What is absolute poverty?
Being poor in comparison to others in society
Being unable to afford things that are essential to live a healthy life
One in three children in Scotland live in poverty.
What are the strengths of using absolute poverty as a definition? (two correct)
Matches most people's understanding
It accounts for different variations of 'healthy'
Good for comparing globally
People who run homeless shelters may want to define poverty because they want to help people who are most desperate
What are the weaknesses of using absolute poverty as a definition? (three correct)
Doesn't account for variations of healthy
Difficult to measure
Less relevant to countries with a good welfare state
Ignores social aspects
Absolute poverty is often associated with people in the developing world
Rowntree measured relative poverty
What did Rowntree's budget standard include? (three correct)
Food
Make up
Rent
TV
Phones
Clothing
By 1950, Rowntree said poverty was a major problem
Secondary poverty is not having enough money to live a healthy life (even if all money is spent wisely)
Secondary poverty is having enough money to live a healthy lifestyle but not doing so because money isn't spent on necessities e.g buying alcohol instead of fruit
A problem with Rowntree's research is that it asks experts, so ignores what poor people think is important for a healthy life
Rowntree's research includes things that people need to be able to afford to get out of poverty e.g afford transport to get to work
Gordon and Townsend used a budget standards approach and they worked out an LCA
LCA stands for Low Cost but Acceptable
Gordon and Townsend measured absolute poverty by looking at 7 basic needs. Which of the following were included?
Shoes
Information
Alcohol
Education
What is relative poverty?
When people cannot afford a living standard experienced by most of society
When people cannot afford the basic things necessary for a healthy life
When people themselves think they are poor
What are the strengths of using a relative definition of poverty?
Useful when comparing globally as normal living standards don't vary much
More relevant to societies with a good welfare state where absolute poverty has largely been removed
Looks at social aspects because it accounts for people not being able to fully participate in society
What are the weaknesses of using relative poverty as a definition?
Over-estimates levels of poverty by comparing people to the average, as living standards in the UK are high
Useful when comparing globally
Less useful when comparing globally as normal living standards vary
Mack and Lansely used a deprivation index to measure relative poverty in 1979
Which of these are examples on Townsend's deprivation index?
Never had a holiday
Not having a cooked breakfast most days of the week
Children - not having a party on their last birthday
A weakness of Townsend's deprivation index is that items may have been lacked by choice.
Mack and Lansley used a consensus approach for their deprivation index
How many people did Mack and Lansley find were in poverty?
3 million
800,000
7.5 million
How do the government measure poverty?
LCA (Low cost but acceptable)
HBAI (Households below average income)
With the government measurement of poverty, households with less than 60% of the median British income are in relative poverty.
What are the strengths of HBAI measurement of relative poverty?
Allows European poverty rates to be compared
Accounts for people who have a disability and their extra costs of living
Useful for governments when setting benefits because it is an income level
What are the weaknesses of the HBAI measurements of poverty?
HBAI doesn't account for how cost of living varies across the country e.g London
Doesn't account for the extra costs of having a disability
Not useful for setting benefits
Subjective poverty is whether sociologists think a person is poor based on a deprivation index
What is the strength of subjective poverty?
Based on an income level so useful for setting benefits
Looks at psychological aspects - how people feel about their own situation
How is subjective poverty measured?
Deprivation index
Financial satisfaction 0-10 scale
Define social exclusion
Being unable to fully participate in society due to poor housing or lack of money
Being unable to access life chances and opportunities experienced by most of society
What are examples of social exclusion in rural areas?
Lack of jobs
Lacking access to public transport
Lack of affordable housing
What are some examples of social exclusion in urban areas?
Lack of access to living in a safe environment due to high crime
Lack of affordable housing due to rent in cities being harder
A weakness of social exclusion is that it is difficult for governments to use because it is not an income level
What are the strengths of using social exclusion as a definition?
Highlights how being poor is more complex than lacking money e.g someone in a village is more likely to be socially excluded than someone living in a city
An income level so easy for governments to use
What is the definition of wealth?
Any money coming into the household on a regular basis e.g a wage
Ownership of assets e.g property and savings. These assets have value, but are extra to day to day living costs
A problem with measuring wealth is whether to include pensions, as they cannot be sold on to anyone else
Define marketable wealth.
Any asset you own but can also be sold e.g car
Something you own but can't sell e.g pension
Which of the following is the definition of non-marketable wealth?
Things the owner uses e.g car
What is productive wealth?
