Encyclopedia of World Poverty
- Mehmet Odekon - Skidmore College, USA
Key Features
- Examines the geographic, political, social, cultural, and other economic characteristics of 191 countries and provides current vital statistics on poverty such as the mortality, disease, literacy, and illiteracy rate for each country
- Addresses the various definitions and measurement techniques of poverty and includes each country's ranking according to the Human Development Index and the Human Poverty Index, whenever available
- Looks at potential causes of poverty, ranging from discrimination to climate factors such as drought and famine, as well as the potential effects of poverty including vulnerability, insecurity, powerlessness, social exclusion and disqualification, and stigmatization
- Acknowledges the importance of various associations combating poverty such as Civil Society Organizations, Secular Charities, Religious Charities, and Non-Governmental Organizations
The Encyclopedia of World Poverty is an authoritative and rigorous source on poverty and related issues, making it a must-have reference for all academic libraries.
"Sage's three-volume Encyclopedia of World Poverty (ISBN 1-4129-1807-3. $395), scheduled for release in July, features over 800 A-to-Z articles on every aspect of poverty. Written by a cast of over 100 experts in the field, the work places special emphasis on current vital statistics on poverty, the causes and effects of poverty, organizations dedicated to fighting poverty, and much more. Given that over 1.2 billion people currently live in extreme poverty (i.e., on less than $1 a day), a resource that tackles the issue in such detail makes for an indispensable addition to all libraries."
"An informative and comprehensive reference with more than 800 alphabetical, signed entries on all aspects of poverty. This encyclopedia offers a wealth of statistics and information that is not readily available elsewhere. The entries have high reading levels and many include complex technical discussions of statistical methods, international banking, and economic theories. A good choice for high school collections."
"Well designed and indispensable for academic and secondary school reference collections, it is an important aid for public administrators, politicians, and others formulating public policies and analyzing their impact on society."
"The inclusion of Hurrican Katrina (in the "Natural Disasters" article) shows that this resource is truly current. Well designed and indispensable for academic and secondary school reference collections, is an important aid for public administrators, politicians, and others formulating public policies and analyzing their impact on society."
"The encyclopedia itself is quite readable. The topics are presented in an engaging and understated manner that invites browsing and further reading within the volumes. Encyclopedia of World Poverty should be seriously considered by all academic and large public libraries."
"Especially interesting are the articles discussing local organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations, as well as theories on how gender, race, and age are intertwined with poverty. An additional feature is a set of articles on US presidents' administrations and efforts to protect segments of the population such as veterans and the aged. This thorough effort brings the definition of poverty out of its narrow income content, while also looking at local grassroots efforts such as Heifer Project International. The full-page articles, followed by short bibliographies, are lucidly written and printed in an easy-to-read font size."
"Globalization makes the study of world poverty more critical, and though the topic is huge, this encyclopedia does an effective job of distilling it into manageable form. Pulling information together in this way allows researchers to more easily see not only generalities but also how conditions differ in each country."
" . . . It provides an interesting starting point for a vast range of topics. . . it forces readers to appreciate the breadth of issues, facts, and figures related to poverty around the world. For this alone the publication deserves credit."
