Poverty, Development and the Brain

Lourdes Mary Daniel*

Abstract

Poverty is not an easily defined entity. Many studies have used low Socio-Economic Status (SES) as a surrogate to study its effects. Children in poverty exist in both developing and developed countries. In the United States in 2014, 21% of all children younger than 18 years (15.5 million) lived in “poor” households (i.e. with incomes below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line).