Explain the distinction between absolute poverty and relative poverty (Extract D, lines 3–5) and analyse two causes of poverty.
In many rapidly urbanising middle-income countries, cities have become engines of economic growth, yet they also concentrate severe deprivation. While absolute poverty remains a critical barrier in informal settlements where access to clean water and sanitation is severely restricted, the massive influx of rural migrants has simultaneously escalated relative poverty in metropolitan areas.
Economists point to several systemic issues. First, the lack of formal social safety nets combined with high inflation in basic foodstuffs disproportionately impacts low-wage laborers, who spend up to 70% of their income on survival needs. Second, the widening educational attainment gap means that high-tech service sectors thrive while leaving low-skilled migrants trapped in low-productivity, informal day labor. This systemic exclusion prevents them from participating in the wider economic prosperity of the urban core, cementing long-term inequality.
