While learning about how subsidizing bed nets, I thought about a really important question.

Should the government be responsible for subsidize food and education in developing countries?

The government who is responsible for the well-being if its people should definitely be responsible for subsidizing food and education for its people. Two of the leading causes of poverty traps are lack of nutrition and education. If these two areas are addressed, you wouldn't expect to see poverty eliminated but at least a decrease in poverty should be expected. An amount as small as even 5%  decrease in poverty can increase the productivity of a nation leading to a stronger economy and the creation of new jobs for the poor. This then creates a cycle in which for ever few that are out of poverty, a stronger economy will be built and more job opportunities will be provided.

Questions and Answers

1. Since 2005, food prices in Indonesia have been:

- Increasing

2. How does Pak Solhin rationalize the fact that his employer, a local farmer, cut his job rather than his wages?

- If his employer cut his wages below a certain level, Pak Solhin would not be able to afford enough food to give him the strength to work

3. Where do poverty traps stem from?


- Biological Mechanisms


4. Which of the following variables can be represented on a capacity curve’s y-axis?


- Future Income, Work Capacity


5. If the returns to education were high for low levels of schooling, but were low for all higher levels, what shape would we see on our graph between education today and income tomorrow?


- An inverted L shape


What conditions might lead to an s-shaped poverty curve? (Hint: think back to the examples discussed in lecture.)

The S shaped curve is made up of the relationship between wage and nutrition-how much better do you eat if you have a little more income-and the relationship between nutrition and productivity-how much stronger to do you become if you have a bit more to eat.  Low wages and very little food consumption are obviously the main cause for an s-shaped poverty curve. When the poor have very little wages, they are less likely to spend a great proportion of that on food leading to low nutrition and productivity. 

Poverty Trap - Burma

The concept of poverty trap is very relateable to the people of Burma and the rural family I have chosen for my World Food Prize research. As supported by my research, Poverty trap is very common in Burma and there are very little economic opportunities provided that allow families to dig themselves out. As a matter of fact, they face similar problems that Pak Solhin, an unemployed Indonesian immigrant, faced in which wages were so low that he was not able to afford enough food to give him the strength to work leading him to completely stop working.

When people are not only given very low wages but also very little varieties of food to sustain a healthy diet, then their productivity greatly decreases leading to poverty and eventually a trap. This trap can usually last for generations. An example of that is when uneducated parents who have low paying jobs remove their intelligent child from school because they saw the opportunity cost of the child going to school a lot less then if he could work and make money to support the family. Eventually when the child reaches his adult years, he will most likely face a similar problem and may deal with it in a similar way leading to a generational poverty trap.

SUBSIDIZING BEDNETS: THE CLASSIC ECONOMIC ARGUMENT/POVERTY

This lecture has by far been my favorite. We discussed bed nets and vacations for malaria, poverty on a global scale, and reasons why conditions are not improving. The question explored was, are those in poverty willing to aid themselves? or are they only depending on the help of others? Through research done by MIT it shows that when families are provided an incentive such as a small portion of rice, they are willing to come and get their children vaccinated. As for bed nets, when one family is given a bed net and they discover the benefits of having one, they are more than willing to purchase one or several in the future. Their neighbors or close friends are also most likely to purchase one which continues the contagious effect.The professor made a quote that I thought was really interesting. She said,

 "If we are willing to impose taxes on cigarette smokers to discourage them from smoking then why can't we subsided bed nets to encourage the uses and purchases of them?
So by using prices and taxes this way, you can try and align the private incentive to the social benefit."

I more than agree with what she is saying.

Another topic we talked about is, "What encourages or discourages people from helping aid those in poverty?" There is not just one correct answer but one of the possible reason is that when people are faced with a large or general problem they are less likely to help because they believe they cannot solve the issue but when the issue is broken down into smaller units and addressed one at a time, the issue is no longer impossible and the mission becomes very specific. People like being given very few specific problems to deal with rather than one major problem. There was a specific research that was done on this topic. I will research and try to provide the results. 

edX Entrance Survey/What is a Poverty Trap?

Why did you decide to register for this course?

I registered because I have been very interested in learning about global poverty and food insecurity. I have learned about poverty and food insecurity in one specific country (Burma) and now I would like to be able to learn about the issues on a global scope. 

What is a poverty trap?

This was the first question addressed in the video lectures. Poverty trap is a spiraling mechanism which forces people to remain poor. It is so binding in itself that it doesn't allow the poor people to escape it. Although I have heard about something very similar to this concept, I was not aware of how impactful it is on a community. For the rest of the lecture we looked at reasons for which create a conditions that cause these poverty traps to emerge. Some reasons that were brought up were increasing food prices, unpredictable economic activities, and changes in wage. The main point of this lecture was to try to better understand poverty traps and possibly help identity other causes by the end of the course. 

Recommendations

Short term recommendations that could also be affective include the startup of independent community gardens and farmers markets to promote and showcase the hard work of the Burmese people. Opening these gardens requires very minimal cost and is a great form of employment for the unemployed. The resources that are needed include small pieces of land and gardening tools which can be provided by funding organizations such as the American Community Garden Association in Burma. Burma has access to various types of plants so obtaining seeds and plants for the gardens would not be an issue. The produce grown in these gardens can also be sold to the citizens- providing them with cheap healthy food. 

Second Solution

A short term solution that is as effective in granting back some independence for the Burmese people is helping purchase back the land that once belonged to local farmers since ultimately all land is owned by the government (military). Developing a new policy or implementing a new constitution may be a bit of a stretch for a start but repurchasing back land from the government will give the citizens the support and financial ability to help regain their complete independence and human rights.

This can be done by having the UN and/or United States support the development of a written land policy on land use and require that the majority have land be given back to its citizens whether it be free or by purchase. The Burmese government states that they already have a land use policy implemented, however it is not written in their constitution or stated clearly in any state documents, and therefore it is not enforced. The United States and other potential donors would help provide technical, legal, and other forms of support for the foundation and implementation of this land policy.

By giving the Burmese citizens their land back, it takes away a great majority of power from the central government and also gives responsibilities back to the citizens The UN, the Unites States, and other countries obviously cannot implement these policies alone. They depend on the corporation and support of the citizens as well. That means the citizens need to leave all conflicts aside, unite, and uses their votes wisely in all elections and voting opportunities.