Health Is The First Condition Of Happiness

By Lucia Lepe

Understand poverty and escape povertyis a book on economics with rich content, born from deep understanding of the economic life of the poor. This is a book that brings together many types of theories, telling not only what the poor can achieve, but also why they need to be pushed, and where to "push". Each chapter describes how to search for em

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucia Lepe
• Release date: Feb 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869216090

Book preview

Health Is The First Condition Of Happiness

Health Is The First Condition Of Happiness

Copyright © 2023 by Lucia Lepe

All rights reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 : BEZOS WORKED MANY DIFFERENT ODD JOBS

CHAPTER 2 : WHO IS THE TRUE RICH?

CHAPTER 3 : FREE BUT IT TAKES MONEY

CHAPTER 4 : SUBJECTIVE FACTORS

INTRODUCTION

Why do poor people buy TV instead of food when they have more money?

Is having many children the real reason why families become poor?

Why have many previously considered miracle poverty eradication policies failed?

Understand poverty and escape povertyfilled with vivid stories about the real lives of poor people around the world and reliable research results, all to help us understand what life is really like for the poor, and then how to help them. The solution is sometimes right at hand, and the poor need help and understanding, sometimes they are acquaintances and friends

At the age of six, Esther first learned about the city of Calcutta through a comic book about Mother Teresa. This city is so cramped that each person only has nearly 1 square meter to live. In my mind, I see an image of a large city like a chessboard with 30x30 squares drawn straight on the ground. Every square is filled with human footprints. At that time, Esther did not know what kind of relationship she would have with that land.

Finally, at the age of twenty-four, while a student at MIT, Esther actually set foot in Calcutta. On the way into the city, she was briefly disappointed by what she saw through the taxi window. Empty space is everywhere - trees, grass, empty sidewalks. Where are all the miserable people vividly drawn in that comic? Where have they gone?

At six years old, Abhijit already knew where poor people lived. They live in dilapidated houses behind my house in Calcutta. It seems like children from poor families always have plenty of time to play and do whatever they want. Every time he played marbles, Abhijit's marbles would end up in the pockets of poor children's ragged shorts. Abhijit was extremely jealous.

Poor people are often framed into stereotypical models. This trend has existed for a long time, since poverty appeared. In social theories as well as in literature, the image of the poor is portrayed as follows: if not lazy, then dare to think and act, if not noble, then steal, if not angry, then passive, if not hopeless, then self-centered. life force. Responding to that prejudiced thinking, it is not surprising that policy views only revolve around simple formulas: Free market for the poor, Realizing human rights, Resolving conflict first, Pump more money to the poor, Foreign aid stifles development, things like that. These views are not wrong, but the poor should be seen as normal people. They, like us, have hopes and doubts, limitations and desires, and a lot of confusion and mistrust. However, even if they are cared for, the poor still only appear dramatically as the main character of a tragedy or story overcoming some fate, to be pitied or admired, not to be admired. are seen as people who need advice on what they think, want or do.

People often confuse the economics of poverty with the economics of the poor. Because poor people have almost no assets, we often think that there is nothing to discuss about their economic life. This is a mistake that seriously affects the fight against global poverty, because if the problem is mistakenly thought to be simple, the solution will be simplified. Anti-poverty policy is a field full of solutions that seem magical but in reality are not very effective. To find real solutions, we need to break the habit of turning the poor into cartoon characters, and take the time to seriously learn about their lives in all their underlying complexity and diversity. in. That's what we've been trying to do for the past fifteen years.

Like most researchers, we develop theories and observe data. But in reality this work requires spending months or years in the field, working with nongovernmental activists (NGOs) and government officials, medical staff and microfinance institutions. tissue. This work took us into the valleys and villages where the poor lived, questioning them and finding data. This book would not have been possible if it were not for the kindness of the people we met. They were always warmly welcoming, even though we often appeared as uninvited guests. They patiently answer questions even though sometimes they are not very clear and coherent; We have shared many stories.[first]

Back at the office, recalling these stories as we analyzed the data, we were both excited and confused, trying to fit what we had seen and heard into the simple models that economists develop and Policy experts (usually Western or Western-trained) still think about the lives of the poor. Often when we find good evidence, we reassess or even discard existing theories. However, we try to understand exactly why those theories fail, and how they need to be adjusted so that they describe the world more accurately. This book was born from those adjustments, our attempt to piece together a plausible story about the lives of the poor.