When something you own provides an income e.g owning a house that you rent out
Any asset you own that can be sold e.g car
Define consumption wealth
Things that the owner uses e.g car
When an asset provides an income e.g owning a property that you rent out
Inheritance Tax is calculated by the Office of National Statistics to produce estimates about wealth
The wealth and assets survey is produced by Office for National Statistics - a survey on household interviews across GB
What is concealment of assets?
When people do not admit the amount of wealth they have, to avoid paying tax on them
When people say things to make them look good
Social desirability effect is when people say something to make you look good e.g pretending you have more wealth than you do
What is the definition of income?
Any money coming into the household on a regular basis e.g wage
Money generated from work
What is earned income?
Income before income tax is deducted
Income generated from actual work
Define unearned income
Income generated from work
Income not generated from actual work e.g rent given by tenants on a house you own
How is income measured?
Family resources survey - collects information on the income of household in UK using face to face interviews
Wealth and assets survey - Large survey based on household interviews in the UK
How can people hide the income they earn?
Working 'cash in hand'
Giving it to people they know
Declaring things as expenses to pay less income tax
Which of the following are attempts at reducing wealth inequality?
Inheritance Tax - paid on an estate when somebody dies, if it is over £325,000. To avoid wealth being passed on within families
Direct tax - taken from wages, the more you earn, the more tax you pay
Capital gains tax - reduce profits from selling a property if you own more than one
What are examples of taxes to reduce income inequality?
Indirect taxes - added to things you buy e.g VAT
Capital gains tax - Reduce profits from selling a property if the person owns more than one
Direct tax - taken straight from wages, the more you earn the more you pay in tax
Cash benefits - given by the state to supplement low incomes e.g working tax credits
Benefits in kind - provided by state, freely available e.g state education
Tax evasion is illegal and is when people do not declare their wealth to the Inland Revenue e.g working cash in hand
What percentage of lone parents live in relative poverty?
39%
61%
Why are lone parents vulnerable to poverty?
Higher than average levels of unemployment
They can rely on more than one income
Working in high paid jobs
If working, more likely to be working part-time
Functionalists say that the welfare state is too generous with benefits for lone parents which discourages them from working as they can rely on benefits.
What percentage of lone parents are unemployed?
31%
60%
Why might large families be in poverty?
Their children can work
Income has to spread further e.g more food
Childcare costs are higher
Which of the following is the statistics from the Rowntree foundation about poverty and gender?
21% of women live in low income households compared to 19% of men
19% of women live in low income households compared to 17% of men
Feminists say that women are more likely than men to be in hidden poverty
Which of these is the definition of the primary labour market?
Full-time, permanent work which tends to be dominated by men
Low-pay, low skill jobs which are usually part-time
How many children in the UK live in poverty?
1 in 6
1 in 10
What are the reasons why children are prone to poverty? (research from Banardos) - 4 correct answers
Living in lone parent families - Lone parents have high levels of unemployment and low out of work benefits
Living in large families - Higher rates of unemployment due to unaffordable childcare costs, and having to buy more food, uniforms etc
Not working themselves - families rely on only one or two incomes
Having a disability - Costs an additional £99 per week to bring up a disabled child
Households with parents in low paid jobs - Given less training, therefore less progression, keeping them trapped in poverty
How many pensioners live in poverty?
1 in 3
What are possible reasons why female pensioners may have higher poverty rates than male pensioners?
Age concern found that women receive less pension than their husbands
Women on average, live longer than men so their retirement savings run out and they have less savings than men in the first place
Why might the elderly have lower income levels?
Welfare benefits they receive are inadequate
If they didn't save up enough for a private pension
Ageism - employers think they're not capable or too old/ill
To live a good quality of life, how much extra would a disabled person need, on top of welfare benefits?
£300 a week
£200 a week
£250 a week
What year was the disability act introduced?
1884
2005
What is the ethnic group with the highest rate of poverty?
Bangladeshis (70%) and Pakistanis (60%)
Pakistanis (60%) and Black Africans (50%)
Why do Bangladeshis and Pakistanis have high poverty rates?
Women from these ethnic groups are more likely to not want paid work thank other ethnicities
Unemployment rates 3x higher for them than other ethnicities
Live 20% longer than other ethnicities
Horizontal segregation is when different ethnic groups are concentrated in different employment sectors (tend to be low skilled, low paid)
Black African men are concentrated in manufacturing industry
Chinese people are concentrated in the catering industry
Which is the ethnic group with the lowest rates of academic achievement, where only 49% achieve 5 or more A* to C at GCSE?
