes or continuously
violate the laws. This irresponsible behavior continuously increases and
produces loss for the country.
 Government Policies:Government is not well aware of present
conditions of country. The policies of government are base on the
suggestions of officials which do not have awareness about the problems of

a common man. After implementation the policies do not get effective result.
After the failure of one policy, government does not consider its failure and
announces another policy without studying the aftermaths of last one. Heavy
taxes and unemployment crushes the people and they are forced to live
below poverty line.
 Corruption:Another cause of poverty is corruption. Every one is trying to
earn more and more by using fair and unfair means.Only one relationship that
is exists in society is money. One has to pay a heavy cost to get his right.
Justice can be bought by money only. But government is unable to control
such type of things. In this whole scenario some corrupt people has been
occupying the resources and common man is living in miserable conditions.
 Privatization:Government is unable to manage the departments and
country has low reserve assets. So some companies run by government are
sold to foreign investors. The services provided by the companies are
becoming costly. For example if government sold a gas plant then prices for
gas in country rises.
 Overpopulation:The growth rate of population in Pakistan is very high
and is among the highest in the world. Since 1947, the population has become
more than triple. Pakistan is almost touching 180 million marks.With limited
resources it is very difficult to control the growing population.The massively
increasing population has almost outstripped the resources in production,
facilities and in job opportunities.
 Unemployment:Pakistan is poorly faced with the problem of
unemployment. The existing unemployment rate is 15%. Thousands of young
doctors, engineers and other educated people are out of job. There are no
opportunities for youth to utilize their capabilities or abilities in right
direction.In this way rate of poverty increases.
 Law and Order:There are lot of problems regarding law and order.
Terrorist attacks create uncertainty in stock markets and people earning
from stock are getting loss due to which the whole country faces uncertain
increase in commodity prices.

 Low National Income:Poverty in Pakistan is also the result of low level
of national income. Low level of national income means low level of saving and
low level of investment. All these factors contribute toward poverty.
 Increase in Utility Charges:Utility charges like water, gas,
electricity, telephone bills etc. are increasing day by day in Pakistan. More
utility charges lead to reduction in the saving of population and its result is
poverty.
 Inflation:High rate of inflation is an extra reason for poverty. Due to
inflation much amount of money is not enough to purchase much amount of
goods and services. Inflation decreases the savings and investments of poor
people and they remain poor. Rate of inflation is 13.3 %.
 Imposition of Taxes:Government has to impose taxes to raise its
revenue. Imposition of taxes reduces the disposable income of people.Hence
poverty increases.
 Non-Productive Expenditures:Government has to make a lot of
unproductive expenditures on social heads and to make strong defence.
These high expenditures are also a reason of poverty.
 Low Living Standard:Pressure of foreign counties in our economic
activities, backward standard of productivities and improper basic facilities
to population reduce the living standard of population. Low living standard is
a symbol of poverty.
 Landlordism:Ignorant but big landlords control our whole economy. They
have no sense of social welfares. In government they take those actions that
are in their personal interests.
 Nepotism:Nepotism means the murder of talent and abilities. It refers
to the employment opportunities according to relation not according to the
worth. If population is poor but is talented it remains poor due to nepotism.
 Backward Infrastructure:Non-availability or availability of
backward infrastructure is also an additional reason of poverty. Low level of
education, backward state of technology, poor health, inefficiency of labour
and poor system of transportation & communication are caused in poverty.
These entire things create no attraction for investment.

 Low Rate of Capital Formation:Rate of capital formation in
Pakistan is very low. Low rate of capital formation means low opportunities
of employment, low level of productivity and deficit in balance of payment
that leads to poverty. Rate of capital formation is just 5 % and it should be
more than 20 %.
Effects
 Child labour in Pakistan:The first and most immediate effects of
poverty in Pakistani society that people do not send their children to schools.
As we know that "the child's parents tomorrow" if our children are growing
labourer not only our present society, but face problems in the future. In
Pakistan, nearly 4 million children 5-14 years of age group go (Federal Bureau
of Statistics) to work.The poverty of his formative years in the underground
mines, the work is very dangerous places to work at 50 V, etc., cement
industry, tobacco production, processing, and more with live electrical
failure could force the dissolved
 Crimes and violence:Direct impact on poverty, crime and violence in
Pakistan. Human Trafficking of the most common form of (violence)
prostitution, which is run mostly by poverty. According to the survey, the
poor men of violence on his wife for the purposes of the income. Women
selling their bodies by their family members are forced to earn something.
Street crime, but the final impact on poverty in Pakistan.
 Health Problems:Poor people are suffering from many diseases. They
do not care enough resources. Pakistan ranks 135th out of 194 countries for
this reason that the life expectancy at birth of the index. In Pakistan, the
life expectancy rate at birth is 65 years or less. When the Western
countries it is 80 + years as Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Switzerland,
Iceland, etc. Diseases are more widely spread because poor people cannot
afford hygienic foods and pure drinking water which is much expensive.

