Poverty and Unemployment
NCERT Class 9 • Economics • Chapter "Poverty as a Challenge" | NCERT Class 11 • Indian Economic Development • Chapters "Poverty" and "Employment"
Poverty and Unemployment
Poverty means the inability to meet a minimum level of living. It is not only low income but also hunger, poor housing, lack of schooling and health care, and lack of voice. Unemployment means that people willing and able to work at the going wage cannot find work, and it is one of the main causes of poverty.
Poverty and Its Measurement
- The poverty line is a notional line based on a minimum consumption basket, mainly a calorie requirement plus essential non food items.
- People below this line are called below the poverty line, and the share of such people is the head count ratio.
- Relative poverty compares one group's income with another's, while absolute poverty measures against a fixed minimum.
- The most affected groups are landless labourers, casual workers, scheduled castes and tribes, and women and children within poor households.
- Causes include low growth in the early decades, high population dependence on agriculture, unemployment, indebtedness, and unequal land distribution.
- Poverty is also passed on, since poor households cannot invest in schooling and health.
- Public distribution of food grain and nutrition programmes address hunger directly.
Types of Unemployment and Remedies
- Disguised unemployment exists when more people work on a job than needed, common on family farms.
- Seasonal unemployment occurs when work is available only in certain months, as in agriculture.
- Structural unemployment arises when skills do not match the jobs available in the economy.
- Cyclical unemployment follows a downturn in economic activity.
- Educated unemployment is a special urban problem where qualified people cannot find suitable work.
- Remedies include faster labour intensive growth, skill training, rural employment guarantee work, self employment support and better education.
| Type | Where Common | Cause |
|---|---|---|
| Disguised | Family farms | More workers than needed |
| Seasonal | Agriculture | Work only in some months |
| Structural | Industry and services | Skill mismatch |
| Cyclical | Whole economy | Fall in demand |
Poverty line — the level of income or consumption below which a person is considered poor.
Hindi me samjhein
छिपी बेरोजगारी में लोग काम करते दिखते हैं पर उनके हटने से उत्पादन नहीं घटता। मौसमी बेरोजगारी में काम केवल कुछ महीनों में मिलता है, जैसे खेती में।
Exam me kaise aata hai
- The share of people below the poverty line is called — head count ratio
- Extra workers on a family farm show — disguised unemployment
- Unemployment caused by skill mismatch is — structural
- Unemployment in farming during the off season is — seasonal
UPSC/State PSC ke liye
- Poverty estimation is contested because the choice of the consumption basket and the price index changes the measured head count sharply.
- Employment guarantee schemes work partly as a wage floor, since the guaranteed wage sets a lower bound for local casual labour rates.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ Poverty means only low income | It also covers hunger, housing, schooling and health | ✓
✗ Disguised unemployment means being fully jobless | It means working with very little contribution | ✓
✗ Seasonal and structural unemployment are the same | Seasonal follows the calendar; structural follows skill mismatch | ✓
Ek nazar me
- Poverty line is based on a minimum consumption basket.
- Head count ratio gives the share of people below that line.
- Unemployment types: disguised, seasonal, structural, cyclical, educated.
- Remedies: labour intensive growth, skills, employment guarantee, education.