ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the complex and multi-dimensional issues of poverty and poverty alleviation in specific terms. It explains the concept of poverty and how the poor live, earn and spend their money and focuses on the specific circumstances of rural and urban poverty. Poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines that are appropriate to its level of development. The many people who are trapped in the poverty cycle are the last to benefit from economic growth, and they seldom experience real improvements as a result of aggregate economic growth. Most poor are preoccupied by the daily need for sufficient food, while the lack of durable goods can be seen as a marker of poverty. The poor are often malnourished and therefore suffer from health problems. Rural poverty is dominant in Africa and Asia, whereas urban poverty dominates in Eastern Europe and Latin America.
