ABSTRACT
While poverty has many causes, this chapter assumes poverty is first and foremost the lack of money. Traditionally the two main sources of income for women have been marriage and the market. When these fail, many women turned to the state for help. However, the data suggest that all three institutions-marriage, the market, and the state-have become increasingly unreliable sources of economic support for women. From 1945 to the mid-1970s, fueled by peace, prosperity and a liberal political climate, all three institutions expanded. However, in the mid1970s, deindustrialization, globalization, the rise of conservatism, and other changes in the domestic and international economies were accompanied by major reorganizations that reduced their capacity to protect women from poverty.
