Poverty and Poverty Indicators in the Republic of Serbia: The Impact of Uneven Regional Development

Introduction

In modern society, the concept of poverty, as well as its occurrence, is a concept of multidimensional characteristics. Important - in other words - category standards that explain this concept can be material, such as income, consumption, and property, but it also includes health, education, as well as the dimensions of individual or social activities, such as work and other obligations. It is necessary to mention that the concept of poverty is seen through the influence of politics, social contacts, the environment, and finally - through the economic, physical security, or insecurity of citizens (Ilic et al., 2019).

The rate of economic growth and the rate at which growth is transformed into poverty reduction is not simply a matter of choice, but the product of a complex set of interactions between the initial conditions characteristic of a country, its institutions, policies, and external shocks to which it is exposed. Poverty is most often associated with hunger - today affects almost close to 800 million people (UN, 1995). Hunger leads to feelings of suffering, sadness, humiliation, and fear. The consequences of famine can also be seen in international financial and trade relations between countries. Industrialized countries import food worth about $ 60 billion a year from Third World countries, but most of the profits are reaped by processors, traders, and retailers. Poverty and unemployment are causal consequences. Unemployment means poverty and vice versa - the search for income most often leads men to leave home, while, on the other hand, it can cause domestic violence(Matkovic,2014) (Djukic and Ilic, 2020).

In the world, almost 1/3 of the household relies on a woman - she is the head of the family. The biggest obstacle to combating poverty is the way people think about hunger - the “fullness” does not believe in hunger (Ilic, 2019). In America, 97% of the population receives some form of social assistance, until 1/4 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty, and can hardly meet the most basic human needs. Although economic growth is crucial to combating poverty, the changes in income distribution (that accompany that growth) must not be overlooked. The effect of economic growth on poverty depends on how the additional income is distributed among the members of society (Ravallion, 2013).

If economic growth is accompanied by an increase in the distribution of income, then the income of that category of the population will grow faster than the average income and vice versa. The same goes for the poverty rate. Poverty will fall faster if the distribution of income is balanced than if it becomes more uneven (Stiglitz et al., 2009). Openness to international trade, sound monetary and fiscal policy (embodied in a moderate budget deficit and the absence of high inflation), along with a well-developed financial system, strongly contribute to increasing production. Institutional factors are also important. “The rule of law and the absence of corruption have been shown to have a positive effect on economic expansion, creating a favorable, rules-based environment for investment and economic advancement (Dollar and Kraay, 2010).Among the many causes, hyperinflation in 1993, contributed to the great impoverishment of the population and the expansion of the gray economy which became the main way for surviving a significant part of the population. The difficult economic and social situation is aggravated by the large influx of refugees and displaced persons, whose number in some years reached up to 10% of the population (Ilic and Djukic, 2021).