‘We were born poor and we’ll die poor’ - Escaping poverty cycles

Why do some poor children grow up to be poor adults, while others escape poverty as they grow up? What are the main ways in which poverty is passed from generation to generation? What policies and actions have the greatest impact in breaking this kind of poverty cycle?

Recent research by the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP), the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) and Save the Children reviewed the evidence on poverty cycles, much of it from the US and Latin America. Though experiences vary widely, fewer people break out of poverty cycles than is commonly believed. Many children grow up to be in as bad a position as their poor parents – that is, they are malnourished, have similar levels of education and do similar jobs. Why should this be the case?

The factors affecting poverty cycles are both complex and interconnected. Chronic poverty can be inherited from a child’s parents (‘privately transmitted’ poverty or wellbeing) and from the wider community or society (‘publicly transmitted’ poverty or wellbeing). The social context is always crucial.

The way a society is organised has an enormous influence on the resources available to individuals and families, and on their prospects for breaking out of poverty. For example, discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and caste can condemn marginalised children to a lifetime of poverty. Societies that do not invest in their young run the risk of creating lifelong poverty traps.

Focusing on some of the major routes by which poverty cycles are continued or broken, this research concludes that:

• Poor nutrition perpetuates poverty cycles mainly through the effect it has on health, learning and educational achievement. Malnourished women are likely to give birth to malnourished children, starting a new cycle of deprivation.
• Time pressures on parents and carers can leave young children without proper care, as well as undernourished and exposed to health hazards, disabling accidents or violence. All of these can undermine their future wellbeing.
• Although education is no cure-all, it is hard to break cycles of poverty and deprivation without it. Even where education does not result in a higher income, it can lead to improved childcare, greater self-confidence and wider social connections. All of these are important for long-term wellbeing.
• Overall, child labour seems to strengthen poverty cycles, though income earned and skills learnt can help some children escape.

Though young people’s goals and ambitions matter in breaking poverty cycles, access to services and economic opportunities are usually more important. Having high hopes will not help if education or livelihood opportunities are simply beyond the reach of poor young people. Policy priorities include:

• focusing on the poorest families and disadvantaged groups – those most at risk of being trapped in poverty cycles
• affordable and good quality education and health services (including nutrition), and effective social protection
• livelihood policies that support the ability of poor families to develop and retain assets
• measures to end discrimination and to ensure that disadvantaged groups have access to assets, education and economic opportunities
• integrated policies that avoid supporting poor families with one hand (such as through service provision), but take away with the other (for example, if the prices poor families have to pay for vital goods and services rise steeply).

Source(s):
‘Enduring poverty and the conditions of childhood: Lifecourse and intergenerational poverty transmissions’, forthcoming in World Development 31(3), by C. Harper, R. Marcus and K. Moore, 2003 Full document.
'Escaping poverty: Can policy reach the chronically poor?' Insights #46

id21 Research Highlight: 3 March 2003

Further Information:
Caroline Harper, Rachel Marcus and Karen Moore
Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP)
Save the Children
17 Grove Lane
London SE5 8RD, UK

Tel: +44 (0)207 716 2122
Fax: +44 (0)207 793 7630
Contact the contributor: r.marcus@scfuk.org.uk

Save the Children

Other related links:
See id21's links page on Chronic Poverty