Max Tallberg
Introduction
There are common misconceptions about people living in poverty globally, which may obscure the complexities of their experiences. By understanding their situation through facts, our ability to help them improves significantly. When assisting, those providing aid must have a deep understanding of the local community, its needs, and specific characteristics. It’s also clear that listening to the solutions proposed by people in the Global South and enabling them to improve their own situation is crucial. Often, the best solutions come from these communities themselves.
For all these reasons, I address the phenomena of everyday life in the Global South from their perspective in this text. As a primary source, I rely on Banerjee and Duflo’s book Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty in these blog posts. They approach this topic through several themes, including families, communities, and education. I highlight various challenges emphasized in the book related to helping the poor, as well as different proposed solutions. I also draw from our organization’s recent interview with the founders of Home Street Home, a non-profit active in Kenya. In the interview, we heard many interesting perspectives on their daily lives.
Risk Factors, False Beliefs, and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
In many parts of the Global South, people face a range of risk factors, including low income, food insecurity, political instability, crime, and corruption. Some events that might be seen as catastrophic in wealthier countries can be daily realities for those living in poverty. The constant fear of something going wrong can also undermine people’s ability to reach their potential. Alongside securing food and health, livelihoods often require significant investments of time and resources, which can compound the challenges people face.
In some cases, communities may lack access to essential information, leading to misunderstandings around issues such as healthcare or education. For instance, some may be uncertain about the effectiveness of vaccines or the value of early childhood education. However, when the right information is shared from trusted sources and in an accessible way, it can make a significant impact. For example, providing farmers with training on fertilizer use has led to improved outcomes in many regions.
Expectations about what individuals can or cannot achieve can also become self-fulfilling prophecies. Children may drop out of school if they are perceived as underachievers, or fruit vendors may avoid paying off debts, believing they will simply fall back into debt. Shifting these expectations is challenging but not impossible.
Opportunities to Support the Global South
When considering how to support communities in the Global South, it is important to set aside paternalistic attitudes. Solutions that are externally imposed are less likely to succeed if they don’t resonate with local needs and perspectives. Although some communities may not always adopt health interventions (such as vaccines), health is still a top priority for most. Often, the issue is not a lack of concern but rather a lack of access to affordable, preventative care. Healthcare systems in many countries in the Global South struggle due to underfunding.
Supporting girls’ and women’s health by providing access to contraception and education can empower communities to make informed choices about family planning. This, combined with broader economic security measures such as health insurance and pensions, could reduce the pressure on families to have more children for economic reasons.
Life in Villages and Cities
Many rural communities in the Global South are built on strong social networks, where people support one another in times of need. This mutual support is often essential for survival but can also be strained when resources are limited. For example, a family member’s illness can strain the entire household’s resources. Ensuring that support systems encourage continued efforts to improve individual circumstances is important. A basic income set at the right level could help meet essential needs while motivating individuals to pursue further opportunities.
In cities, many people live in informal settlements due to a lack of affordable housing. These settlements are often overcrowded and may lack basic infrastructure, such as clean water. Migration from rural areas to cities is common as people seek employment, but maintaining connections to their home communities can provide essential support networks. Strengthening rural infrastructure—especially access to clean water—could reduce the need for such migration and improve quality of life in both rural and urban settings.
Education and Government Jobs
Education is often viewed as a key way to escape poverty, but access remains a challenge for many children in the Global South. Socioeconomic factors or disabilities can prevent children from attending school, and even when they do, the quality of education may vary significantly. Wealthier families often send their children to better schools, while poorer children attend schools where resources and support may be limited.
Many families hope their children will secure stable government jobs, which are seen as a pathway to economic security. This stability allows for long-term planning, including investments in education, healthcare, and small businesses. Promoting equal access to education can help close the gap between rich and poor and create opportunities for all.
The Challenges of Insurance and Moral Hazard
Providing insurance to vulnerable communities could help mitigate the risks associated with health or agricultural challenges. However, insurance markets are often underdeveloped in many regions of the Global South, and the cost can be prohibitive. While some initiatives have been made to address this, more progress is needed. One issue is that individuals who are less likely to need insurance may opt out, leaving only the most at-risk individuals, which can drive up costs.
Moral hazard is another challenge—when people feel protected, they may take greater risks. This is a particular issue in contexts where access to resources is limited, and individuals might make decisions that prioritize short-term survival over long-term planning.
Challenges in Saving
Saving money can be difficult for people living in poverty because immediate needs often outweigh long-term goals. However, savings groups—where community members pool resources to support each other—have shown great promise in many areas. These groups provide not only financial assistance but also social and emotional support.
Microloans or microcredits have also been introduced to help individuals who might not otherwise have access to credit. While these programs have had success in some regions, they have been criticized in others, underscoring the need for locally tailored solutions.
Entrepreneurship and Interest Rates
Entrepreneurship is often a vital lifeline for many in the Global South. People are resourceful, and small businesses are common. However, these businesses often remain small due to a lack of access to capital. Interest rates on loans can be prohibitively high, making it difficult for entrepreneurs to expand their operations. Addressing these barriers by providing affordable loans and supporting business growth could unlock significant economic potential.
Sources:
Global Visions (2024). “23 Voices from Kenya: Discussing the Important Work of Home Street Home”. Visions of a Better World. May 2024.
Banerjee, A. Vinayak. & Esther Duflo (2011). Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty. New York: Public Affairs.
Chandra, Ritu. (2022). Challenges and Vision in Educating the Global South.
World Bank. “Digital Transformation Drives Development in AFE, AFW, Africa.” January 2024.
GIGA. “Digital Skills in the Global South: Gaps, Needs, and Progress”.