The most interesting significant insight I have realized
this week is that the relationship between gender inequality and poverty. At a
macro level, seems to reduce economic growth but on the questions of how
economic growth affects on it. Additionally, private consumption poverty
remains a very widely used concept of poverty, often arrived at through per
capita estimates from household level data, not from individual-level data, by
using the common international poverty line $1.25 per day of Pushing Power
Parity (PPP) by World Bank. The non-linear relationship between inequality and
poverty has been discussed with Kuznet’s curve, showing inequality relating to
household incomes in an inverted ‘U’ shape, so that inequality initially rises
with rising household income then flattens and falls. However, there might be
no grounds to simply say that inequality will be declined at higher income
levels as well.
A possible implication of this understanding that gender
and growth links are rather than expecting poverty reduction to automatically
reduce gender inequality, it would be more realistic to assume that economic
growth produces rising household incomes, but gender inequalities are still
likely. For example, a rising household income may disempower women in terms of
bargaining strength as men behaving more patriarchal ways and a dependent wife
may be suppressed. For this reason, such poverty lines are certainly useful
within an economic framework of poverty but are irrespective of
multi-dimensional poverty. In this regards, there are other alternatives to
poverty measurements, such ECLAC’s index of Unmet Basic needs (UBN) which
includes household quality, overcrowding, running water, basic sanitation, etc.
Additionally, UNDP also introduced multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) that includes
health, education and standard of living in 2011.
Having realized that current poverty measurements are lack
of engagement with personal, social, cultural and political factors, Amartya
Sen (1999) has noted that, economists’ traditional tendency focus upon the
household as the unit of measurement, not taking into account “intra-household”
process. This limits the ability to distinguish the significance of incomes and
expenses for each individual since there is obstacle to take full advantage of using
resources to improve personal well-being, in an aspect of key indicators of MPI:
health, education and living standard. According to UNDP website, “the MPI can help
the effective allocation of resources by making possible the targeting of those
with the greatest intensity of poverty; it can help addressing MDG’s
strategically and monitoring of impacts of policy intervention”. By addressing
the centerpiece in poverty reduction strategies in terms of MDGs, gender
sensitive policies and programmes should be initiated in every level. Moreover,
it needs to ensure for taking account the fact that women as a group face
non-economic barriers in terms of social constructs (laws, norms, attitudes)
which limit their access to land, inheritance, education, employment, carriers,
mobility and personal freedom.
This learning insight will be useful in number of ways for
me. As a student, it could enhance the prospects for overall poverty reduction in terms of
effective resources allocation with non-discriminatory manner by conducting
research and or in the form of seminars and joint studies. As a development
worker, I will advocate policy makers and donors to guarantee women involvement
in all stages of the process from designing to implementation of anti-poverty
policies and programmes – setting agendas, defining strategies and allocation of
resources. Furthermore, I will explore
and recommend different options to women communities to access more
opportunities for improving their own incomes and then for enhancing
intra-household bargaining power. For instance, bridging community to the microfinance
websites, which can help grass roots organizations and community to access
loans for improving their standard of living, and introducing conditional cash,
transfer (CCT) programme in the development of economic through a gender lens
in my country as well. In short, I could be a catalyst in governance institution
reforms process as that is one of the key routes to reduce poverty, which can
promote gender equality.
References:
1)
Birdsall,
Nancy. (2008). Inequality matters. In G. Secondi (Ed.), The development
economics reader (pp. 135-145). New York: Routledge.
2)
Baherjee,
Abhijit T., & Duflo, Esther. (2008). The economic lives of the poor. In G.
Secondi (Ed.), The development economics reader (pp. 146-171). New York:
Routledge.
3)
Coates, Anna., Multidimensional poverty
measurement in Mexico and Central America: incorporating rights and equality. (2010). The international handbook of gender and
poverty: concepts, research, policy. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited., USA.
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