Does widespread lack undermine the socially perceived necessities approach to defining poverty?: evidence from South Africa
SOURCE: Journal of Social Policy
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2013
TITLE AUTHOR(S): G.Wright, M.Noble
KEYWORDS: POVERTY
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 9940
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/11247
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/11247
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2013
TITLE AUTHOR(S): G.Wright, M.Noble
KEYWORDS: POVERTY
DEPARTMENT: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 9940
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/11247
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/11247
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
The socially perceived necessities or 'consensual' approach to defining and measuring poverty is based on an assumption that it is possible to obtain a collective view from society on the necessities for an acceptable standard of living. The enforced lack of the necessities due ??? typically ??? to lack of resources can be regarded as poverty. The validity of the approach has been questioned on a number of grounds including the argument that people???s socioeconomic circumstances may influence what they define as a necessity. Widespread lack of material possessions and access to services could result in these items being regarded as 'less necessary', which in turn could artificially deflate the definition of poverty using this approach. Informed by the adaptive preferences literature and drawing on a nationally representative South African Socially Attitudes Survey this paper explores whether there is evidence in South Africa of an association between people's patterns of possession and their definition of items as essential. Notwithstanding the fact that possession of an item is strongly associated with people???s preferences, the evidence on balance suggests that widespread lack does not undermine the validity of the approach.-
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