Poverty Alleviation Programmes

Microfinance in the welfare state, a tool for increased social inclusion and poverty alleviation?

by Inès Chadi

The aim of the study was to determine whether the impacts of personal microcredits in the welfare state can lead to... more The aim of the study was to determine whether the impacts of personal microcredits in the welfare state can lead to increased social and financial inclusion of the beneficiaries, and if personal microcredit can serve to alleviate poverty. Focus of the study was personal microcredits in France, and more specifically personal those obtained through the French Red Cross. The methods used for the study were qualitative interviews and collection of quantitative data supported by the Secours Catholiq

Beyond pro-poor tourism: (re)interpreting tourism-based approaches to poverty alleviation in Vanuatu

by Adam Trau

Trau, A.M. (2012) Beyond pro-poor tourism: (re)interpreting tourism-based approaches to poverty alleviation in Vanuatu. Tourism Planning and Development, iFirst, 1-16.

ABSTRACT In Vanuatu—a least developed country in the south-west Pacific region—the villages of Mangaliliu and Lelepa... more ABSTRACT In Vanuatu—a least developed country in the south-west Pacific region—the villages of Mangaliliu and Lelepa Island in the north-west region of Efate (known collectively as the Lelema communities) are attempting to alleviate conditions of poverty through a communally owned and managed tour enterprise known as Roi Mata Cultural Tours. This paper critically examines the ways in which the Lelema communities are (re)interpreting globalised tourism-based approaches to poverty alleviation—addressed here under the rubric of pro-poor tourism (PPT)—in terms of notions that reflect local realities and locally valued measures of poverty reduction. The approach advocated in this paper adopts a more local or grassroots perspective on PPT as a means of generating a more nuanced understanding of the scope for PPT initiatives within Vanuatu. The current international discourse of PPT fails to address or comprehend the more complicated and contingent forces operating at the local level in polities such as the independent Melanesian states. An approach to PPT which emphasises grassroots perspectives is proposed that promotes local cultural reconfigurations of tourism through a process of glocalisation. However, without the implementation of broader support structures, mechanisms and networks, these glocalised business models will struggle to compete in the global market economy and to meet local community expectations.

A review of “Tourism and Poverty”

by Cristina Jönsson

Published in Tourism Geographies 2012 1-3. Available online 20 Feb, 2012

Community-based enterprises

by Raymund Habaradas

Published in the February 2, 2012 issue of BusinessWorld, under the column The View from Taft.

A critical element that contributes to the success of community-based enterprises is social capital. Gawad Kalinga... more A critical element that contributes to the success of community-based enterprises is social capital. Gawad Kalinga (GK) has successfully used social capital to improve the living conditions of the poor in more than 2,000 communities in the Philippines and in other developing countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

A showcase of how social capital has borne fruit is the GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan, which is being transformed into "a landscape of vast potential that will sustain communities for generations to come" (gk1world.com).

Economic growth, inequality and spatial demographic distribution: A Brazilian case

by raphael bar-el

Promoting Water Law for All

by Patricia Wouters

with Dr Sarah Hendry (special issue)

Rethinking poverty alleviation: a'poverties' approach

by Edward Carr

Boeven-tucht

by Roger Deacon

Theoria, 118, 2009, pp.89-104; jointly translated with Bill Freund.

Dirck Coornhert (1522-90) was a Dutch humanist whose seminal 1587 book, Boeven-tucht, redefined issues of poverty,... more Dirck Coornhert (1522-90) was a Dutch humanist whose seminal 1587 book, Boeven-tucht, redefined issues of poverty, charity, development and crime. Boeven-tucht lies on the cusp of what Michel Foucault called the 'Great Confinement', in the space between unmediated sovereignty and full-blown discipline. It presents a snapshot of modern disciplinary techniques at a point in time close to their earliest emergence. Offering solutions aimed at combating idleness and crime, it advocates ‘a punishment more bitter than death’, one that is simultaneously severe, unrelenting, long-lasting, visible, awe-inspiring, immediate, efficient, principled, generalisable, cheap and yet profitable. This is the first-ever English translation of Boeven-tucht.

Special Report: Who Gains from President Obama's Stimulus Package ... And How Much?

by Thomas Masterson

Levy Economics Institute Policy Note

In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a preliminary... more In this Special Report, Levy scholars Ajit Zacharias, Thomas Masterson, and Kijong Kim provide a preliminary assessment of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a package of transfers and tax cuts that is expected to provide relief to low-income and vulnerable households especially hurt by the economic crisis, while at the same time supporting aggregate demand. By the administration’s estimate, ARRA will create or save approximately three and a half million jobs by the end of 2010; while the ameliorating impact of the stimulus plan on the employment situation is surely welcome, say the authors, the government could have achieved far more at the same cost by skewing the stimulus package toward outlays rather than tax cuts. Their analysis points toward the necessity for a comprehensive employment strategy that goes well beyond ARRA. The need for public provisioning of various sorts—ranging from early childhood education centers to public health facilities to the “greening” of public transportation—coupled with the severe underutilization of labor, naturally suggests an expanded role for public employment as a desirable ingredient in any alternative strategy.

