Poverty and its Causes

Pope Francis caused another stir over his recent comment that Catholics needn't breed like rabbits. I suspect he wishes he had phrased it differently. I don't want to get into the ethics of artificial birth control, there can't be many people left on the planet who don't hold firm opinions on that, but I would like to offer a few reflections on the relationship of poverty to economic systems, government, and large families. I am a fan of Pope Francis. There is a lot to like, but he is only partly correct when he says "... an economic system that creates 'a culture of disposal, where men, women and children are excluded' is the main reason for poverty, not large families." My maternal grandparents were well to do by the standards of their day. They both came from families who were relatively well off, were well educated, and who had over several generations steadily improved their lot through hard work and determination. Most of them were large families. My paternal grandparents in contrast came from more modest circumstances. My grandfather had only an eighth grade education, eight more years of formal schooling than his father had. Those eight years made him literate and numerate enough to master the lumber business and become wealthy. He too had a large family, and saw to it his ten children were better educated than he was. So Francis is right that large families do not necessarily cause poverty, though I would argue that too many children can be a major obstacle in escaping poverty. Look at Mexico. Mexico is transforming itself into a middle class country, still a far cry from the U.S. but a long way from the grinding poverty that produced the massive waves of illegal immigration that still color our policy debates. Net immigration from Mexico today is negative. Sociologists who study these things usually credit several factors. One is NAFTA. Another is that Mexican families are having fewer children. Both of these make it easier for women to work outside the home, produce higher family incomes, and allow children to stay in school longer, 2015 is the fifteenth and final year of the UN's Millennial Development Goals, eight goals aimed at reduced poverty, hunger, child mortality, and gender inequality, improved health, education, and environmental stability, and creating a global partnership for development. Substantial progress has been made toward all eight, the most dramatic being a 50% drop in extreme poverty, defined as subsisting on less than a $1.25 per day. That goal was achieved five years early, by 2010, and more progress has been made since despite a serious global economic downturn. But that wasn't primarily because of anything the UN did, or for that matter the church though both had a role. It was driven largely by China's decision in the 1980's, and later India's, to embrace capitalism, private property rights, and the very global economic system the Pope criticizes, the system my grandparents prospered in a century ago and Mexicans are prospering in today. Melinda Gates thinks we will see more progress in the next fifteen years than we did in the last. I think she is right and to be sure the Gates Foundation and other charitable agencies like Catholic Relief Services have much to contribute, particularly in helping the poor in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa with things like health care, agricultural technologies, and access to clean water. But as it has in the past the major impetus will come from improved governance. There is much to be done and much to be gained from reduced corruption, lower structural barriers to trade, improved infrastructure, and education. Government has a critical role in them all. Wherever large pockets of poverty or hunger are found in the world today we can expect to find poor governance. We would do well to think about that as we address continuing poverty here at home.