"In the second study, the team studied IQ and attention tests for 464 sugar cane farmers in Tamil Nadu, India during times of relative wealth and poverty. Farmers in this region are generally in a more stable financial situation just after a sugar cane harvest, when they sell their crops and have an immediate cash flow. In the months leading up to another harvest, this money, their prime source of income wanes, often creating more stress on the farmers and their families. By looking at famers’ performance in tests before and after cane harvests, researchers again found considerable differences in decision-making abilities. “What we did is look at the same people the month before and the month after the harvest, and what we see is that IQ goes up, cognitive control, or errors, goes way down, and response times go way down,” said Sendhil Mullainathan, a professor of economics at Harvard University and a co-author of the study. What does this all mean? For anti-poverty advocates, these findings provide further evidence that the so-called “culture of poverty” is a myth. That poor people don’t have a strong work ethic has been a popular explanation for why 50 million people live in poverty across the U.S. with millions more living on the edge of poverty. It appears conditions determine performance and attitude, not the other way around."
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 07:51:11 +0000