Distributional Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: A Microsimulation Approach

by Thomas Masterson

Over the last two decades, those at the bottom of the income scale have seen their incomes stagnate, while those at... more Over the last two decades, those at the bottom of the income scale have seen their incomes stagnate, while those at the top have seen theirs skyrocket. Without intervention, the recession that began in December 2007 was likely to exacerbate this trend. Will the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) be able to keep the situation from getting worse for those at the bottom of the income scale? Will ARRA reverse the upward trend in inequality that we have seen in the recent past? We employ a microsimulation of ARRA to address these questions. We find that, despite a large amount of job creation, ARRA is likely to have little impact on overall income inequality, or on the income gaps between relatively advantaged and disadvantaged groups.

História Breve das Misericórdias Portuguesas (1498-2000)

by Jose Lucio

by Isabel dos Guimarães SÁ and Maria Antónia LOPES, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

A inserção das misericórdias num volume como este pressupõe o reconhecimento de que se trata de uma instituição que... more A inserção das misericórdias num volume como este pressupõe o reconhecimento de que se trata de uma instituição que desempenhou um papel  importante na história de Portugal no que  toca  à  organização  da  assistência  aos  pobres  e  excluídos. Por  outro  lado,  trata-se  de uma instituição viva, e os seus responsáveis tem estado atentos à vaga de estudos históricos sobre as misericórdias e todos aqueles que estas envolveram: pobres, nas suas mais diversas tipologias e definições, e menos pobres, até aos mais ricos, que nelas pontificaram sempre como  irmãos.  Falamos  hoje  de  exclusão  social  e  de  solidariedade,  de  desigualdades económicas  e  de  processos  de  auto-exclusão;  no  passado,  como  veremos,  usavam-se
expressões  diferentes  que  se  referiam  a  realidades  também  diferentes,  embora  se reportassem sempre a situações de desigualdade que subsistem nos dias de hoje. Obras de misericórdia,  caridade,  beneficência,  pobres,  mendigos  e  vadios,  pobres  envergonhados, órfãs e dotadas, presos pobres: muitas destas palavras perderam impacto na realidade actual e  deixaram  de  se  lhe  adequar,  precisamente  porque  se  referem  a  um  passado  do  qual sobrevivem apenas vestígios que o historiador está apto a interpretar e traduzir para os seus leitores. É esse esforço que nos propomos  fazer aqui, o de enquadrar a  longa história das misericórdias nos diferentes momentos da história de Portugal.

Beneficência – 50 anos de combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social

by Jose Lucio

by Hugo Martinez de SEABRA, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

A  Fundação  Calouste  Gulbenkian  é  uma  instituição  portuguesa  de ... more A  Fundação  Calouste  Gulbenkian  é  uma  instituição  portuguesa  de  direito  privado  e utilidade pública, cujos fins estatutários são a Arte, a Beneficência, a Ciência e a Educação.

Criada por disposição testamentária de Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, os seus estatutos foram aprovados pelo Estado Português a 18 de Julho de 1956.

A  acção  da  Fundação,  ao  longo  dos  seus  50  anos  de  vida,  no  quadro  da  finalidade estatutária  Beneficência  tem  sido  desenvolvida,  sobretudo,  nos  domínios  da  Saúde,  da Assistência Social e do Desenvolvimento Humano.

Ulysses: PwC approach to developing Responsible Leadership

by Jose Lucio

by António Brochado CORREIA, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

Strategic objectives

Building our Brand – Building a Sustainable Business
Truly differentiated... more Strategic objectives

Building our Brand – Building a Sustainable Business
Truly differentiated and sustainable brand for making responsible leadership

Building Leaders – Building Business
Strong pipeline of quality next generation leaders to shape the future

Unlocking Performance – Embracing Diversity
Full potential of our diverse network across organisational and national boundaries

Programme Benefits

Participant
Personal development
Responsible Leaders
Leadership Vision
Network – Local and Global
Cross-cultural integration
Branding – Position PwC
Dialogue - current and future

Alleviating Poverty and Greening the City: Women Rag Pickers of Mumbai

by Jose Lucio

by Hemalata C. DANDEKAR and Sulakshana MAHAJAN, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

