Introduction

The paradox of poverty refers to persistent deprivation amid overall growth and resource abundance, driven largely by unequal ownership and control of land, capital, skills, and infrastructure.

Body

Paradox of Poverty

• Growth Without Inclusion: Economic growth does not reach marginalized groups, keeping them poor.
  • Eg: India’s GDP growth ~8% (2023) coexists with  around 12% of the population living under multidimensional poverty.
• Persistent Inequalities: Even when national income rises, unequal distribution prevents poverty reduction.
  • Eg: In India, the top 1% of the population holds over 40% of the nation’s wealth, whereas the bottom 50% owns barely 3%. (Oxfam Report).
• Policy Gaps: Welfare measures often fail to target marginalized resource-poor groups effectively.
• Vicious Cycle: Resource inequality limits education, skill development, and income, reinforcing poverty.
• Urban-Rural Disparities: Unequal access to infrastructure and services maintains pockets of deprivation.

How unequal ownership creates the poverty paradox

• Land Inequality

• • • Large landowners control most fertile land; small and marginal farmers remain landless or with tiny plots.  In India, top 10% of landowners control nearly 50% of agricultural land.
    • Effect: Low productivity and low income for majority → poverty persists despite agricultural growth.

• Access to Capital & Credit

• • • Wealthy households can invest, poor households rely on informal high-interest loans.
    • Effect: Poor cannot improve productivity or start small enterprises → trapped in poverty.

• Educational & Skill Disparities

• • • Resource-poor families cannot afford quality education or vocational training.
    • Effect: Limited employment opportunities → low earning potential → persistent poverty.

• Technological Divide

• • • Advanced tools, machinery, irrigation, or digital platforms are mostly accessible to resource-rich owners.
    • Effect: Productivity and income gap widens, leaving the marginalized behind → paradox: economy grows but poor remain poor.

• Social & Gender Inequalities

• • Caste, ethnicity, and gender biases limit resource access for Dalits, Adivasis, and women.
  • Effect: Discrimination reinforces low ownership → structural poverty continues despite national development.

Conclusion

Poverty persists not for lack of resources, but due to unequal ownership and control that concentrates gains and disperses risks; expanding asset ownership, rights over commons, and value-chain power is central to resolving the poverty paradox.

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