The Poor, the Periphery, and the State in Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro

1987 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 178-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Gondim
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Real Income ◽  
The State ◽  
The Core ◽  
Urban Services ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Land Subdivision ◽  
Peripheral Areas

This paper analyzes the socio-economic and political factors accounting for the spatial structure of Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro. Urban services and facilities, as well as upper- and middle-class housing are concentrated in the core. The most poor are segregated to poorly equipped peripheral areas. To the extent that access to urban services is considered a component of real income, spatial segregation reinforces income concentration, a feature of the region's process of economic development. The paper analyzes how state intervention has contributed to this pattern by concentrating investments in the core and immediate periphery, and relocating squatter settlers to suburbs. The state has adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards the periphery, where speculative land subdivision had provided a viable, yet inequitable, housing alternative for the poor. Low-income groups have fought to improve their lot, pressuring against favela removal and for urban improvements in their neighborhoods. They have also used the system to their advantage by becoming petty landlords or land speculators. Although these may be viewed merely as “coping strategies,” their conservative or revolutionary potential is a matter to be assessed empirically. Likewise, whether state policies will be repressive, distributive, or even redistributive cannot be stated beforehand. These policies are shaped not only by structural forces, but also by the political context and the views of government employees.

Food Security in Hawai‘i

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Kent
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
State Government ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Local Food ◽  
The State ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Low Income Consumers

This chapter challenges the uncritical pursuit of food self-sufficiency that has been rationalized as increasing the state’s preparedness against shipping disruption. It argues that this effort might increase food’s cost, and reiterates the point that local food is not necessarily fair as low-income consumers could be sidelined in the push for food localization. In contrast to the enthusiasm for promoting agriculture and local food production in the state, relatively little has been done in addressing food insecurity of the poor, especially by the state government. Food democracy needs to consider food security for all—particularly the poor and the marginalized.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Marginal Locations of Muslim Women on Various Sites in India

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Esita Sur
Keyword(s):  
Economic Status ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
The State ◽  
Politics Of Representation ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Dominant Discourses ◽  
Political Structures ◽  
Academic Discourses

Dominant discourses on Muslim women have revolved around their marginal locations in commu-nity as well as in society. It has mainly been subjected to socio-economic and political structures and conditions as well. However, it is worth mentioning that marginality is not only a lived experi-ence but it also has metaphoric dimensions. The state of marginality relates not only to the poor socio-economic status of Muslim women but the politics of representation of their identities like veiled, passive as well as meek victims in various discourses also constructs the core of their mar-ginal location in the larger society. Therefore, the marginalisation of Muslim women seems to be visible in various discourses in India. Briefly, the paper will attempt to comprehend the undercur-rents functioning behind the construction of the very concept of marginality and locate Muslim women in popular and academic discourses on marginality.

Welfare as Wrecking Ball: Constructing Public Responsibility in Legal Encounters Over Public Housing Demolition

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (03) ◽  
pp. 670-700
Author(s):  
John N. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Housing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Administrative Reforms ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Public Responsibility ◽  
Housing Demolition

Scholarship on welfare privatization illustrates how the process often curtails and undermines public responsibility for the poor. In this article, I examine how recipients, policy makers, and judges participate in the legal process as a means of challenging and defending privatization. I look at cases of litigation initiated by public housing tenants between 1985 and 2012 to fight the demolition of their homes to explore the changing meaning of public responsibility within a shrinking public sector. My findings show that as legislative and administrative reforms steered courts toward a more flexible understanding of public responsibility, courts gave increasing attention to the economic hardships experienced by the state itself, while downplaying the plight of low-income tenants.

scholarly journals A favela depois do Estatuto da Cidade: novos e velhos dilemas à luz do caso do Poço da Draga (Fortaleza-CE)

2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Linda M. P. Gondim
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Low Income ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Popular Participation ◽  
Family Situation ◽  
Convention Center ◽  
Squatter Settlement ◽  
Low Income Housing

O trabalho discute intervenções do Poder Público em favelas, a partir do caso do Poço da Draga, comunidade existente na Praia de Iracema, em Fortaleza (CE). O projeto de construção de um centro de feiras e eventos no local incluía a realocação dos favelados no bairro, em apartamentos construídos pelo governo estadual. Analisa-se o projeto de realocação do ponto de vista dos moradores, com destaque para a participação popular e o papel das ONGs. Consideram-se os moradores como sujeitos sociais concretos, e não como parte de uma idealizada “comunidade”. Assim, evidencia-se sua grande heterogeneidade em termos de situação familiar, renda, gênero, etc., bem como sua capacidade de formular alternativas que atendam a seus interesses.Palavras-chave: urbanização de favelas; Poço da Draga; Praia de Iracema; habitação popular; participação. Abstract: This paper discusses state intervention in favelas, focusing on the case of Poço da Draga, a squatter settlement located on Iracema beach, in Fortaleza. A project for building a convention center in this locality included the moving of squatters to apartments to be built in the neighborhood by the state government. The moving is analyzed from the squatters viewpoint, emphasizing popular participation and the role of NGOs. Squatters are considered as concrete social subjects, rather then a part of an idealized “community”. Thus, it becomes evident that they are heterogeneous in terms of family situation, income, gender, etc. They also can formulate alternatives that meet their interests. Keywords: urbanization; Poço da Draga; Iracema Beach; low income housing; participation.

