Poverty and welfare models

... Sociologists have defined poverty in two different ways, the first being absolute poverty and the second being relative poverty. Seebohm Rowntree, a pioneering researcher of poverty, devised the absolute definition of poverty in the early 19th century in England. In the 1890s, he conducted a scientific survey to discover the real extent of poverty in Britain. Part of this survey involved constructing a clear definition that distinguished the poor from the non-poor. The definition was based on deciding what resources were needed for a person to be able to live healthily and work efficiently. The 'poverty line' was the amount needed to cover these three costs- 1) The cost of a very basic diet. 2) How much it would cost to purchase a minimum amount of clothing of minimum quality. 3) Cost of rent for a basic level of housing. Rowntrees scale was an absolute measure of poverty because it defined the absolute

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