Orthodox v Alternative Approaches to Poverty Flashcards
tension between the orthodox and alternative approaches to poverty and development
how they define and measure poverty
how best to tackle poverty and encourage development
attitudes towards SAPs
how they define and measure poverty: orthodox approach
the first major tension between orthodox and alternative approaches to poverty and development lies in how they define and measure poverty
poverty remains a highly contested term
on one hand, the orthodox approach to poverty believes that poverty should be defined as a lack of income or material resources, meaning that poverty can be measured through economic growth and GDP
it follows that poverty should be measured in terms of ‘absolute poverty’, which is not having the money to buy food or satisfy basic material needs
for example, the World Bank defines and measures poverty as the number of people living on $1.90 or less a day
according to his orthodox approach, the number of people in poverty has fallen from 35% in 1990, to only 10% in 2013
how they define and measure poverty: alternative approach
however, the alternative approach to poverty and development disagrees with this definition of poverty and suggests that there are 2 main issues with measuring poverty in terms of economic growth
one of which is that this approach only measures income and does not take into account other factors contributing to poverty
in order to consider whether peoples’ basic needs are being met, a much wider measurement of poverty is required, specifically one that acknowledges human development such as access to education, gender equality, quality of healthcare and life expectancy
the alternative approach therefore suggests that poverty should be measured and defined as the inability to meet both material and non-material needs through your own effort
how best to tackle poverty and encourage development: orthodox approach
another disagreement between orthodox and alternative approaches roots from their differing definitions of poverty: how best to tackle poverty and encourage development
the orthodox approach believes that since poverty concerns the ability to meet material needs, the best way to reduce poverty is to encourage economic growth and according to this approach, unlimited economic growth is possible under the free market
this approach believes that the spread of liberal economic policy is beneficial and will lead to necessary development because increased wealth will benefit everyone by trickling down through society, allowing underdeveloped countries to become more developed
moreover, the process of development and economic growth should be a top-down process, relying on the technology and expertise of forces outside the state itself, particularly Western countries, organisations like the IMF as well as TNCs
essentially, free trade without government intervention in competitive markets will drive growth – free trade and privatisation will open up developing economies to international trade, which will inevitably trigger growth and help to reduce poverty
how best to tackle poverty and encourage development: alternative approach
contrastingly, the alternative theory rejects the notion that poverty reduction and development is best achieved through economic growth
the alternative approach is instead much more centred around human well-being and believes that development means becoming self-reliant
rather than being a top-down process, poverty reduction and development should be bottom-up, locally controlled and involve local people directly, especially marginalised groups such as indigenous people
it should also be sustainable and rely on local knowledge rather than that outside the state
attitudes towards SAPs: orthodox approach
finally, there is tension between orthodox and alternative approaches to poverty and development due to their attitudes towards SAPs
the orthodox approach, inspired by thinkers such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo, in turn inspired and is underpinned by the conditionality attached to SAPs
it provides much of the thinking behind SAPs, believing that the best way to promote development in underdeveloped states is to introduce economic liberalism
this may involve countries freeing up their markets, privatising state owned industries and focusing on producing products in which they have a comparative advantage
the SAPs offered by the IMF and World Bank are therefore beneficial and are the best way to encourage growth
attitudes towards SAPs: alternative approach
but yet again, the alternative approach tends to disagree and have a more pessimistic attitude towards SAPs
this roots from its beliefs in development needing to be a bottom-up process, centred around local people, rather than being imposed from above by international organisations
strands of alternative approaches would also suggest that SAPs may actually do more to exacerbate poverty by keeping developing states in dependency relationship with developed states and encouraging them to open up their markets to much more powerful businesses and enterprises, which will only damage local businesses who will not be able to cope with such huge powers dominating the market
