Poverty in the global south: does the geographical theory offer any new insight to understanding penury?

Abstract

AbstractPoverty is a global development challenge. However, its incidence and prevalence rates are higher in specific regions of the Global South. To this end, one of the ways to appreciate the dynamics of poverty is to situate the discussion within the context of geography. Whereas studies are showing that several geographic poverty traps exist in the Global South previous scoping reviews did not give the geography of poverty sufficient consideration, and those that attempted did not cover the entire Global South. Consequently, this study draws on the extensive data and literature on global incidences and prevalence of poverty to investigate the geographies of poverty in the Global South. To achieve this, a scoping review was conducted using PRISMA-ScR criteria. The review revealed that sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia were the hotspots of poverty, with deterministic and possibilistic elements accounting for the phenomenon. It is proposed that enough consideration be given to geographical variables when designing poverty reduction programmes to achieve equity in the fight against global poverty.

Keywords

• Poverty
• geographic poverty
• spatial poverty
• poverty reduction
• global south
• Development Studies