Fifty years after Oscar Lewis's famous depiction of five Mexican
families caught in a "culture of poverty," Caroline Moser tells a
very different story of five neighborhood women and their families
strategically accumulating assets to escape poverty in the
Ecuadoran city of Guayaquil. In "Ordinary Families, Extraordinary
Lives," Moser shows how a more sophisticated understanding of the
complexities of asset accumulation as well as poverty itself can
help counter inaccurate stereotypes about global poverty. It
provides invaluable insight into strategies that may help people in
developing countries improve their wellbeing.
The similar socioeconomic characteristics and economic
circumstances of the Guayaquil families in 1978, when Moser began
her research, set the stage for a natural experiment. By 2004,
these circumstances varied widely. Moser captures the causes and
consequences of these developments through economic data,
anthropological narrative, and personal photos. She then places
this compelling story within the broader context of political,
economic, and spatial changes in Guayaquil and Ecuador.
Moser describes how households in a Third World urban slum
relentlessly and systematically fought to accumulate human, social,
and financial capital assets. Her longitudinal account of their
odyssey captures long-term trends and changes in perception that
are missed in snapshot assessments. Chapters in this holistic story
cover diverse issues such as housing and infrastructure, community
mobilization and political negotiation, employment, family
dynamics, violence, and emigration.
General
Imprint: |
Brookings Institution Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
November 2009 |
First published: |
November 2009 |
Authors: |
Caroline O.N. Moser
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 26mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
400 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8157-0327-3 |
Categories: |
Books >
Business & Economics >
Economics >
Macroeconomics >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8157-0327-9 |
Barcode: |
9780815703273 |
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