text: employed asadults. IIIhealth amongthepooriswidespread andsapstheirenergy,· reduces family incomes andprevents children fromtakingfulladvantage ofsuch! opportunities foreducation asexist. Illiteracy ishigh,lifeexpectancy isI relatively low,andinfant andchildmortality ratesarewellaboveaverage. C.Inyesting inthepoor 123.Persistent poverty isaproduct ofinappropriate structures andpoor policies. Ofteninthepastgovernmental policies toreduce poverty havebeen incoherent andinconsistent. Theyhavenotformedpartofanoverall development str~tegy buthav~beenadopted onan adhocbasisalmost asanafterthought. Many ant1-poverty prOJects andprogrammes havebeenlargely symbolic, andconsequently the.results haveoftenbeendisappointing. Whatisneededisnotmoreanti-poverty proJ':c:s ?utadevelopment strategy centred ontheelimination ofpoverty andthe exp11C1t 1mprovement ofwomen's social, economic, cultural andlegalstatus. 124.Thepoorshouldnotbeviewed asobJ"ects ofh i e~cartyNorshould theybesemerely asrecipients ofwelfare services althoughth'i Ait . . ' eresaneeunmanycoun r~estoexpand serV1ces accessible toth hIdNseenashumanbeinswhh . e poor. Aboveall,thepoorsou investin inthem~hl~avethepotent~al tobecome highly productive, and tgE .oub,:seenasexpenditures withpotentially highratesofreurn. xpend1ture onpr1mary andsecondar " . . .primary health careandp . '.yeducat10n, vocatlonal tralnlnq,revent1ve medlclne hasb h .hIfavourable benefit/cost ratio Th . eensowntohavehlgy aimedatthepoor,suchasfe:~er r~asame ~strueofinvestments ininfrastructure costofgetting theirproduce tomardswhl~h.enable smallfarmers toreduce t~ labour-intensive investments inmanu;et. ~lm11ar arguments applytosmal1-sca~eJ andtoexploiting comparative advanta act~r ~ng,construction oflow-income ho~slnq abundance oflabour. ge~nexportsectors baseduponarelatIVe -36-D.Strategies toalleviate poverty 125.Threebroadapproaches tocombatpoverty canbeidentified. Thefirstis oftenreferred toasthe"trickle down"approach andrelies oneconomic growth alonetobenefit allgroupsofthepopulation. 126.Asecondcallsforgreater governmental intervention toreducetheflowof growthinincometotherichandtochannel someofittothepoor.Thisis sometimes called"redistribution fromgrowth". 127.Athirdcallsfortheredistribution ofincome andofexisting productive assetstoincrease productive employment andincomes oftheruralpoor,whoaccount forthebulkofthepoorindeveloping countries. 128.Giventherequisite political commitment, acombination ofaconsistent setof enabling measures combining elements ofallthreeapproaches willoftenbe necessary toeradicate poverty. Themajorcomponents ofaneffective strategy are thefollowing: (a)Redistribution oflandandreformoftenancy lawsareneededtoenable ruralmicrofarmers, landless agricultural labourers andnon-farm workers engaged in low-productivity activities tobecome moreproductive. Theeffectiveness ofsuch measures hasbeenprovedinseveral economies, including thoseofChina, Taiwan Province, theRepublic ofSouthKoreaandJapan. Moststudies findthatland redistribution andtheresultant creation ofsmallowner-occupied farmscanleadto increased growthofagricultural production; (b)Greater investment inagriculture, theprov1s10n ofagricultural services totenants(irrigation, ruralroads,creditforfertilizers, seedsandlivestocks etc.)andefficient marketing channels wouldgenuinely benefit thepoor. They shouldbeaccompanied byappropriate agricultural pricing policies, toensurethat thepeasantry isnottaxedbyhaving thetermsoftradeturnedagainst them; (c) shouldbe EducationGreater investment isneededinhumanresource shifted fromexpensive curative healthcareto shouldemphasize theformation ofbasicskillsdevelopment. Theemphasis morepreventive care. forraising productivity; (d)Inmostcountries expenditures oninfrastructure arebiasedagainst the poor.Thelackofroads,drinking water,sanitation facilities andpowerisa majorobstacle toraising theincomes ofthepoor; (e)Social andlegalreforms areneededtoenhance thefullparticipation of
analysis: The text primarily focuses on the causes and solutions to poverty, discussing the importance of economic development, social and legal reforms, education, and infrastructure development. The text also touches on the need for agricultural development, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Given the scope of the text, it appears to be more focused on economic and social development than environmental or scientific issues.