IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/povpop/v11y2019i4p291-301.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Poverty and Social Policy: Perceptions Versus Reality

Author

Listed:
  • Miki Malul

Abstract

Relieving poverty is one of the more important and complicated tasks in every society. Is the public aware of poverty‐related data? Do people know who is considered poor? Public awareness about the issue of poverty is crucial for pushing policymakers to act. Using a survey‐based experiment with a representative sample of 751 Israelis, we found significant gaps between perceptions and reality regarding several measures of poverty. In fact, in most of the poverty indicators, 80 percent of the public estimations were inaccurate. We found, however, that 60 percent of the people understand that the issue of poverty negatively affects the entire society. We showed that perceptions about poverty and the reasons for it affect people's views about the need for policy measures to reduce it. 减贫是每个社会中重要且复杂的任务之一。公众是否了解与贫困相关的数据? 人民是否知道贫困的标准是什么?为鼓励决策者作出行动, 公众对贫困问题的观感尤为关键。通过使用一项基于调查的实验, 该实验包括由751名以色列人代表组成的样本, 我们发现, 就有关贫困的几种衡量方法而言, 观感和现实之间存在显著差异。事实上, 在大多数贫困指标中, 80%的公共预测都不准确。然而我们发现, 60%的人知道贫困问题会对整个社会造成消极影响。我们表明, 贫困观感和贫困原因会影响人们对需要政策措施进行减贫的看法。 Aliviar la pobreza es una de las tareas importantes y complicadas en toda sociedad. ¿El público conoce los datos relacionados con la pobreza? ¿La gente sabe quién se considera pobre? La conciencia pública sobre el tema de la pobreza es crucial para impulsar a los responsables políticos a actuar. Utilizando un experimento basado en encuestas con una muestra representativa de 751 israelíes, encontramos brechas significativas entre las percepciones y la realidad con respecto a varias medidas de pobreza. De hecho, en la mayoría de los indicadores de pobreza, el 80% de las estimaciones públicas eran inexactas. Sin embargo, descubrimos que el 60% de las personas comprende que el tema de la pobreza afecta negativamente a toda la sociedad. Mostramos que las percepciones sobre la pobreza y las razones de la misma afectan las opiniones de las personas sobre la necesidad de medidas políticas para reducirla.

