ABSTRACT
One approach to poverty analysis concerns itself with shortfalls in basic needs satisfaction at a particular point in time, or poverty as 'state'. It deals with the underlying causes through which poverty is generated and reproduced over time. The two are of course closely interrelated: basic needs deprivation at a particular point in time is both outcome of past processes of poverty and a determinant of the future. This chapter summarizes feminist contributions to both these ways of thinking about poverty. Gender asymmetries were also evident in the ability to translate labour effort into income in the market place. These reflected gender inequalities in endowments, such as education and productive assets. They also reflected the gendered organization of economic opportunities. Structural adjustment policies (SAPs) introduced the concept of 'policy-induced shocks' into the development lexicon. Elson (1995) summarized a second wave of studies that sought to analyse how households coped with this new category of shocks.
