poverty

Studies have shown that inequality in the U.S. has been on the rise for decades, with the top earners enjoying astronomical gains and average Americans coping with stagnating incomes. These studies typically rely on annual income data, however, which may overstate inequality: low earners in one year may be high earners the next.

According to 2012 estimates by the World Health Organization, as many as 34 million people globally are infected with HIV, a condition that causes progressive failure of the immune system.

Since the beginning of the “Arab Spring” in December 2010, governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have fallen, while protests and strife continue in Syria, Yemen and other nations. The source of the discontent was diverse, but deeply felt — decades of struggling under authoritarian regimes, certainly, but also high rates of unemployment and a grinding sense of inequality.

A report by the National Center for Education Statistics finds that, in 2007, about 1.5 million students between the ages of 12 to 18 were victims of nonfatal crimes at school. About 85% of public schools recorded at least one violent crime, theft or other crime during the 2007-2008 school year.

How the United States government measures levels of poverty has changed little since the bureaucracy began making official estimates in the 1960s. Many observers have noted that the official statistical model has not kept up with the times: for example, it does not take fully into account rising medical costs, and it uses a multiplier of food costs as an index by which to set the official poverty income line for households. (Food costs have shrunk historically as part of the family budget.)

Hearing loss in the United States has been shown to be on the rise — a 2008 survey found that 35 million Americans suffer from the partial or complete loss of the ability to hear. While some of this is due to the  aging of the baby boomer generation, hearing loss among younger Americans has also increased.

Women played a significant role in the 2011 protests in Egypt. More educated and outspoken than women of earlier generations, they will continue to have an impact on Egyptian society, evidence suggests, in a post-revolution landscape.

One theory for how to best help developing countries is to increase their inward flow of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, identifying the conditions that best attract such investment flow is difficult, since foreign investment varies greatly across countries and over time. Knowing what has influenced these decisions and the resulting trends in outcomes can be helpful for governments, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and private donors looking to invest in developing countries.

Public health research has found that populations of lower socioeconomic status have less access to healthier foods, which are associated with a decreased prevalence of chronic diseases. Such foods include fresh produce, low-fat dairy products and lean meat. This decreased access is due to the prevalence in poorer communities of small stores that primarily sell foods with a long shelf-life, as opposed to the fresher, more perishable foods that are essential for a high-quality diet.