I. Many infants born into poverty have a low birth weight, which is
associated with many preventable mental and physical disabilities. Not
only are these poor infants more likely to be irritable or sickly, they
are also more likely to die before their first birthday.
II. Poor families experience much more stress than middle-class families.
Besides financial uncertainty, these families are more likely to be
exposed to series of negative events and “bad luck,” including illness,
depression, eviction, job loss, criminal victimization, and family death.
 From a moral and religious values – Track:poor people can very
easily in the state of poverty break our ethical and moral codes. They do
not care for the moral or religious value. Good for them is that their
requirements and needs.
 Homelessness:Homelessness, or extreme poverty, carries with it a
particularly strong set of risks for families, especially children. Homeless
children are less likely to receive proper nutrition and immunization. They
experience more health problems. Homeless women experience higher rates
of low-birth-weight babies, miscarriages, and infant mortality, probably due
to not having access to adequate prenatal care for their babies. Homeless
families experience even greater life stress than other families, including
increased, family relationships, and friendships.
 Shorter lives:A universal and simple measure of poverty consists in
looking at different populations‟ health and life expectancy.
It‟s no surprise that anywhere on earth, poorer communities are far worse
than richer ones.But people's health is affected not only by material poverty
but also by social exclusion, yet another of the neglected effects of poverty.
No matter if poverty affects someone's mental or physical health, the end
result is the same: on average the poor live shorter lives than the rich.
 Children antisocial behaviour:One of the effects of poverty on
children‟s development is to lead them to build an antisocial behavior that
acts as a psychological protection against their hostile environment.
Discrimination and social exclusion often push them to more aggressiveness
and less self-control and nuance in reaction to stressful events. Having often
been taken advantage of in their early childhood, they rarely come to a
constructive way to deal with conflicts. As they grow up, these behaviors are

more and more entrenched in their personalities and often considered
unrecoverable. This highlights the importance of taking action as early as
possible.
 Hunger:Rises in the costs of living making poor people less able to afford
items. Poor people spend a greater portion of their budgets on food than
richer people.Every year nearly 11 million children living in poverty die before
their fifth birthday. 1.02 billion people go to bed hungry every night.
Solutions
 ENSURING RESOURCES FOR POOR:
The government should think that all it needs to do to reduce poverty
is to allocate more resources to the poor or to the local governments
who are supposed to „represent‟ them.
 BY EMPOWERING THE POORS:
Similarly some of the large NGOs operating in many different districts
pursue poverty alleviation by trying to provide micro credit to the poor.
Increased resources by the government or micro credit by NGOs may
be a necessary but is not a sufficient condition for overcoming poverty.
Thus the analysis and evidence within this new poverty paradigm
suggest that the key to overcoming poverty is to empower the poor to
get better access over markets, governance, and the institutions that
provide public services such as health care, education and justice.
 EQUAL ACESS OVER MARKETS:
The new survey evidence shows that the poor lose as much as one-
third of their income due to unequal access over input and output
markets and extortions by the local administration. For example, as

much as 51 percent of the extremely poor tenants borrow money from
the landlord.so the poor should get equal access over input and output
markets.
 INCREASING AGRICULTURE:
Focus should be given to boost agriculture (agro-industry, agri-
business and live stocks) to reduce poverty. It is recommended that
incentives and subsidies should be given to the farmers to produce
more output. It promotes jobs, increases income of the farmers,
creates domestic demand for goods and services, help for controlling
food inflation and improve the life of vulnerable segments of the
society.
 DEVELOPMENT IN CONSTRUCTION:
The Construction industry is the driving force of an economy because
it accommodates skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled work force and
contributes through a higher multiplier effect with the forward and
backward linkages in the economy. The construction industry through
linkages effect, with about 40 building material industries, support
investment and growth climate and help reducing poverty by
generating income opportunity for poor household.
 ROLE OF MICROFINANCE:
The role of microfinance should be strengthened. The poor use
financial services not only for business purpose but also invest in
health and education to manage household emergencies.
 HEALTH FACILITIES:
The evidence shows that health is a major trigger that pushes people
into poverty and the poor into deeper poverty. Due to the inadequacy
of the government‟s health facilities, as many as 85 percent of the
poor go to private allopathic medical practitioners for treatment.so
government should provide equal medical facilities across the country.
 POVERTY ELIMINATING PROGRAMMES:
Targeted poverty alleviation programmes, for instance direct
transfers, such as Zakat, nutritional programs for children,

employment generation through infrastructure development projects
and credit based self-employment program, are helpful to reduce
poverty.
 ECOCOMIC GROWTH:
Many studies have shown that economic growth is a necessary, not
sufficient condition to reduce poverty. A higher and sustained
economic growth must be accompanied by other poverty alleviation
measures such as investment in human capital like education, health
and other human development activities, like safety net measures, are
essential to reduce poverty.
 EDUCATION:
Education is considered a key to change and progress, therefore focus
should be given to increase literacy rate in Pakistan.so that people
could understand what is better and what harm to them is. And could
eradicate unemployment and poverty.
 POPULATION:
Rate of population must be controlled,because due to Increasing
population poverty rate increases.
 DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND;
Government should develop agricultural sector.Government should
also provide loans to poor farmers on easy basis .So that they can
earn their livelihood.

Causes of poverty

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