Poverty in Polycrisis by Diwakar, Vidya;

Short description:

We are living in a period of global volatility in which intersecting crises are combining with devastating impacts for people living in and near poverty. This book examines the dynamics of these crises and challenges us to find new ways forward for policies and programming that effectively meet the needs of vulnerable populations.

Long description:

We are living in a period of global volatility in which intersecting crises are combining with devastating impacts for people already living in and near poverty. This book carefully examines the dynamics of these crises and challenges us to find new ways forward for policies and programming that more effectively meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

The book highlights lived experiences of those who are impacted most by poverty amidst intersecting crises—namely climate-related disasters, violent conflict and economic instability— drawing on the author’s 15 years of experience in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. It examines chronic poverty amidst intersecting crises, highlighting how new impoverishment may emerge, and even surprisingly how some people manage to escape or remain out of poverty in these contexts. It offers a multi-scalar, dynamic investigation of poverty and intersecting crises to identify ways forward for policies and programming.

It is an essential read for practitioners working on poverty and inequality reduction in low- and middle-income countries, as well as for researchers and students of global development, environmental and peace studies, and economics, public policy, and sociology more broadly.

“A fascinating and evidence-packed book on how poverty cannot be viewed in isolation but must be considered in connection with overlapping and compounding crises – which often affect poor communities simultaneously. The
author makes a compelling argument for integrating poverty reduction programs with, for example, disaster relief and conflict resolution programs.”
Dr Christian Oldiges, Chief, Social Policy Section, Socio-economic Development Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

"Diwakar's excellent volume makes an important contribution to the literature by exploring the complex interrelationships between poverty and 'polycrisis' (related to the intersection of climate change, conflict and economic instability) drawing on multiple countries in the Global South and a range of research methods. It will be of great interest to scholars, policy-makers and practitioners, working on poverty and related issues."

Professor Paul Shaffer, Department of International Development Studies, Trent University.

"In this incisive and timely work, Dr. Vidya Diwakar masterfully unpacks the complex interplay between poverty and multiple overlapping crises, offering a rich conceptual framework, grounded evidence from diverse country contexts, and urgently needed policy pathways to disrupt cycles of vulnerability. A must-read for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers alike."

Dr Orzala Nemat, Director, Development Research Group LTD, and former Director, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit.

Table of Contents:

Part I. Framing the polycrisis: Theory, concepts and poverty linkages Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Conceptualising polycrisis and poverty dynamics Part II. Mixed methods evidence on poverty dynamics in times of polycrisis Chapter 3. Poverty dynamics and economic crisis in a changing climate Chapter 4. Poverty dynamics amidst the climate-conflict nexus Chapter 5. Humanitarian contexts, extreme polycrisis and acute poverty frontiers Chapter 6. Surviving or thriving? Coping responses and pathways out of poverty amidst polycrisis Part III. From evidence to action: Policy and programmatic pathways Chapter 7. Centring equity and risk in institutional responses to polycrisis Chapter 8. Breaking the link between polycrisis and poverty