We are especially concerned about the world's needy people. In the 50 countries where most of the poor live, the average poverty line is 16 Indian rupees per person per day.[2]According to assessments by governments, people living below that minimum level are called poor. If converted at the current exchange rate, 16 rupees is equivalent to 36 US cents. But because prices in most developing countries are cheaper, if calculated based on US prices, poor people need more money to buy equivalent items in India, specifically 99 cents. Therefore, to imagine the lives of the poor, one must imagine living in Miami or Modesto with 99 cents a day for most necessities (not including housing costs). This is not easy - for example, in India for the same amount of money, one can buy 15 small bananas or nearly 1.5 kg of bad rice. Is it possible to live with only that much money? Worldwide in 2005, 865 million people (13% of the world's population) lived in that situation.

Surprisingly, the poor are no different. They have the same desires and limitations as we do; and as thoughtful as anyone. They have almost nothing, which makes poor people more careful when making decisions. They have to be very clever with money just to continue to survive. But their lives and ours are like river water and well water. The difference here is probably related to aspects of life that we always take for granted and almost never think about.

Living on 99 cents a day means access to information is limited - newspapers, television, and books cost money - and so people often don't know things that the rest of the world doesn't. We naturally know that vaccines can prevent measles in children, for example. This is like living in a world that is not meant for you. Most poor people do not have a salary, let alone a pension plan deducted from that salary. They have to decide on complicated paperwork that cannot be considered carefully, because even the i's are not read properly. What can people do with health insurance cards that don't cover diseases they can't even name? People still vote even though experience shows that the political system is nothing but promises that never come true. They also don't have a safe place to keep their money, because the bank's savings service fees are even more than the interest on deposits.

All of them show that poor people need more skills, bravery and more steadfastness to develop their abilities and ensure a life for their families. Meanwhile, the petty costs, hurdles and small oversights that most of us often ignore have a significant impact on their lives.

It's not easy to escape poverty, but if you just believe in what's possible and receive help with a clear direction (a little information, a nudge) sometimes it can have a greater effect than expected. On the contrary, if we have misplaced expectations or do not have enough trust when needed, we may not be able to overcome seemingly small barriers. Using the right lever will bring about huge changes, but it can be difficult to know where that lever is. And above all, there is no single lever that can solve all problems.

Understand poverty and escape povertyis a book on economics with rich content, born from deep understanding of the economic life of the poor. This is a book that brings together many types of theories, telling not only what the poor can achieve, but also why they need to be pushed, and where to push. Each chapter describes how to search for emerging problems, and shows how to fix them. We start from the essential aspects of family life: what poor people buy, what they do to solve their children's education problems, the health of themselves, their children or their parents; how many children they want etc. Next we will explain how markets and institutions affect the poor; Can they borrow, save themselves, and secure their lives against the dangers they face? What can government do, and when can it not help them? Throughout the book, many basic issues will be turned back and forth. Are there ways for poor people to improve their lives, and what is preventing them from doing so? Is it more expensive to start, or is it easy to start but harder to maintain? How can it be so expensive? Can people recognize the core of security and welfare? If not, why do they have trouble finding out about it?

Through Understanding Poverty Escaping Poverty, the lives of the poor and the choices they face will tell us how to fight poverty in the world. It helps us understand, for example, why microfinance is useful even though it is not as magical as some people think; Why do poor people often choose health care that does more harm than good? Why do many poor children go to school year after year but still don't learn anything; Why don't poor people want health insurance? And it also partly shows why many previously considered miraculous solutions have now failed. This book will also say a lot about what people hope for: why nominal subsidies can have real effects; how to secure better markets; why the principle less is more can be true in education; Why good jobs matter for growth. And most importantly, it clarifies why it is necessary to hope and never stop learning, why it is necessary to keep trying every time the challenge seems too much to bear. Success is not always as distant as we think.

INTRODUCTION PROF. NGO BAO CHAU

A

bhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo were pioneers in the use of randomized controlled trials in development economics. Typically, this method is used in medicine to measure the effects of drugs. Their experiments have provided answers, sometimes unexpected, to specific questions, such as: is microfinance really a miracle drug to help the poor escape poverty; Are poor people in Africa not using insect repellant-treated bed nets because they are distributed free of charge? Is the labor productivity of the poor limited because they are hungry? Instead of relying solely on the theoretical system of macroeconomics, Banerjee and Duflo believe that it is necessary to measure the effectiveness of specific policies through randomized controlled trials.

The observations, experiments, and research of Banerjee and Duflo are profoundly changing the concept of international organizations' support policies to help the poor escape poverty. Their findings have influenced the development support policies of the US government, and of major charitable foundations including