Encyclopedia of World Poverty

Mehmet Odekon

May 2006 · SAGE Publications

About this ebook

Poverty is more than just lack of income, it is deprivation from basic capabilities, rights, and freedoms that provide individuals the necessary choices and opportunities they need to lead a life they value. The Encyclopedia of World Poverty provides extensive and current information, as well as insight into the contemporary debate on poverty. The three volumes of this state-of-the-art Encyclopedia contain over 800 original articles written by more than 125 renowned scholars. The entries contributing to this work explore poverty in various regions of the world, and examine the difficulties associated with the definition and measurement of poverty, along with its causes and effects.

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.

About the author

Mehmet Odekon is Professor of Economics and Tisch Family Distinguished Professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Bogazici University (formerly Robert College) in Istanbul, Turkey. He won a Turkish government scholarship to pursue graduate work in the United States and earned his Ph.D. in economics at the State University of New York, Albany. After working at Bogazici University and at the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) in Fontainebleau, France, he joined Skidmore in 1982. Dr. Odekon’s research interests include the political economy of development and globalization and domestic and international poverty and income equality. He is the editor of the Encyclopedia of World Poverty (Sage, 2006), and he coedited Economic Liberalization and Labor Markets (Praeger, 1998), Political Economy of Turkish Liberalization (Lehigh University Press, 1991), and Liberalization and the Turkish Economy (Praeger, 1988). He authored several articles and Costs of Economic Liberalization in Turkey (Lehigh University Press, 2005). In these publications he analyzes the effects of the dominant world economic order on economically disadvantaged groups. Dr. Odekon co-curated an interdisciplinary exhibit at the Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, titled “Classless Society” (November 2013–March 2014). The exhibition, along with its Web site and catalogue, explores the myth that the United States is a classless society. He is currently working on a project on worker-owned cooperatives in the United States. He is an avid supporter of the Liverpool Football Club.