Poverty trends and voices of the poor

The article shows that poor people describe four pervasive and systemic problems that affect their lives adversely almost everywhere: corruption, violence, powerlessness, and insecure livelihood.

Corruption: Corruption is a core poverty issue, not just a problem affecting high levels of governments and business. The studies reveal how pervasive low-level corruption and lack of access to justice and protection affect poor people's lives (the problems of corruption, connections and violation of basic human rights with impunity are voiced repeatedly by the poor

• violence, civil conflict and public safety: In many countries in both rural and urban areas poor people reported a decline in social connectedness, concomitant with increases in crime, lawlessness, selfishness and violence. This is reflected not only in violence and public safety issues outside the home, but in conflict and violence within the home as well. Many of the poor linked these trends to decreases in economic opportunities, increased competition for resources, and poor government policies
• powerlessness: by and large the poor are excluded from participation in decision-making and in equal sharing of benefits from government and NGO programs
• insecure livelihood: The poor typically have few assets to make a living. Livelihood strategies are precarious and include a patchwork of low paying, dangerous, often backbreaking work for low returns.Livelihood strategies for the poor are primarily in the informal sector, and are sometimes illegal.Everywhere, poor people equated poverty and insecurity with lack of assets, which results in their lacking the ability to cope with income fluctuations and shocks. Lack of access to credit from formal lenders was cited with astonishing frequency.