Question

what is the international poverty line as described by the world bank? differenciate between absolute poverty and relative poverty..

FAST PLZ

Answer 1

In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries. In 2008, the World Bank came out with a figure (revised largely due to inflation) of $1.25 a day at 2005 purchasing-power parity (PPP).

Absolute poverty refers to the state in which an individual cannot afford a basic subsistence level i.e. is insufficient in basic necessities of life like food, clothing and shelter. Since income and food consumption are the most important criteria to check on well being of an individual, they are used to define what we call as a poverty line.

That is where the concept of relative poverty comes into picture. It is a concept that refers to the phenomenon of relative deprivation. It measures the degree of poverty. It refers to individuals or groups that lack in resources when compared with other members of the society they belong to.

Thus, the difference between the two concepts stems out of absolute level of deprivation (absolute poverty) and culturally defined standard of living (relative poverty).