In the world today and in Turkey, poverty and its alleviation has become an important issue. As a result, detailed studies for the identification of poverty need to be done. In the recent years, the spatial aspect of the multidimensional character of poverty is gaining significance. For this purpose, in this thesis, spatial aspects of poverty are tried to be analysed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the case of Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren District in Ankara. Firstly, a digital map of the spatial distribution of the urban poor living in Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren is made and linked to the database to analyse the spatial distribution. The poverty database used in this study is based on the data collected by the Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation in the district. It includes state of poverty and some sociodemographic characteristics of the households who applied for social assistance. The analyses with respect to the methodology of this study aims at finding the common characteristics of poor settlements and the areas/households which are the poorest of the poor in Ke&ccedil / i&ouml / ren. The maps obtained as a result of spatial data analysis indicate the dense living areas of the poor, clusters of poor households, neighbourhood level poverty analysis and poor areas within neighbourhoods. There are also additional analyses which compare the characteristics of the geographical distribution of the poor with other aspects, such as land values, roads and building conditions. Such a study can be helpful to re-allocate the poverty alleviation efforts more efficiently by determining priority areas.

This study aims to contribute to the poverty studies in Turkey in terms of the capability approach introduced to the scientific literature by Nobel Laureate thinker Amartya Sen. The approach is closely connected with the idea of justice and particularly with the Rawls&rsquo / s model of social justice. This study&rsquo / s perception of justice is based on the idea that justice is the virtue of the institutions, but not that of individuals. Although the Rawls&rsquo / s justice analysis is approved in terms of making institutional analysis, his perception regarding to the rights are criticized since these are perceived as &ldquo / ends&rdquo / but not the &ldquo / means&rdquo / of individuals&rsquo / welfare. Therefore, it is claimed in this study that holding certain sets of rights are not significant by themselves, but how they can be converted into personal wellbeing is crucial as well. In this framework, poverty is considered as capability deprivation and it is claimed that poverty analyses based on commodity ownership are not satisfactory. As the case of this study, General Directorate of Social Assistance and Solidarity organized as the main state institution so as to alleviate the poverty in Turkey has been chosen and the question of whether the relief programs of the institution are designed to alleviate poverty by enhancing individuals&rsquo / capabilities is raised. It has been concluded in this study that (1) income centred poverty perception of the institution does not take into account the variations in needs, (2) the reliefs are designed to increase economic productivity of individuals but not the valuable capabilities and (3) the operational logic of the institution is based on managing poverty, but not alleviating it.

Through the globalization of economy, alleviating poverty has become one of the pivotal issues within social policy arrangement agendas for many countries all over the world. One of the primary and rifest instruments of the alleviation process is social assistance programs. It is an apodictic fact that the proportion of social assistance disbursements within general budgets of the states have been gradually increasing during the recent years. This situation is also true for Turkey. In this context, to what extent citizens steer away from poverty as the result of all these assistances and to what extent social assistance programs are effective on reproduction of poverty becomes a major question. . The basic objective of this study is to search for and understand the impact of social assistances provided by the state in Turkey on behalf of reducing the poverty conditions of the beneficiaries. The study is based upon a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with beneficiaries of Altindag Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation in Ankara, Turkey. As a result of the study, it is observed that even though distributed assistances are found insufficient by beneficiaries, they have some significant impacts on reduction of poverty. It is understood that the distribution process itself reveals some key problems of the social assistance program of the state such as inefficient defition of poverty and the poor and creating a feeling of dependency for the beneficiaries. The socio-economic factors creating poverty of the beneficiaries are not well defined in Turkey. . In line with this finding one striking inference is that the assistances may cause a kind of culture of poverty for a group of beneficiaries. Besides, assistance may have more impact on women&rsquo / s poverty as the women beneficiaries have a higher tendency to identify social assistance as a vital part of their survival while men beneficiaries identify social assistance as support to family. In terms of cash and /or goods transfers the beneficiaries identified transfers of coal, food and cash as very effective and essential for their survival, though the amount especially of cash transfers was less than required. All in all, as a concrete policy suggestion social assistance programs in both cash and in goods are effective for the reduction of poverty of the poor groups however it is not a total solution to create a take-off effect for the beneficiaries out of their poverty condition. The thesis suggests that social assistance programs should be improved in terms of accessibility and defition of poverty and the poor.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Göteborgs universitet, 2008. / 4 uppsatser.

This research is focused on evaluating the UNDP—GEF Small Grants Programme support in Ethiopia. It involves SWOT strategic analysis of outcomes in projects addressing three of the GEF focal areas mainly biodiversity conservation, abatement of climate change and prevention of land degradation. To this end, the study evaluated how the grant presented to the beneficiary communities short-term and long-term opportunities to undertake nature-based sustainable livelihood activities, alleviate poverty as well as impact national policies pertaining to rural economies and the protection of natural resources. In general, the study highlights that the crucial factor for the success of SGP’s service delivery is not only the provision of the support and the subsequent completion of the projects. Most importantly, how local communities equitably benefit from project outputs and maintain sustainability of developments after project completion were identified to be foundational to the developmental causes the grants have been provided.

This research is focused on evaluating the UNDP—GEF Small Grants Programme support in Ethiopia. It involves SWOT strategic analysis of outcomes in projects addressing three of the GEF focal areas mainly biodiversity conservation, abatement of climate change and prevention of land degradation. To this end, the study evaluated how the grant presented to the beneficiary communities short-term and long-term opportunities to undertake nature-based sustainable livelihood activities, alleviate poverty as well as impact national policies pertaining to rural economies and the protection of natural resources. In general, the study highlights that the crucial factor for the success of SGP’s service delivery is not only the provision of the support and the subsequent completion of the projects. Most importantly, how local communities equitably benefit from project outputs and maintain sustainability of developments after project completion were identified to be foundational to the developmental causes the grants have been provided.