The 1990’s radical reforms of the Indian Economy opened the business enterprises of the nation to the global... more The 1990’s radical reforms of the Indian Economy opened the business enterprises of the nation to the global economy.  In the post-liberalization era which followed successful poverty alleviation strategies needed to deviate from norms established in the post- Indian Independence development period when much attention and resources were turned to social welfare.  New ways to empower and assist poor populations involving strategies viable in the market were sought.  Dependence on long-term, deep state subsidy, and governmental administrative and marketing structures which characterized effort in earlier development eras, were no longer viable. Economic development/poverty alleviation efforts needed to be self-sustaining and entrepreneurial.  Self help, profitability and longer term sustainability are the mantras of the current climate of poverty alleviation strategies which need to go hand-in-hand with consideration of social welfare and equity. 

This paper describes one grass roots effort which meets the above criterion and which has assisted municipalities in creating greener more sustainable futures.  Stree Mukti Sanghatana, a non-governmental organization, has assisted women rag pickers in the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) metropolitan area to more effectively and profitably engage in solid waste collection.  They have: 1) Organized solid waste sorting at municipal dump sites; 2) Taken on solid waste disposal and recycling contracts in privately owned housing colonies and large corporations, taking care of their solid waste on-site, off-grid, in more hygienic and less polluting ways; 3) Adopted innovations which have included: installation and use of bio-gas digesters for processing organic waste and generating usable methane gas;  4) Adopted construction and use of bio-gas digester prototypes which are scale appropriate to site and efficient; 5)  Utilized enriched soil from bio-digesters to develop nursery beds to grow and sell plants for landscaping, and, 6) Established contractual relationships with Tetra Pak, a multinational corporation, to recycle Tetra Pak’s juice boxes which are constructed of layers of paper board, aluminum and polyethylene.  Their efforts contribute to reducing the volume of solid waste that must be disposed of by the municipal waste management system. 

Women rag pickers have continued to seek out, with SMS’s help, new ways to innovate and increase profitability.  These efforts have resulted in a number of soft-system gains as follows:

1. Women rag pickers have upgraded their social status with symbolic and functional changes such as use of clean uniforms which identify them as part of the group servicing a site; use of gloves, face masks, and other protective devices; and use of improved solid waste collection tools.  There is a sense of dignity and respect for the person which is communicated by the use of these tools.
2. Women rag pickers have attained leadership and team building skills and learned to work in cooperative groups that have brought them recognition and a higher social standing as well as increased remuneration.   
3. Women rag pickers have learned to interface and work with middle and upper class households, corporations and the city to negotiate the terms under which they will provide solid waste disposal services and to ask for cooperation and compliance in the manner in which waste is sorted and handed over to the rag pickers. 
4. Women rag pickers have, to some extent, professionalized their services and become adept at delivering on the more profitable contracts they have negotiated with municipal corporations and multinational corporations.

However there are some significant limitations to this effort.  Large scale use of informal sector service providers, such as Mumbai’s woman rag pickers, extensively and systemically to help with solid waste collection in metropolitan Mumbai will require formulation and codification of structured relationships between municipal government, the informal sector organizations, and NGO’s.  To grow and assume a system-wide presence NGO’s must forge collaborative arrangements with municipalities in Metropolitan Mumbai to obtain larger scale contracts for solid waste sorting and processing.  Enlarging the provision of such services to the private sector, and the multi-national, global, corporate sector is also needed.  Such growth can more substantially improve the lives of the rag pickers and can at the same time assist cities to move to greener and more sustainable futures.  In this paper some of the parameters that have made for success and the organization and relationships that must be established if this success is to be replicated, and grow beyond one organization and permeate the solid waste collection process for a major city, are discussed.  Worth considering is how cultural, social and political systems in particular countries have to be factored in to a successful approach.

Reflexões em torno de um projecto em curso: o caso do projecto InSERções

by Jose Lucio

by Maria João SIMÕES, Amélia AUGUSTO, Dina CRUZ, Manuel OLIVEIRA and Jan WOLF , in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

A  presente  comunicação  é  resultado  de  um  conjunto  de ... more A  presente  comunicação  é  resultado  de  um  conjunto  de  reflexões  desenvolvidas  em torno  de  alguns  eixos  fundamentais  de  um  projecto  ainda  em  curso,  o  Projecto
Inserções.  Partindo  do  reconhecimento  da  multidimensionalidade  e  da  crescente complexidade dos fenómenos de exclusão social, delineou-se um projecto que pretende englobar  não  apenas  uma  dimensão  de  investigação  e  de  investigação-acção,  mas também de sensibilização, de participação e de envolvimento tanto das entidades ligadas ao combate à exclusão social, como dos destinatários da sua intervenção.

