The Poverty Discourse and the Poor in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is cited as an exemplary case of direct poverty alleviation because of a long history of social welfare and high values in quality of life indices. Notwithstanding, anti-poverty measures in Sri Lanka founded on the international discourse of poverty and development do not serve the interests of poor people. This discourse begins by locating poor people in a distinct poverty sector and proceeds to examine its characteristics. Several attributes of that discourse make it intellectually incapable of seeing how poverty is socially constructed in a diffused nexus of production relations that extends far beyond the so-called 'poverty sector'. An alternative 'substantive approach to poverty' is presented. The arguments are illustrated using the theme of food production in Sri Lanka.     

16世纪威尼斯的贫困与济贫问题

16世纪的欧洲经历了一场普遍的贫困危机,欧洲各国政府纷纷采取了各种济贫措施,以缓解贫困问题对社会造成的压力,天主教城市共和国威尼斯也不例外。通过颁布济贫法和改革大兄弟会等旧式救济组织,威尼斯引导宗教慈善组织朝着世俗化方向发展,从而建立起行之有效的近代济贫制度,有效地缓解了贫困问题造成的压力。威尼斯的经验表明,在推动近代早期欧洲济贫活动世俗化的诸因素中,最重要的因素是社会环境,而非传统上认为的宗教因素。     

Voices from the Top of the Pile: Elite Perceptions of Poverty and the Poor in the Philippines

How do elites perceive poverty and the poor? In this article, we present the results of interviews with eighty members of the Filipino elite, undertaken as part of a larger six‐country study of elite perceptions of poverty and the poor. Poverty, we argue, is a highly subjective phenomenon. People's perceptions of poverty, of who is and who is not poor, of how poverty affects them and others, and of how poverty can be effectively tackled, vary enormously between different types of people (defined in terms of class, status, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, gender or a myriad of other social identities). Wherever people cohere as groups, classes or other social constructs, perceptions of poverty are aggregated and refined and then embedded in social dynamics. The study of elite perceptions of poverty and the poor, we conclude, can both add to our understanding of the social dynamics of poverty and inequality and inform pro‐poor public policy.     

Framing the Poor: Media Coverage and U.S. Poverty Policy, 1960–2008

Public policy toward the poor has shifted from an initial optimism during the War on Poverty to an ever‐increasing pessimism. Media discussion of poverty has shifted from arguments that focus on the structural causes of poverty or the social costs of having large numbers of poor to portrayals of the poor as cheaters and chiselers and of welfare programs doing more harm than good. As the frames have shifted, policies have followed. We demonstrate these trends with new indicators of the depth of poverty, the generosity of the government response, and media framing of the poor for the period of 1960–2008. We present a simple statistical model that explains poverty spending by the severity of the problem, gross domestic product, and media coverage. We then create a new measure of the relative generosity of U.S. government policy toward the poor and show that it is highly related to the content of newspaper stories. The portrayal of the poor as either deserving or lazy drives public policy.     

The Archaeology of Poverty and the Poverty of Archaeology

In this Editor’s Introduction to this Special Contribution, I explore some central issues surrounding the archaeology of poverty and ponder why it has taken historical archaeologists so long to “discover” poverty as a research topic.     

Lhoza Bids Farewell to Poverty

Lhoza, on the Sino-Bhutan border covering an area of 4,466 square km and with an average elevation of 3,825 meters, used to be one of the poorest counties in Tibet. Not long ago, my colleagues and I visited Lhoza County in Shannan Prefecture. We were astonished to see the streets were flanked by restaurants, Internet bars, Karaoke halls, Langma halls and food markets. We stayed there for a week and interviewed County Magistrate Norgyi, a medium-sized man quick in mind.     

It is Possible to Just Give Money to the Poor

Meghnad Desai of the London School of Economics recently suggested that, rather than ‘giving fifty billion dollars of overseas aid’, we should simply ‘find the poor and give them one dollar a week … That would probably do more to relieve poverty than anything else’. Two experiences in Mozambique of simply handing out money show this is possible. Payments to demobilized soldiers over a two year period and single payments to flood victims were of the order of magnitude suggested by Desai. Rural people had no difficulty cashing cheques and used the money prudently. The money stimulated the rural economy and thus had a development impact. Administrative costs were between 5 and 10 per cent, much less than in other aid projects. Using the Mozambique experience, this article concludes by suggesting that Desai's proposed one dollar per person per week could be paid as a family grant bi‐monthly, which would keep administrative costs low.     

