Mustafa Qamar Shamim

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Final Draft- Literature Review

Poverty has always been a major concern for governments. Almost every government comes up
with plans to tackle poverty and create employment. However, it feels as if very little has been
achieved. Despite many skill development programs, startup facilitations and employment
creation opportunities, the poverty issue continues to trouble governments. Poorer countries
even have to rely on foreign aid. Many non-government organisations also seem to be more
successful in this regard. Ultimately, the question arises, are governments sufficiently equipped
to deal with rising global poverty? Over the course of this review we will look at how
governments have approached the issue and what have been the non-government programs.

Modern Understanding of Poverty

Barry Knight (2017), in his review, identifies that it is necessary for us to look at poverty in a
new light. Many people have trouble realizing what poverty is. His analysis follows the example
of Britain where the people do not even feel poverty exists between. As a result, the public
attitude towards unemployment benefits and welfare payments has turned negative. Hence,
governments are not able to give the issue as much importance as required. The limitation of
this analysis is that it mainly revolves around Britain which is not facing the issue of poverty as
severely as some of the poorer countries. Thus, public and government approaches cannot
strictly be the same globally, though Barry Knight does provide a reasonable basis.

Complexity of the Issue

Like many global issues, poverty cannot be restricted to one dimension. Focusing on a few
aspects of it, we may understand the complexity of the issue. Anne Moore (2009) discusses the
problem of child poverty where poorer children do not have access to opportunities which
keeps them stuck in the poverty spiral. She stresses that governments should prioritise the
issue. Tony Fitzpatrick (2014) highlights the food poverty crisis. Like Anne Moore, he suggests
that food should be a key determiner for socio-economic policies. The reviews correctly
conclude that solving child and food poverty respectively should be a top aim. However, for a
government to focus on a specific aspect of poverty, it will most likely mean overlooking other
aspects.
Akhil Gupta (2011) extends the food poverty argument and questions why it hasn’t already
been solved despite decades of supposed development. His analysis starts from India and the
builds on towards the global situation. He draws attention to the plight of those affected by
hunger by comparing them to those killed by natural disasters. What he implies is that
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malnutrition has not been given the necessary attention and has only been a tool to manipulate
the public. Only recently has poverty been highlighted due to effects of neo-liberalism (free
markets etc.) He suggests that the real solution lies in correcting the historical imbalances such
as the poor not having access to the markets, that have led to the them being stuck in their
poverty. Gupta’s argument lacks in the assumption that development should have already
solved malnutrition. Economies have constantly faced many challenges that have hindered
development. So naturally the level of development is less than required. Therefore, the
poverty issue remains at large. However, he is correct in identifying that governments have
promised too much, yet always delivered abysmally.
Taseer Salahuddin and Asad Zaman (2012) dwell into the idea that poverty is a
multidimensional phenomenon, primarily focusing on Pakistan. Recognising this idea would
help governments in policy making based on area, ethnicity and gender etc. A multidimensional
measure would give them a near accurate estimate of the situation of poverty on health and
education fronts. Conclusively, in order to deal with poverty, it is necessary to identify what
dimensions need most attention and what approach is to be used. This will no doubt increase
initial short run costs to governments, but will result in better long term effects.