Black Carribeans
Bangladeshis
Indians
Chinese is the ethnic group with the highest rate of academic achievement, with 79% achieiving 5 or more A* to Cs at GCSE?
What percentage of ethnic minority groups live in deprived areas?
70%
50%
85%
Which ethnic minority group experience the most discrimination in the workplace?
Muslims
Black Africans
Which of these is the definition of institutional racism?
When customers and staff of an institution have been found to project racist behaviour
How the day to day practices of an institution have racist outcomes
What is an example of institutional racism?
Job adverts not being available in different languages
Ignoring a member of staff who is of an ethnic minority
Define the Marxist term reserve army of labour?
A group of workers who seek part-time work, due to reasons such as childcare
Workers who are used when needed, but disposed of when their labour is no longer needed
Who do cultural explanations blame for poverty?
Society
Government
Individual
Which sociologist has the Culture of Poverty theory?
Flaherty
Oscar Lewis
Murray
What is the definition of a culture of poverty by Oscar Lewis?
People in poverty are made to form a separate culture due to the way society causes them to be social exclusion
People in poverty develop a culture with norms and values which prevent them escaping poverty e.g fatalistic
What are the components of the culture of poverty?
Individual characteristics, work characteristics and wealth characteristics
Individual characteristics, family characteristics and community characteristics
Who are the two New Right theorists?
Murray and Marsland
Connell and Flaherty
Culture of dependency is a Marxist idea
Culture of dependency is where people rely on the welfare state to provide for them, instead of getting a job
Who offered an alternative view to Murray's underclass?
Lewis
Craine
Define cycle of poverty
Cycle of poverty explains why poverty persist over generations
Cycle of poverty explains what individuals do to cause the persistence of their poverty
According to Lewis, what causes a culture of poverty to develop?
Factors caused by the individual e.g not taking job opportunities
Factors beyond an individuals control e.g low pay
According to Marsland, how does the state cause the existence of poverty?
The state gives over generous welfare benefits, creating a culture of dependency
The state do not provide enough help for the poor, they need more universal benefits and help with seeking jobs
Which types of benefits do the New Right prefer?
Universal
Means tested
What are the three elements to the culture of the underclass?
Patriarchy, illegitimacy and poor housing
Crime, illegitimacy and unemployment
What do structural theorists blame for the cause of poverty?
What is the definition of capitalism?
An economic system where the individual is responsible for himself, not profit driven
An economic system which means private ownership of means of production, heavily profit driven
What do Weberian theories focus on for the existence of poverty?
Poverty exists because it perfoms positive functions
Poverty is a result of the market position of individuals
You have a high market position if your skills are...
widely available
rare and in demand
Feminists say poverty is...
an inevitable outcome of a patriarchal structure
caused by men being dominant
What is Marxist theory known as?
A structural, consensus theory
A cultural, consensus theory
What is the functionalist theory known as?
A cultural, conflict theory
The feminist theory is a conflict theory
Which of the following are advantages of universal benefits?
No stigma attached as they're free
Saves gov. money as there is no eligibility test
Reduces culture of dependency
Prevents poverty trap - people get them without paying so working won't make them poorer
Save the state money as they are given to people who need it
What are the disadvantages of universal benefits?
Stigma attached
Have to test for eligibility
Marxists say it tricks workers into thinking society is fair
New Right say it creates a culture of dependency
Expensive because people may claim without needing them so taxes rise
What are the advantages of means tested benefits?
Save state money - only given to people who need them
Assessed in relation to income
Too expensive
No stigma attached
What are the disadvantages of means tested benefits?
More stigma attached so people may not claim them
Creates poverty trap as they are taken away if you start working
Can be expensive - have to test eligibility
Create a culture of dependency
What time period was the labour, conservative, then labour government, after ww2?
1940 - 1979
1918 - 1940
What were the 5 giant evils identified by the Beveridge report in 1942?
Want, idleness, disease, squalor and ignorance
Patriarchy, capitalism, universal benefits, poor housing and low pay
What is the definition of idleness?
Ignorance to work
Unemployment
What was the ww2 government influenced by?
Social democratic
New Right
What year was the NHS established?
1948
1938
Who was Thatcher influenced by in 199-1997?
Marxist
Poverty fell under the conservatives? (Thatcher)
