Journal Article

Disability and Poverty: the need for a more nuanced understanding of implications for development policy and practice

Lang, Raymond, Trani, Jean-Francois, Kett, Maria, Groce, Nora

2011

Overview

The international development community is beginning to recognise that people with disabilities constitute among the poorest and most vulnerable of all groups, and thus must be a core issue in development policies and programmes. Yet the relationship between disability and poverty remains ill-defined and under-researched, with few studies providing robust and verifiable data that examine the intricacies of this relationship. A second, linked issue is the need for-and current lack of-criteria to assess whether and how disability-specific and disability 'mainstreamed' or 'inclusive' programmes work in combating the exclusion, marginalisation and poverty of people with disabilities. This article reviews existing knowledge and theory regarding the disability-poverty nexus. Using both established theoretical constructs and field-based data, it attempts to identify what knowledge gaps exist and need to be addressed with future research.

• Publisher: Routledge,Routledge Journals,Taylor & Francis Ltd,Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Subject: Character development / Child development / Community development / Developing countries / Development Policy / Development strategies / Development theory / Disabilities / Disability / Disabled / Disabled persons / Group development / Households / Humanities and Social Sciences / International cooperation / International development / Knowledge / Low Income Groups / Marginality / Marginalized people / People with disabilities / Physically Handicapped / Poverty / Social exclusion / Social policy / Vulnerability