The Escape from Poverty Breaking the Vicious Cycles Perpetuating Disadvantage

A book by Olivier De Schutter, Hugh Frazer, Anne-Catherine Guio and Eric Marlier

The vicious cycles that perpetuate poverty can be broken

Globally, about 800 million children are subsisting below a poverty line of US$3.20 a day and one billion children are experiencing multidimensional poverty, with deprivations in education, health, housing, nutrition, sanitation and/or water. This is unacceptable. Why, in a world of plenty, are we failing to eradicate poverty? Given the damage that poverty does to people’s lives, to social cohesion, to the economy and to environmental sustainability, there is no objective more urgent or worth pursuing.

The Escape from Poverty, a new book by Olivier De Schutter, Hugh Frazer, Anne-Catherine Guio and Eric Marlier, examines the vicious cycles that perpetuate poverty across generations and what could be done to eradicate it.

The book exposes the powerful factors obstructing change, including:
• the failure of governments to invest in children by providing sufficient support for households facing poverty; and
• the fallacious tendency to blame poverty on ‘dysfunctional’ families.

It debunks the myths and excuses impeding action, including:
• beliefs concerning ‘merit’ and ‘incentives’;
• the self-interest of and exploitation by those who control excessive wealth and resources; and
• the failure to assess the costs to society of poverty and inequalities (e.g. child poverty costs over $1 trillion/year in the US).

With a view to breaking the cycles of poverty, the authors identify key priorities for action including:
• increasing resources to combat poverty;
• strengthening social protection and protecting basic income security;
• ensuring effective access for children to food, housing, childcare, education, leisure, healthcare and other key services; and
• moving from an extractive and exclusive economy to a regenerative and inclusive economy.

The authors offer crucial guidance to policy makers and identify successful anti-poverty strategies including the ‘Bolsa Familia’ in Brazil, the ‘Social Cash Transfer Pilot Programme’ in Ethiopia, the European Union’s ‘European Child Guarantee’, the ‘Midday Meal Programme’ in India and the ‘HighScope Perry Preschool’ programme in the US.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Tony Atkinson and Fintan Farrell, who, throughout their lives, actively and relentlessly fought against poverty and inequality and for social justice across Europe and around the world.

About the authors:
Olivier De Schutter is Professor at the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium and the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.
Hugh Frazer is Adjunct Professor at Maynooth University, Ireland, a former Director of the Irish Government’s Combat Poverty Agency and an expert on child poverty and European Union (EU) social policy.
Anne-Catherine Guio is Senior Researcher at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) and ensured the scientific coordination of the first two EU’s Feasibility Studies for a ‘European Child Guarantee’.
Eric Marlier is International Scientific Coordinator at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) and manages the 38-country ‘European Social Policy Analysis Network’ funded by the EU.

See short article: Transforming Society ~ Ending child poverty is vital for a sustainable future