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11 Soc. Change 3 (1981)

handle is hein.journals/sclcnge11 and id is 1 raw text is: Social Change : March 1981 Demographic Aspects of the Problem of Poverty and Inequalityj Sunati Kulkarni* Abstract The demographic dimensions of the problem of poverty and inequality have been discussed highlighting the main currents of demographic researches. The interrelationship of poverty and population explosion has been examined. The main conclusion is that the population control and developmental programmes are complementary to each other. **This paper was presented at the First National Conference on Social Sciences organised by the Indian Association of Social Science Institutions, c/o National Council of Applied Economic Research, Parisila Bhawan, 11 Itdraprastha Estate, New Delhi from 12 to 15 January, 1981 at New Delhi on the theme: Social Science Research and the Problem of Poverty. *International Institute of Population Studies, Deonar, BOMBAY-400088 Though the poverty in most of the developing countries is-considered as an obvious and well-established fact, there has always been a difference of opinion regarding its root cause and regarding the effective ways to tackle the problem. The demographic dimension of the pioblem has acquired significance only recently, because it was realised only in the last two decades that it may not be just a coincidence that the countries which face this challenge of mass poverty are exactly the countries which are undergoing the 'population explosion'. These are the countries where more than seventy percent of the population is concentrated and it is estimated that if the present trends continue, they will have a much larger share of the world population by the end of this century. Is the demographic situation in these countries in any wvay responsible for creating or aggravating the poverty and inequality in these countries? In short, is the poverty in these countries the result of too few goods and too many people? or is it the other way round that it is because of the situation of poverty that they are growing fast in numbers? These are some of the questions posed again and again in the last two decades. The present paper proposes to highlight the main currents in demographic research about some vital issues in this context. The Concept of Poverty and Relevance of Demographic Factors Deprivation is an important aspect of poverty. The writers like Charles Booth and Rowntree' define those who are unable to afford even the necessaries of life as 'poor' and they pinpoint the 'income necessary for physical efficiency' as the dividing line between poverty and non- poverty. Townsend2 has broadened the definition of poverty beyond the above given 'subsistence concept' by emphasising the relative aspect. According to him 'that section of population whose resources are so depressed from the mean as to be deprived of enjoying the benefits and participating in the activities, which are customary in that society can be said to be in poverty'. If 'poor' are thus identified, in relation to the other people, then it can be said that according to this concept, poverty and inequality go together. Obviously an estimate of the extent of poverty in a country will depend on the definition adopted. However, further refinements in the definition of poverty become :appropriate only aftef the subsistence level is crossed and will not alter the picture substantially for most of the developing countries, which are characterised by all-pervasive conditions of chronic want and hardships. It is stressed by many researchers that the problem of poverty is not simply a matter of physical or material deprivation, it is a complex phenomenon involving intricate social processes. However, any study of poverty which attempts quantitative analysis has to use some index of the extent of deprivation, taking into account the availability of data. Generally 'national averages' like per capita national income or per capita consumption expenditure or per capita daily consumption in terms of calories are used as norms for defining the poverty line. According to the various studies regarding the estimates of poverty in India, the percentage of rural population below poverty line varied within the range of 38 to 63 percent of the total rural population in 1967-1968, depending on the various definitions of poverty line adopted in the respective studies. The norm in terms of per capita annual expenditure adopted for defining poverty line in these studies varied within the range of 180 to 240 Rs. The absolute number involved is still more alarming. According to Dandekar and Rath4, in 1968-69, 223 million people out of the total Indian population of 532 million were found to be living below the minimum level of living, which was defined as per capita annual expenditure of Rs. 324 in rural areas and Rs. 486 in urban areas. Digitized from Best Copy Available 3

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