Summary
Despite the clear evidence linking poverty to psychological distress, policies tacking poverty do not typically take shame into account.
To address poverty-related shame, and adequately account for the role shame plays in perpetuating poverty, a number of steps must be taken.
Rather than seeing shame as an unfortunate byproduct of living in poverty, human development planners should consider how poverty undermines human dignity. The Nobel economics laureate Amartya Sen, one of the most influential voices on poverty reduction, has long argued that shame is a driver of "absolute" poverty. Taking shame seriously must be part of any poverty-reduction strategy.
Finally, policymakers must be aware that programs aimed at reducing poverty, if not properly implemented, can actually increase feelings of shame.
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