Running Head: INCOME POVERTY AND HUMAN POVERTY

Income Poverty and Human Poverty By Melissa Guevara

INCOME POVERTY AND HUMAN POVERTY

Income Poverty and Human Poverty Income poverty refers to the deprivation of income resulting in the inability to purchase basic goods and services, which are most often socially determined such as food and clothing. Persons affected by this generally experience poor living conditions and a low standard of living. Human poverty, however, refers to the deprivation of basic human needs such as adequate nourishment, shelter, health care and education. Poverty relates to not just the lack of basic needs but more importantly the denial of those needs and from a human development viewpoint, denial of human needs are more considered than denial of income. Income poverty and human poverty differ from each other in that income poverty emphasizes the denial of income or money resulting in an inability to purchase basic goods, services and material things. While on the contrary, human poverty does not consider income alone but emphasizes the denial of basic physical and social human needs. Additionally, while income poverty focuses on what persons have or do not have, human poverty is concerned with what an individual can or cannot do. For instance, income poverty asks the question, Can I afford to pay for health care services? while human poverty would ask, Can I live a long and healthy life?

INCOME POVERTY AND HUMAN POVERTY

References: Charles, Ainsley (2002). Topics in Economic Development ECON 3051 Course Material. Barbados: University of the West Indies. UNDP Poverty in Focus (2006). Retrieved from http://www.ipcundp.org/pub/IPCPovertyInFocus9.pdf