Examining Poverty from Ethnicity, Local Governance and Socio-Cultural Value System Perspective: Issues of Entitlement, Endowment, Vulnerability, and Empowerment

Abstract

The high level of poverty, as a development challenge, in emerging countries has attracted global attention. The situation led to formulation of the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) as well as Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), by United Nations, for addressing the challenge. However, the slow progress made in achieving the global millennium development goals, in developing countries has become a source of concern and thereby raising several questions that call for critical reexamination of poverty and the common strategies that have been designed to address it in developing countries.It is an undeniable fact that much resources have been spent on implementation of the global policies for addressing poverty. Again, several researches have been conducted on the subject have come out with some results which have informed policy design in addressing the challenge. However, it has been realized that many researches have concentrated on economic or monetary parameters in analysing poverty to the neglect of socio cultural parameters which are equally relevant in this context. This has led to imbalance in development paradigms for addressing poverty.Since poverty is usually measured mainly with reference to economic indicators such as income, production, total output and unemployment levels just to mention a few, positive changes in those variables are considered as a success story in addressing poverty. However,sustainability of those achievements has become a mirage in the attempt to address poverty in many developing countries.This research was undertaken as an exploratory one with the view to examining some non- economic factors that influence poverty in emerging countries but are usually played down or overlooked in examining the challenge. Among the basic research questions are: Could ethnicity and traditional governance influence negatively the welfare of some citizenry? How do cultural norms contribute to impoverishment in communities? To what extent do national policies for poverty reduction, in recent years capture noneconomic parameters which influence poverty in society? In terms of objectives, the study was designed, to assess influence oflocal governance system on poverty in communities; to review influence of traditional norms on promoting poverty and to examine the effectiveness of some national policies and strategies for poverty reduction.The outcome from the research has brought to the fore the need to address some negative institutional, cultural and attitudinal issues, in policies and strategies designed for poverty reduction in emerging countries. The point is that some of the traditional norms that influence poverty such as endowment, access to means of production, including land, widowhood rites, inheritance system, and early marriages just to mention a few, call for review or abolition to remove their negative impact on society and thereby assist to reduce poverty in some communities within some ethnic groups in Ghana. This throws a challenge to policy formulators and law makers involved in modern and traditional governance, in exercising their functions effectively as administrators and development managers.

Keywords: Poverty, Ethnicity, Governance, Entitlement, Vulnerability, Empowerment

DOI: 10.7176/DCS/9-3-08

Publication date:March 31^st 2019