What Is the Poverty Cycle?

A poverty cycle is a pattern where early disadvantages build on each other over time and repeat in the next generation.

Why Does Poverty Exist?

From day one, meeting basics—food, shelter, clothing—takes all the family’s energy. School, friends, even playtime can slip behind these urgent worries.

Economists call this a vicious cycle. “Vicious” means once one problem starts, it sparks the next—and they keep feeding each other in a loop that gets worse each time.

For example:

Parent's financial problems hurts a child’s learning → they fall behind in school
Falling grades make good jobs hard to get later → low pay as an adult
Low pay forces housing shifts for their kids → more missed school days
Missed days add stress and learning gaps all over again

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Long-term stress from childhood often carries into adulthood. Struggling with mental or physical illness can make it harder to show up on time, learn new skills, or cope with work pressures—so steady employment stays out of reach.. affecting their children...

Each setback creates the next—and then circles back to deepen the first—the cycle keeps spinning, trapping families in poverty unless an external factor helps..

Fun Fact: 16.4 % of Indians are multidimensionally poor, meaning they face deprivations in health, education, or living standards.