Presentation made at the Mini-conference on Poverty hosted by the Community Society to End Poverty-NS June 20, 2013

1. Christine Saulnier, PhD
Nova Scotia Director, CCPA
June 20, 2013
SHARING IDEAS/TAKING ACTION: TOWARDS A POVERTY
REDUCTION STRATEGY FOR NOVA SCOTIA: A MINI-
CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP by the COMMUNITY SOCIETY TO END
POVERTY IN NOVA SCOTIA
The Costs of Poverty:
the Case for Social Investment

2. it makes no more sense to ask
"what are the costs and benefits
of preventing poverty?" than to
ask "what are the costs and
benefits of prohibiting torture?”
Lars Osberg, Economist, Dalhousie University
The Costs and Benefits of Anti-Poverty Policy (1990)
The Moral Imperative

3. Moral
Imperative
Barriers

4. Total cost of
poverty:
$2.4
billion/yr
Equivalent
to 7% of
Nova
Scotia’s
GDP
=$2,600
per
person
Direct cost
to
government:
$600 million
dollars per
year
= 6.7% of
the 2010/11
NS
government
budget
Cost of Poverty in
Nova Scotia

5. Moral, and
Economic
Imperatives to
reduce and
eliminate
poverty
Barriers
Too complex
No benefit to
broader society
Too expensive
Right Thing
Shared economic
burden
High quantifiable
costs to
government

6. Calculating the Economic Costs
• considering costs that could potentially be
eliminated, and
• benefits that could
potentially be realized
• if the 20% of Nova Scotians with the lowest
income were to have the same income as the
second lowest 20%

7. Components of the Costs of
Poverty
48%
12%
40%
Health Care
Crime
Productivity Loss

8. From the Spirit Level
http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/spirit-level-why-equality-better-everyone

9. Moral, Economic
and Social
Imperative to
reduce and
eliminate
poverty
Barriers

10. Public Investment Yields Strongest
Impact
Toby Sanger, CUPE; Sources: Informetrica Ltd, Centre for Spatial Economics, Finance Canada
Budget 2009 (p. 240)

11. We all have a share interested
In transforming our society,
which includes eliminating poverty
Thank you.
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