...ESSAY Role of poverty benchmark as a component of equity and redistribution policy TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 3 2. Absolute Poverty 3 3. Relative Poverty 4 4. Re-distribution of Income – Role of Poverty Benchmark in it 5 5.1 Education Policies 5 5.2 Taxation and Transfers 6 5.3 Minimum Wages 7 5. Drawbacks in using Poverty Benchmark for Redistribution Policies 7 6. Should Governments Focus on inequality? Or Poverty? My Reflections 8 7. Conclusions 9 8. Bibliography 9 Role of Poverty Benchmark as a component of Equity and Re-distribution Policy 1. Introduction How do you define poverty? It is a complex phenomenon influenced many factors. So there are many different ways to describe it. In general terms, idea of poverty is that if you can’t afford basic needs, you are poor. Yet, identifying such basic needs is bit complicated. Normally those are identified as items related to food, clothing and shelter. However, Amartya Sen (1983) states that basic needs are best understood capabilities such as to be free from decease, to travel; transportation, to be educated; schooling. Marshall Sahlins (1974) argues that poverty is a social status. When benchmarking poverty, there are two main classifications. Those are Absolute Poverty and Relative Poverty. Both of these types are based on income of the people rather than other social factors. ...
Words: 2904 - Pages: 12
...v i e w E c o n o m i c & S o c i a l Tr e n d s September 2012 Income Inequality in Canada: How does Manitoba compare? Can we do better? The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has been documenting the rise in inequality in Canada since 2006. More recently, the Conference Board of Canada and the OECD have confirmed this trend. These organizations also report that inequality in Canada is now increasing faster than is the case in many other countries. In their highly acclaimed 2009 book The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Wilkinson and Pickett showed the impact of inequality on a variety of measures such as levels of crime, teenage pregnancies, life expectancy and educational achievement (to name a few). The study concluded that countries that are most equal do best. If Canada wants to measure up to more equal countries, the growing gap between rich and poor will need to be addressed. The federal government has the most important role to play in redressing the imbalance. CCPA and others have suggested how poverty and inequality can be tackled through improved policies and programs, and better redistribution of wealth through taxes and transfers at the federal level. But provincial governments also have a responsibility. A recent study in Ontario shows that province to be the most unequal. Our analysis looks at the trend in inequality across Canada with a focus on measuring progress in Manitoba for individuals earning market incomes. As...
Words: 2765 - Pages: 12
...Basic Income Poverty can be thought of in many different ways. Poverty has been attributed to bad luck. Poverty has been attributed to lack of education or skills. Sometimes poverty has been attributable to racism, social class, immigration status, or ethnic or cultural challenges. But increasingly poverty can come about because of the lack of jobs. The global nature of business has led many companies to seek cheaper labor in other countries. They simply move the factory. All the jobs that were once there are gone. It’s not the workers fault. But this can lead to eventual poverty. What can be done? Two major provinces in Canada are considering an approach to assuaging poverty that some consider to be radical. Ontario and Quebec...
Words: 1355 - Pages: 6
...back above the line, it is also know as the Basic Guaranteed Income. BIG is a form of income distribution in the society. According to Gary Becker “any state intervention, any income redistribution, creates disincentives and distortions, but if society decides that a certain level of redistribution must take place, the NIT is the best, the most minimally distorting, solution ever devised." The three countries that are adapted to NIT or basic guaranteed annual income (BIG) mentioned in this paper are Canada, The United States of America and Namibia. Many different sources of funding have been suggested for this form of redistribution and these are: incomes taxes, sales taxes, luxury taxes, wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, capital gains taxes, pollution taxes, tariffs, sin taxes, universal stock ownership, fees from government created monopolies and a national mutual fund. Most citizens of a country do not want money to be deducted from them through taxes. The unhappy citizens will end up moving provinces or countries if the money being deducted from, for examples incomes according to Tibeout. According to the Altruism theory, people might feel the need to help others because they are uncertain about future Canada The Manitoba Mincome administered a negative Income tax (NIT) from 1974 to 1978. The residents of Dauphin Manitoba and other surroundings were randomly selected for this pilot project...
