1. Poverty as
Severe Entitlement Failure
Leland R. Dela Cruz
Development Studies Program
School of Social Sciences
Ateneo de Manila University
updated June 12, 2010
2. Poverty as
Severe Entitlement Failure
Sen, Amartya, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on
Entitlements and Deprivation. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1982.
Dreze, Jean and Sen, Amartya, Hunger and Public Action.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989
Dreze, Jean; Sen, Amartya; and Hussain, Athar (eds.), The
Political Economy of Hunger. Oxford: Clarendon
Press. 1995
Nussbaum, Martha and Sen, Amartya (eds.), The Quality of
Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993
Sen, Amartya, Development as Freedom. New York: Anchor
Books, 1999
3. Poverty, Income and
Basic Needs
Poverty has been traditionally defined as
income deprivation.
This has been improved upon by the basic
needs approach which defines poverty as
basic needs deprivation.
4. Poverty and Income
Basic needs may be acquired using income.
The capability of a person to acquire income
enhances his chances of acquiring basic needs.
Capability to earn income enhanced by:
Access to Health Services
Access to Educational Services
5. Poverty and Income
But income is only a means of acquiring basic
needs.
Basic needs can be acquired apart from
income.
6. Food Acquisition
Food can be bought.
Food can be produced.
Food can be obtained through transfers.
Transfers: Commodities/ money obtained from
others without anything given in exchange.
Food can be obtained from the “commons”.
Commons: Commodities for which there are no
property rights or unenforced property rights.
7. The Analysis of Famines
Famines can be caused by lack of food.
But famines have happened in areas where
food was abundant.
Famines should be more generally
understood as the inability to acquire food.
Sen, 1982 and 1999
8. Causes of inability to acquire food
Health problems and problems with nature
which affect direct producers.
Inability to access commons or depleting
supply in the commons could affect those
who rely on this resource.
Cessation of transfers could affect
dependent individuals.
11. The Analysis of Famines
Famines are the result of the inability to
acquire food.
Food is not a commodity a community
suffering from a famine can acquire.
Food is not part of that community’s
entitlements.
13. Famines as Entitlement Failure
Famines are a result of severe
entitlement failure.
Different sectors have different ways
of acquiring food.
Different sectors have different sources
of vulnerabilities to famine.
14. The Acquirement Problem
Labor + Nature +
Productive Resources
Productive resources
SHELTER
Assets
Market
Cash Crops/
Commodities
Wage
Labor
15. Poverty as severe basic needs
deprivation
Poverty as severe entitlements
deprivation
Poverty as the inability to acquire
basic needs
16. Evaluating Entitlements
Is the good or service available?
Is the good or service accessible?
Is access to the good secure?
Is the good or service acceptable?
What is the quality of the good or service
that is available?
UN-Philippines, 2002
18. Sources of Drinking Water
Piped Water
Tube Well
Bottled Water, Improved Source
Bottled Water, Non-improved… Total
Rural
Protected Spring Urban
Protected Dug Well
Others
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
NDHS, 2008 % of households
19. Other Sources of Drinking Water
Public Tap
Semi-protected well
Rainwater
Unprotected dug well
Total
Unprotected spring Rural
Tanker Urban
Surface Water
Others
0% 2% 4% 6% 8%
NDHS, 2008 % of households
20. Time to obtain water
On premises
Less than 30 minutes Total
Rural
Urban
30 minutes or longer
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NDHS, 2008 % of households
21. Electricity
With electricity
Total
Rural
Urban
Without electricity
0 20 40 60 80 100
NDHS, 2008 % of households
22. Flooring Material
Cement
Others
Total
Rural
Palm/ bamboo
Urban
Earth
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
NDHS, 2008 % of households
25. Tenure status of lot
Owned/ being amortized
Rented
Series 3
Rural
Rent-free with owner consent
Urban
Rent-free without owner consent
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
NDHS, 2008 % of households
26. Cooking Fuel
LPG
Charcoal
Total
Rural
Wood
Urban
Others
0 20 40 60 80
NDHS, 2008 % of households
27. Household Effects
Radio
TV
Landline
Cell phone
Washing Machine Total
Rural
Refrigerator
Urban
CD player
Karaoke
Computer
0 20 40 60 80 100
NDHS, 2008 % of households
28. Facilities Visited
RHU/ BHC
Private hospital
Private clinic
Total
Regional hospital Rural
Urban
Local public hospital
Alternative/ non-medical
0 10 20 30 40 50
NDHS, 2008 % of households
31. Child Delivery Attendants by
Income Quintiles (2008, NDHS)
80
70
60
% of households
50 Lowest
Second
40
Third
30 Fourth
20 Fifth
10
0
Doctor Nurse Midwife Hilot Others
32. Child Delivery Attendants by
Region (2008, NDHS)
90
80
70
% of households
60
50 Doctor
40 Nurse
30
Midwife
20
Hilot
10
0
ARMM
CAR
IVB
V
IX
X
NCR
I
II
III
VII
VIII
XII
IVA
VI
XI
XIII
33. Location of Child Delivery
(2008, NDHS)
70
60
% of households
50
40 Urban
30 Rural
Phil.
20
10
0
Govt Hospital Private Hospital Home
34. Location of Child Delivery by
Income Quintile (2008, NDHS)
90
80
70
% of households
60 Lowest
50 Second
40 Third
Fourth
30
Fifth
20
10
0
Govt Hospital Private Hospital Home
35. Location of Child Delivery by
Region (2008, NDHS)
90
80
70
% of households
60
50
40 Government Hospital
30 Private Hospital
20 Home
10
0
ARMM
NCR
CAR
IVB
V
IX
X
I
II
III
VII
VIII
XII
XIII
IVA
VI
XI
36. Problems in Women’s Access to
Health Care (2008, NDHS)
Maybe no drugs
Maybe no provider
Maybe no female provider
No one to go with Phil.
Rural
Need to take transpo Urban
Distance
Money
Need permission
0 20 40 60 80
% of women
37. Poverty as severe basic needs
deprivation
Poverty as severe entitlements
deprivation
38. Basic Needs Deprivation
Different sectors have different ways of
accessing basic needs.
If poverty is defined as basic needs
deprivation, different poverty sectors have
different forms of poverty.
Differences in entitlements and differences
in deprivations among poverty groups
necessitate differentiated solutions.
40. Poverty as
Severe Entitlement Failure
Leland R. Dela Cruz
Development Studies Program
School of Social Sciences
Ateneo de Manila University
updated June 12, 2010
41. Other References
National Demographic and Health
Survey, 2008
United Nations-Philippines (2002), Rights
Based Approach to Development
Programming, Training Manual
