Case Study: Inequality, Poverty and Wealth A study reported in 2001 discovered that relatively poor people give more generously to charity than those with greater wealth. The project, entitled “The Widow’s Might: How Charities Depend on the Poor”, was conducted by Beth Egan of the Social Market Foundation, who examined the contributions of over 1000 individuals to ten British charities. It was found that although richer people gave more money in absolute terms, this comprised a smaller proportion of their overall income than was the case for the poor: in other words, the lower a person’s income, the more of their earnings they donated to charity. For example, those with an annual income of under £5000 gave away an average of 4.5% in donations, whereas for those with salaries of over £40,000, the figure was only 2%. The journalist Lucy Ward suggests that this challenges the assumption most of us hold that charities redistribute income from the rich to the poor: instead it would seems that charitable organizations rely upon those in relative poverty to support the most needy. Furthermore, there is a gender difference insofar as women are more likely to give to charity in general, but when men do contribute, they donate a higher proportion of their income. People born after 1950 were also found to be less generous in their donations than those born during or before World War II, which reveals an interesting shift in values between generations.
Questions:
- Why do you think people with less money would give more of it away to charity than those who have more?
A reason could be that people with less money can relate with the situation and need of the needy. They know how needy people live and run their households and the problems they face in their daily life’s. On the other hand, rich people can’t relate to the situation of needy one because they don’t face issue what a needy phase so they give donation when they like and people with less money give charity more frequently.
- What do the findings suggest about the way people in different social classes spend their disposable income?
According to my finding rich people spend small portion of their disposable income in charity and donation on the other hand people with middle class greatly spend a good proportion of disposable income in helping people in need. Rich people either spend most of their disposable income in maintaining their life style or improving their living standard and middle class use their money in running their house hold and maintain them and them to fall under poverty line. Most of the people think that charity is the process of redistributing the wealth from rich to poor. Because of charity society can improve the life style of needy and they can fulfill their necessities.
- Do you think that these poor people who gave generously were in absolute or relative poverty?
Yes, I think so these these poor people who gave generously are in near too poverty line and they know the situation what people below the poverty line phases. They spend their money to prevent them falling under that poverty line and also give charity to the needy so they can run their households. A person can only help other when he himself is in better position then the one whom he is going to help.
4. How might we explain the gendered patterns of donating behavior?
By studying case study, we got to know that women are the most frequent one in giving charity as compared to men. But if we talk about the portion of money they give in charity so in that case men give large number of amounts as compared to women because they have good savings and they spend less in their daily routine. If we talk about the caring and generous personality so women heart is more generous and care taking, they are more emotional than man so when ever they see anyone in trouble or a needy so, their heart convinces them to help them. Men are generous and care taking too but they are less emotional and they are more practical as compared to women. If we talk about the pattern of donating so to summaries women are more frequent than men but if we talk about the amount both genders donate so in that case men donation amount total will surpass women donation.
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