怎样真正亲近秦汉儿童生活

读刘玲娣教授对拙著《秦汉儿童的世界》撰写的评论,为作者对儿童史研究的关注以及对我的工作的肯定深心感动。于是有就《秦汉儿童的世界》一书撰写的甘苦得失谈谈相关体会的想法,也愿意面对刘玲娣教授的一些批评有所回应,有所说明。     

一源能讨尽 万卷岂辞劳——《曹雪芹家世新证》

本文是对《曹雪芹家世新证》一书的评价文章。作者认为该书是在本学科研究领域中极为罕见的著作,其学术质量之高．令人叹服。作者从该书的治史方法、语言结构以及推理考证等方面评价此书。同时也指出了此书的不足之处。     

DOILUNGDEQUEN COUNTY:Farewell to Poverty

riendstoldmehowpeopleinDeqenTownship,DoilungdeqenCounty,hadfaredmuchbetterinthelasttwovears.butIstilldoubt-edit.Ivisitedthereseveraltimes,soIknewhowpoorthetownshipwas.Itshou1dhavemadesomeprogressinthelasttwoyears,butitshouldnothavebeenabletomakesomuchprog…     

Responding to Farm Poverty in Australia

In May 2005, the Commonwealth announced changes to the eligibility criteria for a number of farm welfare payments which have resulted in farmers receiving such payments on more generous terms than other disadvantaged groups in the community. The changes passed largely unremarked by the media or political commentators. Farm welfare programs are developed independently of the general welfare safety net and are based on assumptions about the nature, extent and causes of farm poverty. No comprehensive empirical research has been conducted into farm poverty since the Henderson Inquiry of the 1970 Henderson, R. F., Harcourt, A. and Harper, R. J.A. 1970. People in Poverty: A Melbourne Survey, Melbourne: University of Melbourne.  [Google Scholar]s. This paper discusses the issue of farm poverty in Australia and how it fits into the broader welfare debate, and proposes a way forward to develop more effective and equitable farm welfare programs.     

民国时期戒毒政策研究

本通过时民国时期戒毒政策和戒毒行动的回顾,从建立戒毒组织机构,颁发戒毒政策,建立戒毒制度,加强对公务员、军警、学校教职员生的管理等方面分析了这一时期戒毒的特色,并反思了戒毒工作中的深刻教训。本的主要启示在于：戒毒政策应坚持维护社会稳定和促进民众身心健康两个价值取向并重的指导思想,坚持以人为本;应坚持强制戒毒,同时鼓励和规范自愿戒毒。强制戒毒中对吸毒交医强戒和惩罚是必要的,但应提高医疗的效果和运用惩罚的目的和质量,切忌以罚代戒,以刑代戒;戒毒工作是一项艰巨复杂的系统工程,需要由政府采取切合实际的政策,并动员各种资源和力量多层面共同施治,才有望取得好的成效。     

Report on Aid to The Poor in Garze

Efforts began in 1989 and 1990 to wipe out poverty in Garze. Special efforts were made to improve farmland irrigation, solve problems related to drinking water, and build highways. Thus far, 66 departments at the prefectural level have been involved in aid projects. PLA troops, Armed Police, social organizations and religious figures were active in this regard. By the end of 1999, about 96.74 percent of the 91,162 poverty-stricken people in 17,924 households saw improvement in life featuring…     

一支铁心修志的队伍--从《续志编纂要览》看广州市修志工作者的务实作风

本通过点评《续志编纂要览》(以下简称《要览》),高度评价了广州市修志工作的务实作风。《要览》全面展示了广州市的修志宏图,反映了广州方志界强烈的精品意识,体现了广州市方志办20余年修志的丰硕成果。《要览》确是一部指导性、可操作性强的好书。     

外援推动与内源发展--对贫困少数民族实施缓贫与发展扶助的比较案例研究

贫困是一种与人类发展进程相伴生的社会现象,是当今世界发展面临的最大挑战之一。解决贫困问题因此成为发展问题的重要组成部分。本文通过对分布于不同地区的同一民族在接受国家缓贫与发展扶助过程中的不同反应与结果的实地调查与分析,论述了贫困并不是单一资源因素短缺造成的,而是能动性机制、发展资源与求变能力等方面的欠缺性因素发生“选择性亲和”互动作用而形成的。因此缓解贫困、实现少数民族地区的发展关键在于如何构建主体发展的能动性机制,以及如何实现少数民族文化与现代文化的对接。