Suggested Citation

  • Miki Malul, 2019. "Poverty and Social Policy: Perceptions Versus Reality," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 291-301, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:povpop:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:291-301
    DOI: 10.1002/pop4.261
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/pop4.261
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/pop4.261?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yul Davids & Amanda Gouws, 2013. "Monitoring Perceptions of the Causes of Poverty in South Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 1201-1220, February.
    2. Alkire, Sabina & Foster, James & Seth, Suman & Santos, Maria Emma & Roche, Jose Manuel & Ballon, Paola, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199689491.
    3. Sabina Alkire, James E. Foster, Suman Seth, Maria Emma Santos, Jose M. Roche and Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 9 - Distribution and Dynamics," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp090_ch9.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    4. Sabina Alkire, James E. Foster, Suman Seth, Maria Emma Santos, José M. Roche and Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 7 - Data and Analysis," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp088_ch7.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    5. Leonor Costa & José Dias, 2015. "What do Europeans Believe to be the Causes of Poverty? A Multilevel Analysis of Heterogeneity Within and Between Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 1-20, May.
    6. Sabina Alkire & James E. Foster & Suman Seth & Maria Emma Santos & Jose M. Roche & Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 2 - The Framework," OPHI Working Papers 83, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    7. Monnickendam, Menachem & Monnickendam, Shlomo M. & Katz, Chana & Katan, Joseph, 2007. "Health care for the poor--An exploration of primary-care physicians' perceptions of poor patients and of their helping behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(7), pages 1463-1474, April.
    8. Lihi Lahat & Gila Menahem, 2009. "Causes and Remedies for Poverty: Perceptions among Local Elected Leaders in Israel," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(2), pages 1-31, July.
    9. Sabina Alkire & James E. Foster & Suman Seth & Maria Emma Santos & Jose M. Roche & Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 9 - Distribution and Dynamics," OPHI Working Papers 90, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    10. Sabina Alkire, James E. Foster, Suman Seth, Maria Emma Santos, José M. Roche and Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 2 - The Framework," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp083_ch2.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    11. Sabina Alkire & James E. Foster & Suman Seth & Maria Emma Santos & Jose M. Roche & Paola Ballon, 2015. "Multidimensional Poverty Measurement and Analysis: Chapter 7 - Data and Analysis," OPHI Working Papers 88, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abre-Rehmat Qurat-ul-Ann & Faisal Mehmood Mirza, 2021. "Multidimensional Energy Poverty in Pakistan: Empirical Evidence from Household Level Micro Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 211-258, May.
    2. Londari Yamarak & Kevin A. Parton, 2023. "Impacts of mining projects in Papua New Guinea on livelihoods and poverty in indigenous mining communities," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 36(1), pages 13-27, January.
    3. Tavares, Fernando Flores & Betti, Gianni, 2021. "The pandemic of poverty, vulnerability, and COVID-19: Evidence from a fuzzy multidimensional analysis of deprivations in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Gaurav Datt, 2019. "Multidimensional poverty in the Philippines, 2004–2013: How much do choices for weighting, identification and aggregation matter?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1103-1128, October.
    5. Dutta, Indranil & Nogales, Ricardo & Yalonetzky, Gaston, 2021. "Endogenous weights and multidimensional poverty: A cautionary tale," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    6. M. Azhar Hussain & Nikolaj Siersbæk & Lars Peter Østerdal, 2020. "Multidimensional welfare comparisons of EU member states before, during, and after the financial crisis: a dominance approach," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 55(4), pages 645-686, December.
    7. Juan-Francisco Sánchez-García & María-del-Carmen Sánchez-Antón & Rosa Badillo-Amador & María-del-Carmen Marco-Gil & Juan-Vicente LLinares-Ciscar & Susana Álvarez-Díez, 2019. "A New Extension of Bourguignon and Chakravarty Index to Measure Educational Poverty and Its Application to the OECD Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 479-501, September.
    8. Julien Hanoteau, 2023. "Do foreign MNEs alleviate multidimensional poverty in developing countries?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(4), pages 719-749, December.
    9. Brandolini, Andrea & Micklewright, John, 2020. "Tony Atkinson's New Book, Measuring Poverty around the World: Some Further Reflections," IZA Discussion Papers 12890, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Hai‐Anh Dang & Dean Jolliffe & Calogero Carletto, 2019. "Data Gaps, Data Incomparability, And Data Imputation: A Review Of Poverty Measurement Methods For Data‐Scarce Environments," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 757-797, July.
    11. Najam, Zaira, 2020. "The Sensitivity of Poverty Trends to Dimensionality and Distribution Sensitivity in Poverty Measures - District Level Analysis for Pakistan," MPRA Paper 102383, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Matthys, Marie-Luise & Acharya, Sushant & Khatri, Sanjaya, 2021. "“Before cardamom, we used to face hardship”: Analyzing agricultural commercialization effects in Nepal through a local concept of the Good Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    13. Anicia Jaegler, 2022. "How to Measure Inclusion in Higher Education: An Inclusive Rating," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-11, July.
    14. Bénédicte Apouey & David Madden, 2023. "Health poverty," Chapters, in: Jacques Silber (ed.), Research Handbook on Measuring Poverty and Deprivation, chapter 19, pages 202-211, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Cecilia Njoroge & Anja Smith & Marisa von Fintel, 2024. "Inequalities in Water Insecurity in Kenya: A Multidimensional Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 171-193, October.
    16. Christian P. Schneider, 2024. "Implementing the Resource Nexus approach: the contribution of internationalising German businesses," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 1-13, December.
    17. Sung-Geun Kim, 2023. "What can we talk about social cohesion in Korea? An item response theory approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 2409-2427, June.
    18. Morel Berendson, Ricardo & Girón, Liz, 2022. "The multidimensional impacts of the Conditional Cash Transfer program Juntos in Peru," MERIT Working Papers 2022-012, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    19. Ahmad Fahme Mohd Ali & W.A. Amir Zal & Nurhanan Ab. Hamid & Tengku Fauzan Tengku Anuar & Hafizi Mat Salleh & Siti Asma Md. Rasdi, 2022. "The Moderating Effect of zakāh Distribution on the Economic Well-being of the Poor: An Analysis in Kelantan, Malaysia التأثير المعتدل لتوزيع الزكاة على الرفاهية الاقتصادية للفقراء: تحليل من ولاية كلان," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 35(1), pages 75-97, January.
    20. Gianni Betti & Federico Crescenzi & Vasco Molini & Lorenzo Mori, 2024. "Estimation of Multidimensional Poverty in Morocco: A Small Area Estimation Approach Using Meteorological and Socio-economic Covariates," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 175(2), pages 545-575, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:povpop:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:291-301. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1944-2858 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.