E-Book Content
SOCIOLOGY REFERENCE GUIDE THE EFFECTS OF POVERTY & THE WELFARE STATE The Editors of Salem Press SALEM PRESS Pasadena, California • Hackensack, New Jersey Published by Salem Press Copyright © 2011 by Salem Press All rights in this book are reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews or in the copying of images deemed to be freely licensed or in the public domain. ISBN: 978-1-42983-479-7 Includes bibliographical references and index. Indexing Subjects 1. Poverty 2. Welfare State 3. Sociology First Edition Contents Introduction 1 Demographics of Poverty 3 The Poverty Line 13 Absolute & Relative Poverty 24 Social Theories of Poverty 35 Cultural Theories of Poverty 47 The Poor & the Working Poor 58 Poverty & Children 71 The Feminization of Poverty 79 Poverty & Gender 86 Aging & Poverty 94 The Homeless in America 102 Social Mobility in the U.S. 121 Terms & Concepts 130 Contributors 143 Index 145 The Effects of Poverty & the Welfare State iii Introduction The pernicious effect of poverty on Americans continues to represent one of the major obstacles in a progressive and democratic society. Sociology studies an array of causes and effects of poverty, from global economic structures that influence social welfare programs to the efficacy of health care policies for elder Americans. The Sociology Reference Guide series is designed to provide a solid foundation for the research of various sociological topics. This volume brings together a collection of topics that provide an introductory survey of the field of sociology and poverty. First, the essays quantify the poverty of global and local sites before reviewing the distinctions between social and cultural theories of poverty. The majority of the essays present a close study of the struggle and challenges experienced by a diverse population that most immediately suffers from the personal and social consequences of poverty. The effect of social and political policy on the conditions of a person living in poverty is the subject of the first group of essays. These authors remind readers that a quantifiable poverty—determining who exactly is counted as poor—is as much an issue of numbers as it is policy. In her essay on international economic policies, Cheryl Bourassa explores two primary indicators of poverty; the “absolute” (the individual) and the “relative” (the individual within a group). Bourassa explains how organizations such The Effects of Poverty & the Welfare State 1 as the World Bank are contributing to the dialogue on poverty and offers insight into the ways local and global issues in poverty intersect. The broad gestures on policy presented in these first essays are followed by denotative essays, as they define two major areas of inquiry: social and cultural theories of poverty. Michael P. Auerbach’s review of the “cultural underpinnings” of poverty helps readers understand more clearly the personal, familial, and communal issues that underlie poverty. The causes and effects of poverty for specific populations is the subject of the remaining group of essays. In an essay that bridges the first and second half of the volume, Geraldine Wagner investigates relative and