This thesis aims to critically elaborate the World Bank&rsquo / s Social Risk Mitigation Project (SRMP) in Turkey for poverty alleviation. Within this context, the thesis argues that the content and means of social policy are re-defined on and around the theme of &lsquo / fight against poverty&rsquo / which is to be realized through (social) risk management. In this sense, there exists a paradigmatic shift in conceptualization of social policy from income re-distributive mechanisms to risk management proposed to achieve through safety-nets and market mechanism, specifically, small-scale income generating activities and investment in human capital. Hence, it is the core claim of this thesis that the strategy proposed by the World Bank for the social policy in Turkish context results in operationalisation of social policy as a means of both political crisis management, and establishing market hegemony in the distribution of welfare which means deepening the dependency on market.

Poverty alleviation is a key item on the agenda of both government and non-governmental organisations. The use of indigenous knowledge to embark on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) such as handicraft making has shown that it has a potential to yield the desired outcome in many areas. The research addressed the question: to what degree are handicrafts made in the Lowveld region of Swaziland and to what extent do these handicrafts contribute towards the livelihood of rural households? The data was collected using questionnaires and observations. Findings revealed that the production of handicrafts is the second most important livelihood activity for most respondents. Even though the income received from these activities is small, its significance lies in the timing at which it is received; and on its role in supporting existing livelihood activities. Sustainability of the business is, however, threatened by inaccessibility of resources, lack of organisation and trading challenges There is a need to promote the cultivation of natural resources, continuous training workshops and for women to form cooperatives or groups. Further research is needed that would focus on the following areas: a comparative study done in urban areas which shall also investigate the impact of handicraft on urban poor households; a study which will focus on handicraft marketing and consumption and lastly on the youth and handicraft. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M.Sc. (Human Ecology)

Microfinance offers one way to combat poverty by providing access to credit and financial services to low-income borrowers. We argue that the interconnectedness of the socioeconomic and ecological system as well as the reliance on ecosystem services make it important to provide microcredit from a full sustainability perspective. We used the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, a scientific based systematic and strategic approach, to create a principle-based model of a microfinance institution operating in a socioeconomic and ecologically sustainable manner. This model was then compared with the circumstances in which these institutions currently operate. We then explored how taking a full sustainability perspective could meet current challenges and maximise opportunities. After a prioritisation process, we made recommendations on how these organisations could strategically move towards sustainability.

This research investigates, using the New Institutional Economics theories of property rights and transaction cost, two interrelated problems. Firstly, the question of whether real estate markets in the urban informal settlements of Namibia could be used to alleviate poverty or, to put it differently, create wealth. The second problem relates to the question of whether specific forms of property rights matter for engendering pro-poor outcomes in real estate markets and, if so, what form these are likely to take. Corresponding to these questions are two working hypotheses respectively. Firstly, it is hypothesised that real estate is a significant asset held by the urban poor in Namibia and that there is potential for capital accumulation by trading up in real estate markets. Secondly it is hypothesised that, by affecting the incentive structure of, and transaction costs in real estate markets, systems of property rights affect market outcomes, thus ultimately determining whether these markets may be efficacious for poverty alleviation. The study employs the comparative institutional methodological approach in a case study framework to examine effects of three types of property rights regimes on low income real estate markets in settlements located on Windhoek’s periphery. The main empirical data for the study were collected by means of a questionnaire survey of 440 households in two settlements called Goreangab and Okahandja Park respectively. This survey was supplemented by 14 unstructured interviews with selected respondents and by key-informant interviews with officials from the Windhoek City Council (WCC), the Namibian Housing Action Group (NHAG), and the Namibian Housing Enterprises (NHE). The study finds that real estate is indeed a major asset held by the respondents. The study finds that, while there are robust rental markets for rooms and backyard structures, there is very limited sale activity. The study also finds that in the absence of formal property rights, social networks and hierarchical organisations rather than impersonal markets provide the institutional structure to transaction activity. It is found that the degree of formality of property rights correlates to perception of security, that property rights affect investment in housing and that property rights (to some extent) affects the degree of market activity. The study therefore concludes that while not insignificant gains are to be had from rental markets, there is at present limited potential to derive benefits from sale markets in Namibia due to a lack of trading activity. The first hypothesis is thus only partially confirmed. It is also concluded that while social networks guarantee access to urban land for the poor, they tend to lock them in enclaves of ethnic and kinship relations, inhibiting the development of wider, impersonal markets argued to be necessary for capital accumulation. Further, it is concluded that formal property rights create incentives for investment and therefore matter for capital accumulation, but that they are not necessarily accessible to the poor. The second hypothesis, that property rights affect market outcomes, is substantially confirmed. Overall the study concludes that there is good potential for leveraging real estate markets in Namibia’s (and other developing countries’) informal settlements for capital accumulation but that these need to be primed first. This means deliberate interventions with the aim of bringing about increased trading activity. In this regard specific proposals have been made for policy intervention in three key areas, namely, the creation of appropriate property rights systems, together with supporting organisational infrastructure, the expansion of physical infrastructure and the building of shared understanding and trust in urban communities. The study makes a number of key contributions to knowledge about the relationship between real estate markets and poverty alleviation in the area of theory, methodology, policy and empirical data. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Construction Economics / unrestricted