Globalisation and Trade

It is commonly believed that trade and globalization help countries prosper. Ronald Paul Hill
and Justine M.Rapp (2009) challenge this assumption. Global trade has not been done the
benefit of all those involved. Some richer, more powerful countries fare better compared to the
poorer ones. Hence, the goal to eradicate poverty through international trade can hardly ever
be achieved. Hill and Rapp suggest that trade should be done on fair grounds. Cindy Holder
(2012) also states that global justice is the solution to all world problems. Yet on what grounds
is justice to be established. Anwar Shah and Karim Khan (2015) relate back to Adam Smith’s
theory of invisible hands and individual freedom. There are no obvious economic reasons why
richer countries will choose to forgo their own benefits for weaker countries. After all, self –
interest maximisation is the primary objective of economic agents.
Amber Fatima, Muhammad Shahbaz and Faridul Islam (2012) discuss how in Pakistan trade and
investment impact poverty. They have concluded that indeed these help accomplish the
objective in the short run, as well as in the long run. However, similar to the other reviews, their
conclusions were based on the assumption that protections policies are put in place. Without
such safeguards, fruits of poverty alleviation are minimized. Anwar Shah and Karim (2015) go as
far as to say that to see a poverty free world, we must shift completely from the current
paradigm of economics. Otherwise, morality and ethics will continue to be ignored. Another
solution may lie in the less developed countries strengthening their locals, which takes us back
to our original question, are they even equipped to do so.
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Growth and Environment

Bhaskar Bira et al. (2012) discuss eco-friendly approaches to natural resources that can help
reduce poverty in India. In a well-organized manner, the article suggests that if we utilize our
natural resources more efficiently, our production can be done on sustainable basis.
Conventional approaches have often overlooked the trade-off with the environment We need
to put this into consideration when deciding our economic policies and the eco-system to be
given weightage in decision making. This analysis opens up an interesting avenue to our
research question. It is possible that governments are sufficiently equipped, yet the problem
lies in the ineffective allocation of their resources.

Government Support Programs

An import ploy of governments to reduce poverty in households is to directly provide cash. One
such example in Pakistan is the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Durr-e-Nayab and
Shujaat Farooq (2014) analyse the usefulness of this scheme. It has been successful in reaching
the poor but has lacked in helping them move out of poverty. However, the programme has
proved to improve and adapt over time. Still like most government schemes, it requires
constant monitoring. Also, it must be ensured that the recipients of the assistance are using it
in the most effective manner. Another hindrance that stops these programs from prospering
are the changes in the government. A change in government directly impacts them and thus, no
proper long term plan is allowed to function.
Non-Government Programs
Feeling the need for a non-government solution to the problem, over the years several
organisations have come forward with alternate approaches. One such model is of Sawa. Debra
Flanders Cushing (2014) has closely analyzed why the need for Sawa Model arose and how it
operates. The program relies on developing skills and entrepreneurial training to the youth. The
Sawa Model is an example of the public finding their own solution out of poverty, which
emphasizes the fact that they cannot rely on the government to help them out. They started
their own work which subsequently created more employment opportunities. The only major
issue with such self-help programs is that they cannot be conducted on a very large scale. When
Sawa model tried to expand it faced many difficulties and had to retreat to its base country,
Uganda.
Another example of a successful self-help program is Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank. Abu N. M.
Wahid (1994) explores its role in poverty alleviation in the country. It has managed to engage
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much of the rural women workforce and helped them progress economically and socially.
However, to ensure that their model runs smoothly, they have had to incorporate various
cultural and societal checks. This is a key difference between similar government programs such
as the BISP. Thus, such schemes have to be flexible according to the region’s requirements
which proves to be an obstacle in its global implementability. Still various models have been
developed based on its model that have adapted according to their specific regions. It suggests
that multiple localized self-help programs can go a long way in alleviating poverty.

Conclusion
Our review has led us to the conclusion that it governments are indeed insufficiently equipped
to deal with the rising global poverty. However, this does not mean that governments must
write off the task as undoable. It must be undertaken as a collective assignment to be done by
all countries, rich or poor, with some sort of fair trade or globally agreed protectionist model to
be established. Moreover, resources should be efficiently allocated, bearing in the mind the
environment. Along with that self-help schemes such as the Sawa Model are necessary to
function to lessen the burden over governments and develop entrepreneurs. It does seem
difficult for poverty to be completely eradicated but it is possible to reduce it sunstantially.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Debra Flanders Cushing. (2014). The Sawa World Model: Addressing Extreme Poverty through
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