Poverty is not just the absence of income or decent work – 03/20/2023 – Michael França

“Poor people need to be more responsible.” This is what some say when observing certain behaviors of the most disadvantaged. In a sense, they are right. Several poorer choices negatively affect their chances of progressing. However, there is a context that influences the decision-making process among different population groups.

In a lecture, Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize in Economics for her contributions in experimental approaches aimed at verifying cause and effect relationships in interventions to combat poverty, got straight to the point: “Our choices do not arise in a vacuum”.

In the case of the poor, many do not have access to drinking water, housing and enough income to at least guarantee decent food. They must, at all times, make difficult decisions within a limited choice set. The rich, on the other hand, don’t need to take responsibility for much. Almost everything is given to them. Thus, they have greater freedom and security to focus on other dimensions of life.

In addition, another component that affects choices is the cultural context in which each one is inserted. Research points out that individuals tend to follow the natural flow of things. For better or for worse, we tend to imitate the way of acting where we are. We hardly exercise active choices.

For those who come from families with higher incomes and a higher level of education, merely reproducing the behavior patterns of their environment usually generates a convenient trajectory. However, not for the poor. Inaction will make them remain in poverty.

They need to break some patterns of the place where they were born and try to get better opportunities in a stratified society. Something that, in many cases, many end up not having enough energy to do, because, not infrequently, they are psychologically and physically exhausted.

There is recent literature highlighting that living under high resource constraints increases cognitive fatigue and this can contribute to the generation of behavioral biases that affect judgment in decision making.

Imagine, for example, arriving at a supermarket with little money in your pocket and with the challenge of buying enough food to feed a family. You have to spend time comparing prices and choosing what goes into your cart.

When you have little money, everyday choices that are banal for some may represent a matter of survival for others. Each wrong decision can be decisive in their trajectories and the fatigue is not just mental.

Many arrive at their homes exhausted after long workdays, which require greater physical effort. Jobs for which some have to travel long distances in crowded public transport and with the uncertainty about whether they will continue to have jobs and sufficient income in the future.

Jobs that provide many lucky people with the comfort of never having to take on the responsibility of preparing their own food or cleaning up after themselves.

However, being poor is not just the absence of income or decent work. It also represents being the target of various mistreatment, discrimination and other unfair treatment throughout life. Such facts affect not only aspirations but self-esteem. And, with low prospects for self-realization, many give up trying to go further.

The text is a tribute to the song “Pedras que Cantam”, by Fausto Costa Jr., Fernando Correia and José Moraes. Performed by Fagner and Zé Ramalho.

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