Words: 2735 - Pages: 11
...share overlapping similarities. People identifying with the conservative ideology believe in maintaining things, as they currently exist, personal responsibility, hard work, preserving tradition, moral values, and social stratification. Conservative officials focus on preserving conservative platforms and eliminating reforms established during periods of other ideological power. This group deduces that each individual should be responsible for gaining their own wealth through hard work and perseverance. The conservative philosophy supports the traditional tax breaks for the prosperous. In addition, they feel that wealthy people are entitled to live a lavish lifestyle opposed to the poor. Conservatives do not support the forced redistribution of wealth through taxes and welfare. This ideology does not believe that the government has the authority to take away a citizen’s rights to bear arms. A...
Words: 1945 - Pages: 8
...- Critique of Capitalism Abstract Canada and the United States grapple with situations that necessitate income guarantee schemes but have not implemented the schemes. Income guarantee schemes are social welfare provisions in which governments offer incomes to the citizens to enable them meet their needs as long as they meet established conditions. The origin of this scheme lies in the understanding that every citizen has a right to wealth and property of the state. It is also based on the reality that not all citizens are capable of earning income or sustaining themselves. Income guarantee schemes are based on social welfare models, which conceptualize that it is the role of the government to cater for the needs of the citizenry. Therefore, income guarantee schemes undermine the ideals of capitalism that call for individual efforts for purposes of meeting needs. Income guarantee schemes have a long history of evolution, implementation, and success. Introduction The United States has a number of anti-poverty programs that guarantee economic support to the vulnerable in society (Economist, 2013, p. 1). Income guarantee schemes can be of great relief to a number of poverty stricken people in the country. In Canada, a four-year experiment with income generation schemes was successful but due to economic period of the time, the schemes were discontinued (Belik, 2011, p. 1). Though they intend to end poverty and provide economic equality, income guarantee schemes...
Words: 3623 - Pages: 15
...See information on website for revisions to key tables and graphs Contact Bryan Perry at bryan.perry001@msd.govt.nz for further information Household incomes in New Zealand: Trends in indicators of inequality and hardship 1982 to 2012 Prepared by Bryan Perry Ministry of Social Development Wellington July 2013 ISBN 978-0-478-33569-9 (Print) ISBN 978-0-478-33570-5 (Online) Changes since last report • The report is updated with findings based on the 2011-12 Household Economic Survey (referred to as the 2012 HES). • Information on poverty rates by highest household educational qualification has been added. • The international comparisons are updated with the latest available data (usually 2010 or 2011), and expanded to include the share ratio for the top decile compared with the bottom decile plus more detail on the income share of those receiving high or very high incomes. • A special section is included which upgrades and updates the New Zealand information in a recent OECD report on the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on household incomes across OECD countries. • The material hardship section (Section K) has been strengthened. Next report • The next report is scheduled for mid 2014 based on the 2012-13 HES. (The timing is dependent on the availability of the HES data.) Availability on MSD website • This report and previous ones are available on the MSD website: ...
Words: 7234 - Pages: 29
...1. A perfectly competitive market has the following characteristics. (i) The market consists of buyers and sellers who are price takers. (ii) Each firm in the market produces undifferentiated and homogenous products. (iii) Buyers and sellers have perfect information about the price prevailing in the mark! About the availability of commodities at any given point of time. (iv) Firms can enter or exit the market freely. Implications: The implications of all these features is that there is single price in the mark no individual buyer can change it. On this price a firm can sell any amount of output. Because of flu demand of a firm is perfectly elastic and hence a horizontal line at the market price. Another implication is that a firm will produce only when it is profitable to produce, otherwise it will stop the products. * Characteristics of a Perfectly Competitive Market * The Law of One Price * Price Taking Behavior * Free Entry * Accounting vs. Economic Profit * Marginal Revenue * The Firm's Short Run Supply Curve * The Shut Down Price * The Short Run Market Supply Curve * Short Run Perfectly Competitive Equilibrium * The Firm's Long Run Supply Curve * Long Run Perfectly Competitive Equilibrium * The Long Run Market Supply Curve * Pecuniary Effects * Economic Rent * Producer's Surplus 1. Perfectly Competitive Market Characteristics of a perfectly competitive market/industry: * Numerous buyers and...
