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Equality Street: Ideology and attitudes towards the purely relative definition of poverty

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  • Andrew Dunn

Abstract

The (purely) relative definition of poverty remains influential as an evaluative yardstick for various government policies. Left‐wing social policy scholars and anti‐poverty campaigners' strong commitment to it contrasts sharply with public attitudes. Regression models using British Social Attitudes data found that ideological orientation was the most consistently powerful predictor of how people define poverty. Evidence suggests anti‐poverty organisations' campaign failures might be due to ideological opposition or to the conceptual weakness of purely relative poverty rather than (as campaigners have claimed) ineffective campaign tactics or the influence of the mass media. Conservative politicians have little to fear in opposing the Marxist concept.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Dunn, 2022. "Equality Street: Ideology and attitudes towards the purely relative definition of poverty," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 13-29, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:42:y:2022:i:1:p:13-29
    DOI: 10.1111/ecaf.12504
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew Dunn, 2014. "Voluntary Unemployment and the UK Social Policy Literature," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 85-91, February.
    2. Sen, Amartya, 1983. "Poor, Relatively Speaking," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(2), pages 153-169, July.
    3. Toru Yamamori, 2019. "The Smithian ontology of ‘relative poverty’: revisiting the debate between Amartya Sen and Peter Townsend," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 70-80, January.
    4. Ravallion, Martin, 2016. "The Economics of Poverty: History, Measurement, and Policy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780190212773.
    5. Sen, Amartya K, 1976. "Poverty: An Ordinal Approach to Measurement," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(2), pages 219-231, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuanyuan Zhang & Chenyujing Yang & Shaocong Yan & Wukui Wang & Yongji Xue, 2023. "Alleviating Relative Poverty in Rural China through a Diffusion Schema of Returning Farmer Entrepreneurship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.

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