scholarly journals Malthus’s theory on population as a basis for criticism of the interventionist state

Stanovnistvo ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Marko Dokic
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Individual Liberty ◽  
Minimal State ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Status

Going by ideological debates concerning (un)justifiable state intervention, protection of individual liberty, and the question of state's role, this article analyses Malthus's theory on population. It states a thesis that theory on population leads Malthus toward the idea of a minimal state and represents a basis for criticism of an interventionist state and its paternalistic role. The article consists of an introduction, four sections and a conclusion. The introduction cites goals of the work and gives basic notes on Malthus's theory on population and its socio-historical context. Special consideration is paid on reasons that lead to desertion of his ideas with a special focus on changes within liberal ideology, that lead to dissociation from classical liberalism and a merging of liberalism with socialism. The first part examines basic principles of Malthus's theory on population - primarily the idea that the population multiply faster than the food supply, and that population, when unchecked, increases in geometrical ratio, while subsistence increases only in arithmetical ratio. Afterwards, this Malthus's idea is linked to the status of the poor, and is concluded that the state intervention is useless, being that the troubles this part of the population faces are a consequence of their own actions. Therefore, the role of the state should not be care for the poor. In the second part positive and preventive checks to population are examined. Preventive checks are further analyzed because Malthus gives them more importance. The third, central part, is dedicated to Malthus's criticism of the Poor Laws and, within it, his opposition to the state's intervention is further analyzed. According to Malthus, laws that are passed in order to improve the status of the poor have an opposite effect. Even though their aim is to decrease poverty, they increase it. Their tendency is to lead to an increase in population, without the simultaneous increase in food resources that are needed to satisfy the needs of that number of people. The poor, when given an increase in wages, tend to marry more and form families with a larger number of children that they can't support themselves. In that way, they become more dependent on the state, and this leads to an increase in poverty. The fourth part analyzes the misgivings of Malthus's theory, especially its negligence of technological advancement. And it is because of this omission that Malthus couldn't come to a different theory concerning population growth, rather than the one that he had formed. Finally, after all the important elements of Malthus's theory on population are analyzed, the importance of his thought and a theory of minimal state are examined. Stated and defended is the stance that the theory of minimal state is not value-neutral, and that the only minimal state that can exist is a liberal minimal state, and therefore Thomas Robert Malthus belongs to that tradition within the liberal thought.

scholarly journals Identifying Factors Alleviating Poverty: Experience from Malaysian Zakat Institutions

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Mohamed Saladin Abdul Rasool ◽  
Sharifah Adlina Tuan Sayed Amran
Keyword(s):  
Linear Regression ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Income Group ◽  
The State ◽  
Head Of Household ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Populated State ◽  
Household Heads

A major challenge for zakat institutions is to identify ways to alleviate poverty. Thus, it is essential to determine factors that influence the incidence of poverty. Determinants of poverty can be used by zakat institutions as a guide by zakat authorities as to draw guidelines and programs to alleviate the poor. The objective of the present paper is to identify the determinants of poverty from the perspective of poor zakat recepients in Selangor, the most populated Muslim state in Malaysia. Using the Had Kifayah method, which is based on maqasid al-shariah principles, the study would outline factors that can be used as a guideline to fight poverty. The present study employed a dataset derived from a survey consisting of 258 head of household heads of low-income group in the state of Selangor, the most populated state in Malaysia. The multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis revealed three factors that influence poverty in this study, namely, unemployment of household heads, non-working household adults and unability to obtain permanent jobs. Keywords: Poverty, measurements, zakat organizations

Taxing the Poor: Incarceration, Poverty Governance, and the Seizure of Family Resources

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 638-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Fainsod Katzenstein ◽  
Maureen R. Waller
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The State ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Government ◽  
Prison Systems

