Vulnerability and Poverty: What are the causes

This paper aims to analyze how the terms ‘vulnerability’ and ‘poverty’ can be elucidated in a variety of ways, with different meanings, different implications and their interrelationship. The analysis shows poverty is generally associated with deprivation of health, education, food, knowledge, influence over one’s environment and the many other things that make the difference between truly living and merely surviving. There is another universal aspect of poverty, which makes it particularly painful and difficult to escape is: Vulnerability. The poor are more vulnerable than any other group to health hazards, economic down-turns, natural catastrophes, and even man-made violence. Shocks such as illness, injury and loss of livelihood have dreadful impacts, and are significant causes of poverty. Scholars argue that vulnerability and poverty are comprised of economic, social, cultural, political and environmental factors, thus to identify the full range of factors, this paper encompasses an interdisciplinary analysis with some case studies from developing countries.