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Realising poverty in all its dimensions: A six-country participatory study

Author

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  • Bray, Rachel
  • de Laat, Marianne
  • Godinot, Xavier
  • Ugarte, Alberto
  • Walker, Robert

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals require countries to halve poverty in all its dimensions by 2020 but the dimensions are nowhere specified. Reflecting the United Nation’s aspiration that policy should be informed by ‘the meaningful participation of persons living in poverty’, participative research was undertaken in six contrasting countries (Bangladesh, Bolivia, France, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and the USA) to identify the dimensions of poverty. People experiencing poverty were involved at all stages of the research as members of national research teams alongside academics and practitioners. The core methodology, Merging of Knowledge, entailed recruitment in each country of people in poverty, social welfare practitioners and specialist academics, their participation in extended parallel groupwork in order to specify the dimensions of poverty, and meetings between representatives of all three groups to seek consensus. Consensus was achieved at national level as it subsequently was at international level with representatives from all six countries. Nine dimensions of poverty were recognised, only three of which are commonly included in existing measures: disempowerment; suffering in body, mind and heart; struggle and resistance; social maltreatment;, institutional maltreatment; unrecognised contribution; lack of decent work; insufficient income; and material and social deprivation. Five factors were determined to influence the manifestation of the dimensions: cultural beliefs; identity; location; environment and environmental policy and timing and duration. The research suggests that it may be possible to view poverty in the global North and South through a single perspective creating a template for the development and evaluation of policy, while also stimulating work on new indicators of poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Bray, Rachel & de Laat, Marianne & Godinot, Xavier & Ugarte, Alberto & Walker, Robert, 2020. "Realising poverty in all its dimensions: A six-country participatory study," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:134:y:2020:i:c:s0305750x20301510
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105025
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Yuanzhi Guo & Wenyue Zhong, 2023. "Rural Transformation Development and Its Influencing Factors in China’s Poverty-Stricken Areas: A Case Study of Yanshan-Taihang Mountains," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Sánchez, Angeles & D'Agostino, Antonella & Giusti, Caterina & Potsi, Antoanneta, 2024. "Measuring child vulnerability to poverty: Material and psychosocial deprivation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Olubunmi Ipinnaiye & Femi Olaniyan, 2023. "An exploratory study of local social innovation initiatives for sustainable poverty reduction in Nigeria," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(4), pages 2222-2239, August.
    5. Osinski, Agathe & Schutter, Olivier De & Godinot, Xavier, 2025. "Deliberating towards development: A framework for co-constructing policies with people in poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    6. Aiswarya R Nair & Yeshvanth Kumar Gubbi Shivanna & Jesson Paulson Illimoottil & Arun Rachana & Gowri S Mahasampath & Sunil Abraham & Suja Kurian, 2022. "Common mental disorders among women and its social correlates in an urban marginalized populace in South India," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(7), pages 1394-1402, November.
    7. Miller, Daniel C. & Cheek, Jennifer Zavaleta & Mansourian, Stephanie & Wildburger, Christoph, 2022. "Forests, trees and the eradication of poverty," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    8. Ding, Chante Jian & Zhao, Mu & Wang, Jiaxin & Shao, David Xuefeng & Miah, Shah J. & Yue, Lin, 2024. "Social robots in the context of corporate participation in rural revitalization: A binary legitimacy perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    9. Khorana, Sangeeta & Caram, Santiago & Biagetti, Marco, 2021. "Developmental relevance of Everything but Arms: Implications for Bangladesh after LDC graduation," MPRA Paper 116258, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Jhonatan Clausen & Micaela Salcedo & Nicolas Barrantes & Patricia Ruiz-Bravo, 2026. "Multidimensional Poverty and Disempowerment Among Women: Exploring Associations and Overlaps Across 32 Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 1-28, March.
    11. Jie Wang & Zhijian Cai & Zhen Zeng & Chang Liu, 2025. "How Do Digital Skills Affect Rural Households’ Incomes in China? An Explanation Derived from Factor Allocation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-18, October.
    12. Wilson, Naomi & McDaid, Shari, 2021. "The mental health effects of a Universal Basic Income: A synthesis of the evidence from previous pilots," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).

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