Institute of Development Studies

Poverty

We aim to develop research and analysis for an improved understanding of the causes of poverty and vulnerability, and produce effective remedies towards poverty reduction.

Just under one billion people in the world today live in extreme poverty. There are many dimensions to their deprivation, low and irregular incomes, lack of safe drinking water, poor housing, limited access to health and education, and social exclusion and discrimination. Their poverty makes them extremely vulnerable to life cycle, natural, or economic hazards. In many cases, extreme poverty persists over time.

Using a definition of chronic poverty as those people who remain under the poverty line for at least five years, approximately 400 million people in the world are chronically poor. The persistence of poverty over time eats into their assets and networks, undermining their resilience and voice. For a number of reasons, those affected by chronic and extreme poverty are often left out in policy initiatives. They are often harder to reach, require stronger and longer term support, and have limited political influence.

The Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team at IDS aims to shift thinking, policy and practice towards dynamic and multi-dimensional perspectives on vulnerability and poverty.

News »»

Inequality is top development challenge parliamentary meeting told

Published: 16 Dec 2011

Foreign Policy Magazine names Andy Sumner among top 100 global thinkers of 2011

Published: 7 Dec 2011

Riots: Understanding mindless criminality and the poverty impacts of civil violence?

Published: 11 Nov 2011

Events

Disorganised Crime: Gangs, Youth and Order in Nairobi's Slums

Dates: 27 Feb 2012
Time: 13.00 - 14.30

Latest Publications on Poverty »

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• (2012) 'Anatomy of Coping' , World Bank
• Roelen, K. and Delap, E. (2011) 'Concept Note - Researching the Links between Social Protection and Children’s Care' , Brighton: IDS
• Justino, P. (2011) 'War and Poverty' in Garfinkel, M. and Skaperdas, S. (eds), Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Peace and Conflict, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Douarin, E., Litchfield, J. and Sabates-Wheeler, R. (2011) 'Poverty, Livelihoods and War Legacies: The Case of Post-War Rural Kosovo', IDS Working Paper 380, Brighton: IDS
• Sumner, A. (2011) 'Poverty in Middle-Income Countries', Bellagio Initiative Briefing Summary , Brighton: IDS



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Poverty projects at IDS »»

• Agency and Governance in Contexts of Civil Conflict - analysing how the relationship between populations living in contexts of violence and armed non-state actors controlling or contesting those areas results in forms of local governance and order, and how this affects people's livelihoods. (Ongoing)
• Aid for Nutrition - How Much is Being Invested? - (2011 - 2011)
• ALINe - There is a new and widespread commitment within the development community to invest in agriculture as a way of reducing poverty and hunger. Three quarters of the one billion people surviving on less than $1 a day live and work in rural areas, and most rely on agriculture for their food and income. Investing in agriculture is key to lifting the world's poor out of hunger and poverty. (Ongoing)
• Challenging the Investment Climate Paradigm: Governance and Growth in Vietnam - This project examines a key assumption which underlies one of the main approaches to poverty reduction currently advocated and practised by many international development agencies. (Ongoing)
• Child Vulnerability Assessment, UNICEF Myanmar - IDS has been commissioned to analyse the most recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data and write a report on child vulnerability, which can be utilized for evidence based programming and advocacy to improve children's status in Myanmar. (Ongoing)