Words: 6230 - Pages: 25
...The following text is the second chapter of ―L‘Essai sur l‘oeconomie‖ by Pierre Calame, published at Editions Charles-Léopold Mayer in 2009. Translated from French by Michael C. Behrent. Chapter 2. Globalization in Question 1. “Pro” vs. “Anti” Globalization: The New Divide For a number of years, the question of economic globalization—i.e., the interdependence of national systems of production and exchange and the ―financialization‖ of the world (revealed by the American subprime crisis in 2007)—has polarized public opinion. The problems stemming from economic globalization dominate the news: the outsourcing production in search of cheaper labor costs; the decreasing efficiency of national juridical and fiscal regulation; the waning of the very idea of sovereignty; the growing constraints within which politicians can act; the emergence of a small class of the immensely rich alongside the billions of poor; the rise of new financial actors—pension funds, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds—capable of destabilizing or seizing control of entire realms of the economy; and the emergence of China and India as new global economic actors, as their companies storm the industrial bastions of the United States and Europe. Should one be for or against globalization? Can we turn our backs on globalization, and return to national or regional systems of production and exchange that are autonomous, even autarkic? Is the large cosmopolitan corporation the new leviathan—a monster that...
Words: 12272 - Pages: 50
...more investment, increased operation, and more jobs being taken (Nadadur 1041). These all affect the economy of the United States in a positive way. Demand for jobs is increased because of the incoming flow of people that are looking for jobs. They come to America with the intent of getting a good job and being able to support their family. These jobs might not always be the best jobs but they still get to do more than they could at homeland country. Investment will also increase because the amount of capital in the economy increasing (whitehouse.gov). According to the utilitarianism view it’s easy to see that immigrants are benefited more from coming to America than natives are harmed. An immigrant from Nazi Germany or modern Mexico and Canada, is leaving a situation which may range anywhere from death in a prison camp, to...
Words: 1059 - Pages: 5
...Business and Canadian Government Policy; Initiating a New Policy Name: Institution: Course title: Instructor: Date: Business and Canadian Government Policy; Initiating A New Policy Introduction This paper looks into a proposal on the introduction of a universal pharmaceutical policy or pharmacare in Canada. Canada is a country that has a global reputation of offering a successful healthcare to its populations. The Canadians enjoys free healthcare facilities because when they get sick they just need to visit the hospital or their doctors even when they do not have money. The government funds for the universal health policy by use of government revenues. The government gets the funds to pay the policies through taxation of Canadians who are well-off. Most Canadians especially the ordinary Canadians have benefited from the universal healthcare as it has increased their accessibility to health services (Fierlbeck, 2011). Although most Canadians and stakeholders consider the Canadian healthcare policy as universal, it is not comprehensive. A comprehensive healthcare policy should offer a complete healthcare package for citizens. The current healthcare policy in Canada does not substantially offer a comprehensive healthcare policy. This is because various core areas of healthcare are not covered with the current policy on healthcare. The core areas that have been left out by the policy include dental care, prescription drugs, and prescription glasses. The prescription drugs are more...
Words: 2579 - Pages: 11
...1995 : In its search for sustainable solutions to poverty and hunger issues, Moisson Montréal developed Renaissance, a social reintegration and professional training venture. 1998 : Moisson Montréal played a leadership role during the Ice Storm, offering humanitarian assistance to numerous municipalities. Some 300 tons of food were distributed daily – 5 times the average for that period. 2004: Moisson Montréal was actively involved the SOS Haiti project. 2007 – present: In collaboration with the Coalition énergie et construction durable (CEDC), Moisson Montréal’s focus was working on a large-scale project whose aim was to drastically improve its facilities. Construction and building management specialists devised an energy efficient concept from a sustainable development perspective. MISSION, VISION & VALUES Mission: To ensure optimal food supply to community organizations serving people in need on the Island of Montreal; to take part in the development of sustainable solutions to foster food security. The organization’s involvement in the community is three-fold, acting as a food bank, gathering and distributing food free of charge to support Montreal organizations; it contributes to the implementation of sustainable solutions fostering the self-sufficiency of people enduring hardship; and in defense of basic rights, it aims to advise the general public and authorities of the problems that arise from hunger and poverty. Vision: There does not appear to be a vision...
