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Why So Much of the World is Stuck in a Poverty Trap (Science Magazine)

08 / 06 / 2017

Science Magazine

Why so much of the world is stuck in a ‘poverty trap’.

By Giorgia Guglielmi

In a tiny village just a few kilometers outside of Dakar, farmers struggle to get by on the equivalent of $2 a day. They live off the milk of their cows, sell the wool of their sheep at local markets, and put their children to work tending the fields. Yet none of this is enough to raise them out of poverty. It’s like filling a leaking bucket with water: No matter how much effort they put in, they never succeed in making enough to meet their daily needs.