by Celia Craske

Created on: December 06, 2006   Last Updated: May 18, 2007

Poverty can be defined in two ways - absolute or relative. Absolute poverty has largely disappeared from countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. In these countries and similar, cases of absolute poverty are usually the result of people either slipping through the welfare net or refusing to accept help.

Technically, absolute poverty could be abolished by ensuring that everyone in the world had sufficient income to provide for their essential needs. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. To drag Africa out of poverty would mean Western nations having to be prepared to accept a smaller share of the fiscal cake, to pay more for raw materials etc.

Relative poverty on the other hand is impossible to eradicate. This is because this method of evaluating poverty is based on either median or mean income levels at any period of time, with people who fall below a certain percentage being perceived as being in poverty. It is generally accepted that median income is a more accurate measure since mean income is often skewed by the fact that more people are found at the lower end of the earnings ladder.

Current figures in the UK put median income at approximately 350 per week, with the poverty line set at 60 per cent of this or below. This means that anyone with an income of 210 or less is considered to be living below the poverty line. Separate figure are compiled for different groups. Many of the people, especially those at the upper end of this scale, probably wouldn't consider themselves to be poor. Paradoxically, it has often been these people who have been most helped by the governments policies to help reduce poverty. At the bottom of the ladder, people on state welfare benefits in the UK exist on a safety net that is approximately 50 per cent of the perceived income level needed to raise them out of poverty.

The problem with measuring poverty in a relative way is that it is impossible to eradicate. Unless everyone is on exactly the same income, there will always be some wealthier than others and vice versa; those at the bottom will always be below the poverty line. Does it matter, so long as they are able to afford the necessities of life plus a bit more?

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