A  produção  de  conhecimento  sobre  as  regularidades,  mas  também  sobre  as singularidades  que  caracterizam  os  grupos  socialmente  excluídos  ou  vulneráveis  à
exclusão,  bem  como  de  conhecimento  sobre  a  actuação  das  entidades  que  com  eles trabalham,  constituem-se  como  elementos  indispensáveis  para  o  desenho  de  uma
intervenção social que se afigura cada vez mais urgente, mas que se exige cada vez mais qualificada e eficaz.

Em  termos de objecto de  investigação, o Projecto  Inserções  incide sobre os concelhos da Guarda, Castelo Branco, Covilhã  e  Seia,  pelo  facto  de  neles  estarem  sedeados  os maiores centros urbanos da Beira  Interior, e de  ser neles que ocorre um número mais significativo e uma maior diversidade de  fenómenos de exclusão.

EXCLUDED AND RE-DISCOVERED: The “Chronically” Homeless in the U.S.

by Jose Lucio

by Tatjana MESCHEDE, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

In the U.S. in the early 1980s, homelessness began to attract broad public interest and concern as the number of... more In the U.S. in the early 1980s, homelessness began to attract broad public interest and concern as the number of people without homes grew and the phenomena became more
visible to the general population.  While early on many expected homelessness to end quickly, it is now evident that homelessness has not disappeared.  To the contrary, the
number of individuals and families has increased almost consistently ever since homelessness was acknowledged as a social problem.

P’lo Sonho é que Vamos – Uma Estratégia de Inovação na Promoção da Cidadania de Comunidades Ciganas

by Jose Lucio

by Ana CARDOSO, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

O  Projecto  “P’lo  Sonho  é  que  Vamos”  tem  como  objectivo ... more O  Projecto  “P’lo  Sonho  é  que  Vamos”  tem  como  objectivo  central  o  reforço  do empowerment  da  AMUCIP  –  Associação  para  a  Promoção  das  Mulheres  Ciganas
Portuguesas  –  e  de,  através  desta  associação,  criar  respostas  transferíveis  para  a conciliação da vida profissional e familiar e o percurso escolar das pessoas ciganas, num bairro do Concelho do Seixal.

No  Projecto  parte-se  de  uma  noção  de  exclusão  social  como  negação  dos  direitos  de cidadania,  isto  é,  admite-se  que  “numa  sociedade  existem  instituições  e  políticas
públicas  de  carácter  universal  que  correspondem  a  direitos  fundamentais. Mas  nessa sociedade,  factores  de  natureza  económica  e  social,  e  a  própria  orientação  e  gestão política económica e social e o funcionamento das instituições pode excluir socialmente indivíduos  e  grupos  do  exercício  pleno  dos  seus  direitos  de  cidadania”  (Pereirinha, coord, 1999). 

Homelessness in Phoenix, Implications for Downtown Revitalization

by Jose Lucio

by Carlos BALSAS, in International Conference "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

City  centers go  through  cycles of growth, decline and  revitalization, but not everybody... more City  centers go  through  cycles of growth, decline and  revitalization, but not everybody benefits equally. The main research question discussed in this paper is: how has the city
of Phoenix addressed its homelessness issues? Using Phoenix as a case study, this paper uses  an  eclectic  array  of  data  sources  from  personal  interviews,  focus  groups,  media
sources,  public  reports  and  technical  studies  to  identify  how  institutional,  civic  leaders and citizens are responding to  the presence of homeless people in the city. The thesis is
that ending homelessness should be part of the process of revitalizing urban areas. Land is the support for the revitalization process but people with their hopes and dreams are the real asset of the city. And there will not be a livable downtown until everybody benefits from  the  revitalization process.  In  the  framework of  the  just city  this might  seem  like a utopian goal, but nonetheless,  its practical  realization does provide  a direction  to  strive for. 

Conclusões sobre a Conferência Internacional "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI"

by Jose Lucio

Conferência Internacional "O Combate à Pobreza e à Exclusão Social : estratégias para o século XXI", e-GEO and Lisbon City Hall, Lisbon, March 15th, 16th, 2007

A  organização  da  Conferência  Internacional  -  O  Combate  à ... more A  organização  da  Conferência  Internacional  -  O  Combate  à  Pobreza  e  à  Exclusão Social: Estratégias para o Século XXI –  teve como principal elemento de referência, a
noção  de  que  os  últimos  dez/quinze  anos  têm  vindo  a  testemunhar  alterações significativas nos designados padrões clássicos da pobreza, nomeadamente da exclusão em  meio  urbano.  Assim,  as  causas,  consequências  e manifestações  da  pobreza  e  da exclusão encontram-se em profunda alteração. Para novas causas são necessárias novas
estratégias ou orientações.