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 »»

Deprivation, distribution and the political economy of poverty: Is poverty research about the non-poor as much as the poor?

Published: 8 May 2012

IDS launches paper on human security and next generation of development goals

Published: 2 May 2012

Contextualising gender knowledge for Latin American audiences - working in partnership with Uruguayan NGO CIEDUR

Published: 14 Feb 2012

Events

Brighton Festival Fringe - Who's going to save the planet?

Dates: 17 May 2012
Time: 19:00 to 20:30

Latest Publications on Poverty »

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• Corbett, H. (2012) 'Using Human security Principles to Develop a Post-2015 Framework', IDS In Focus Policy Briefing 24, Brighton: IDS
• Justino, P. (2012) 'War and Poverty', IDS Working Paper 391, Brighton: IDS
• Carbonnier, G. and Sumner, A. (2012) 'Reframing Aid in a World Where the Poor Live in Emerging Economies', International Development Policy , Geneva: Palgrave Macmillan
• Gentilini, U. and Sumner, A (2012) 'What do National Poverty Lines tell us about Global Poverty?' , Brighton: IDS
• Sumner, A., Suryahadi, A. and Thang, N. (2012) 'Poverty and Inequalities in Middle-Income Southeast Asia' , 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)