Economic Lives of the Poor
Question One
Having multiple occupations leads to lack of efficiency because employees are not sufficiently engaged in any of their occupations. Juggling diverse work processes at each occupation drains energy and concentration and thus reducing worker innovativeness and capacity to pay attention to critical details. There is also the factor of taking manual jobs that don’t require specific expertise; this lack of specialization coupled with working multiple jobs denies the poor a chance to develop and build on a particular skill in time; that would enable them to reach skilled professional levels.
Question Two
Migration from rural to urban areas is often temporary due to the nature and quality of jobs taken by the majority of immigrants from rural areas. These immigrants usually take manual jobs in urban centres such as washing dishes and casual labourers in construction sites. The money earned in by the poor immigrants is often invested and spent back at home; they go to the urban areas with the perception of looking for money to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones back at home. The second factor builds on the first one in that the immigrants are not keen on investing in the urban centres and they rarely spend money towards their empowerment such as advancing education; complemented by the fact that what they earn is often not sufficient for them to invest in self-development and support their dependents’ back in the rural areas.
Question Three
The opportunity cost of attending school is the time that is spent in school, the money paid in fees and upkeep at school plus the money one would have made if they chose to work for the time they went to school. It can be considered that at the age of 16 years old, if one decides to learn a specific skill such as applying talent and stay consistent, then in 10 years they’d be specialists within the particular skill; compared to spending the ten years in school. On the other hand, the opportunity cost of attending a private school is mostly similar to that of attending regular school but the quality of education and the networks that a student might make among their peers at private school. In private schools, there’s greater exposure, and the connects makes it easier to get economic opportunities after school.
Question Four
The reason for high-interest rates among the poor primarily due to lack of financial security and high risk of default. As a way for lenders to hedge themselves against losses from bad loans; they charge higher interest rates to ensure that debtors that religious payback covers the risk of those who will default. However, the lenders end up earning a lot of interest, more so super-profits from lending to the poor the majority of borrowers often repay, and this warrants for more bespoke government regulation on the matter.
Question Five
Strained mercy focuses on the fact that the quality of healthcare is often determined based on visible factors such as access to drugs and the pieces of equipment and resources available within an areas healthcare scope. Applying this approach leaves out vital elements such as the care process, factors such as how engaged are the healthcare service providers to the community they serve? Are they keen on promoting community health, or are they predators hoping to benefit from exorbitant medical fees, etc.?
Question Six
The low levels of agricultural production in South Africa are due to lack of land among the low income and majority of the population. Most of the land was taken away from the Native South Africans by European settlers who started mechanized plantations that they manage up to date. The majority were left with little land and market for their subsistence farming produce and thus opting of agriculture. The matter of land rights should be treated with urgency because there’s a need for the systematic appropriation of land back to the communities. There’s also need to ensure that the land is proportionally shared among the locals.
Question Seven
Access to nutrition is not sufficient, and there’s a need for work opportunities and access to consummate resources that empower different individuals to venture into various matters of commerce. It’s more important to have people access economically scalable resources and have them apply themselves in diverse socio-economic activities that will lead to growth; with these growths and access, they will find nutrition.