Poverty
On Inflation and Poverty: It's getting more expensive to be poor
On Getting to Know the Filipino Informal Settler
TRESPASSERS OR VICTIMS? - There is a debate as to whether informal settlers form a threat to urban development, or whether they should be relocated. In this photo is an informal settlement along the Philippine National Railways. (Photo: Kounosu/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)
How well do you know the Filipino informal settler? Is he poor and underprivileged? What happens if you force him to pay rent? Well, short of actually starting a conversation with one, we can get to know the Filipino informal settler through data. Read on to find out more.
On Giving Cash to the Poor
(Photo: Kris/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
GIVE A MAN A FISH SOME CASH - New research suggests that unconditional cash transfers to the poor may not be as misguided as usually perceived. Some studies have found that providing cash increased spending on food, education, and healthcare, as well as investment in productive goods, contrary to the popular notion that the cash would go towards questionable purchases. Data for the Philippines suggests that this might have potential, providing a more cost-effective manner to deliver poverty aid.
On the Great Gatsby Curve and Electric Fences in South Africa
The Great Gatsby tells the story of a man who claws his way from rags to riches, but finds that wealth alone cannot provide him the privileges of those born in the upper class. On the economic side of things, a new and hotly debated idea, dubbed the Great Gatsby curve, encapsulates this anecdote in data. It illustrates the possibility that income inequality might lead to lower social mobility in a country.
An electrified city
Having recently gone to Johannesburg, South Africa to participate in a business case competition, I’ve of course taken the opportunity to explore the city as well. On our way to Sandton City, a shopping area, I began to notice that almost all of the beautiful buildings were nested in ominous, tall, and electrified fences:
Electrified fences tarnish the beauty of many of the buildings in Johannesburg’s Sandton business district
All this obsession with protecting private property made me wonder how much South Africa has managed to heal from the scars of Apartheid which, after all, only ended 19 years ago in 1994. Apartheid was a former policy of racial segregation in South Africa that caused huge disparities in the living conditions between blacks and whites in the country. It permeated everything from residential areas down to the public toilets.