Poverty: its Degrees, its Causes and its Relief.

This book is the result of an international conference at the University of Kiel, sponsored by the European Science Foundation and organised by Thomas Riis and René Leboutte. The main goal of the conference was to make poverty understandable as an epoch-spanning phenomenon. The volume focuses on three aspects: firstly the effect of poverty on certain groups of society, e.g. women, families with many children, poor people who are bashful about their fate as well as the question if poverty is inheritable. The second part deals with the causes of poverty, e.g., technological change, taxation, economic cycles, natural disasters, and war. The third complex focuses on the efficiency of governmental measures against poverty, the perception of poverty in society and its effects on society.