Words: 1981 - Pages: 8
...5/6/2013 By : ECONOMIC ANALYST | A PROJECT REPORT | THE ECONOMIC PROFILE OF NORWAY 2012 | GROUP MEMBERS Umar Shaharyar F11Ba120 SUBMITTED TO:SIR FAHAD KAZMI NORWAY INTRODUCTION: The country which we selected is “NORWAY”. Its capital is Oslo and total population is about 4.985 million. Adult population from 15 to 74 ages is about 4.056 million. Norwegians enjoy the second highest GDP per-capita (after Luxembourg) and fourth highest GDP (PPP) per-capita in the world. Today, Norway ranks as the second wealthiest country in the world in monetary value, with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation. According to the CIA World Factbook, Norway is a net external creditor of debt. Norway maintained first place in the world in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) for six consecutive years (2001–2006), and then reclaimed this position in 2009 and 2010. The standard of living in Norway is among the highest in the world. The Norwegian economy is an example of a mixed economy, a prosperous capitalist welfare state featuring a combination of free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors. 1. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) GDP is defined as “The market value of all final goods and services produced within the country in the given period of time”. 1. NOMINAL GDP: It is defined as“The production of goods and services valued at current prices”. In Norway Nominal GDP is about 499.8 billion. ...
Words: 1835 - Pages: 8
...Current Financial Crisis: a review of some of the consequences, policy actions and recent trends1 By Sameer Khatiwada and Emily McGirr, International Institute for Labour Studies2 What is happening? On the heels of the near bankruptcy of a major insurance company and the effective end of all major US investment banks, financial markets around the world sustained severe losses in the first two weeks of October, 2008, accelerating the downward trend that started at the beginning of the year. As a consequence, from New York to Moscow, and London to Sao Paulo, equity prices have fallen sharply – with the major stock indices of the G7 and BRICs losing nearly half of their value since the beginning of the year. This has seriously damaged banks’ balance sheets and restricted their lending capacity. With the cost of short-term credit rising dramatically and liquidity drying up, these events have been dubbed the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression in 1930s. More importantly, the shock waves from the US financial market have spread throughout the globe, with many countries on the brink of recession (see Figure 1, Appendix). How did a “house fire” in America turn into a global banking crisis? Sub-prime mortgages are a financial innovation designed to provide home ownership opportunities to borrowers in the U.S. with a higher risk profile (such as borrowers with low incomes, bad credit histories or limited disposable income). Most of the sub-prime ...
Words: 4382 - Pages: 18
...ARTICLE IN PRESS Resources Policy 34 (2009) 24–31 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Resources Policy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resourpol Recognizing and nurturing artisanal mining as a viable livelihood Petra Tschakert à Department of Geography and Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Development in Africa (AESEDA), Pennsylvania State University, 315 Walker Building, University Park, PA 16802-5011, USA a r t i c l e in f o Article history: Received 7 February 2008 Received in revised form 3 May 2008 Accepted 4 May 2008 JEL classification: L72 Q32 Keywords: Artisanal and small-scale mining Recognition Flourishing Alternative livelihoods Ghana a b s t r a c t Much of the discourse and literature on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa has inherently prescriptive recommendations on how the sector should develop. Devaluation, misrecognition, and criminalization of artisanal, largely illegal miners hamper their participation not only in environmental and political decision-making but also in negotiating potential alternative livelihoods. This article addresses the following three questions: (a) what are the pull and push factors in Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector?; (b) what concrete livelihood options exist for unregistered miners when regularization is impeded and undermined?; and (c) in the absence of promising alternative livelihoods, how can the ASM sector be re-imagined to allow...
Words: 6792 - Pages: 28
