Social and historical approaches to poverty assessment

Abstract

This chapter deals with measurement and analysis of poverty when it is conceived as a phenomenon that goes beyond a mere problem of deficient incomes. We will be dealing in this chapter with three more approaches to poverty assessment, each relating to social conditions and forces bearing on the status of the poor and their potential for change. The first deals with social indicators, particularly in regard to the infrastructure of poor communities. The second deals with access by the poor to social and economic capital that might provide leverage for development. The third addresses broader historical processes that determine opportunities or barriers to progress. Once again, the empirical observations concentrate on Costa Rica.