In the last decades, the American state has radically enlarged the array of policy instruments utilized in today’s governance of the poor. Most recently, through a process of outright “seizure,” the state now exacts revenue from low-income families, partners, and friends of those individuals who in very large numbers cycle in and out of the nation’s courts, jails, and prisons. In an analysis of legislation, judicial cases, policy regulations, blog, chat-line postings, and survey data, we explore this new form of taxation. In doing so, we endeavor to meet two objectives: The first is to document policies which pressure individuals (mostly men) entangled in the court and prison systems to rely on family members and others (mostly women) who serve as the safety net of last resort. Our second objective is to give voice to an argument not yet well explored in the sizeable incarceration literature: that the government is seizing resources from low-income families to help finance the state’s own coffers, including the institutions of the carceral state itself. Until now, no form of poverty governance has been depicted as so baldly drawing on family financial support under the pressure of punishment to extract cash resources from the poor. This practice of seizure constitutes the very inversion of welfare for the poor. Instead of serving as a source of support and protection for poor families, the state saps resources from indigent families of loved ones in the criminal justice system in order to fund the state’s project of poverty governance.

Hayek, Keynes, and the Economic Role of the State

2020 ◽  
pp. 32-50
Author(s):  
Vito Tanzi
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The State ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Economic Role ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Government Role

The chapter considers how two economic giants of the twentieth century saw the economic role of the market, comparing Hayek’s trust in the market with Keynes’ growing doubts about its role. There are areas where they strongly disagreed but also many areas of convergence. The greatest divergence in their positions was in the role of government in stabilizing policies. It can be said that these two economists actually had less extreme views that many assume they did. Keynes’ views were less socialist than many assume while Hayek’s views were less conservative. Hayek theorized a government role in regulations vis-à-vis the environment and vis-à-vis guaranteeing a low income for the poor; Keynes was against high taxes and was relatively indifferent to welfare policies.

scholarly journals The State and the Steam-Boiler in Nineteenth-Century Britain

1980 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. J. Bartrip
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Government Intervention ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Steam Boiler ◽  
Government Growth ◽  
Victorian Britain ◽  
The Core ◽  
Government Inspection

The search for the origins of government intervention in the nation's economic life has long interested historians of Victorian Britain. Indeed, in recent years it has given rise to an extended and enthusiastic controversy. This debate is so well known and has been so often summarised that it is only necessary to observe here that the core of the argument has been about whether government growth was generated more by ideology (Benthamism) or force of circumstances (Professor MacDonagh's “intolerable situation”). There is, however, consensus on several other points, namely, that the mid nineteenth century was not the “golden age” of laissez-faire that Dicey supposed and that government inspection was crucially important as the agency of state intervention.

Regional Subsistence Minimum and the Minimum Wage: Problems of Simplifying Approaches and Distorting the Real Needs of the Population

2021 ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Elena E. Rumyantseva ◽  
◽  
Oleg L. Shutov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Low Income ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Regulation System ◽  
Living Wage ◽  
The Real ◽  
Social Standards ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Subsistence Minimum

The subsistence minimum and the minimum wage, being basic social standards, not only formally determine the poverty threshold, but also act as the most important instruments of the state regulation of the living and poverty standard, exerting a noticeable effect on both its increase and its decrease. The discussion about the calculation methods, which has been carried out since the beginning of the 1990s, has not ended, and the subsistence minimum and the minimum wage turned out to be so underestimated and at the same time distorted that not only independent experts, relatively free in their assessments, but also the Russian Federation government analysts, previously censoring the publications, state the need to change the approaches to the establishment of the living wage and the minimum wage at the federal and regional levels. In Russia in the recent years, the number of the poor has been growing, and the phenomenon of the growing working poverty has also been noted. Since January 2021, changes in the methodology for the subsistence minimum and the minimum wage calculating have been made, but not in the direction of their more labor-intensive scientific justification, but, on the contrary, in the direction of the even greater simplification. These social standards are now tied as a percentage to the median wage. In the case of an increase between the real minimum needs of the population and the estimated ones, this can be a significant cause of social conflicts. The authors propose to change the practice of applying a simplified approach to the subsistence minimum and minimum wage calculating, the other state regulation instruments of the living and poverty standard in the country and, on the basis of an all-Russian discussion of the state regulation system of the living and poverty standard in Russia with the professional and independent experts, adopt a new methodology, based, according to the requirements of the International Labor Organization, on the sociological surveys method, which will measure the real incomes and expenditures of low-income groups, a normative method reflecting rational consumption norms corresponding to a healthy lifestyle, as well as a method of observing macroeconomic proportions adopted by the international community called relative poverty. The complex application of these methods is, according to the authors, a promising development of scientific research and a change in the content of the legislation in this area. The main result of the transition to a new methodology for establishing the living wage and the minimum wage by federal and regional legislation in Russia in the context of reducing the differentiation in wages of the state and municipal employees and the public sector employees will be a decrease in the number of the poor and a decrease in the degree of the social inequality. An increase in the number of the poverty growth problem research in Russia is also urgent.

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