Resilience and exclusion

Book excerpt: Resilience is a desirable capability of people to deal with shocks without significant loss of livelihood, health, and nutrition. Resilience is impaired by exclusion and other forms of discrimination. Exclusion is part of a larger set of causal factors that determine marginality, which is a root cause of poverty and inequality. It is a global phenomenon, not just one of developing countries, and is fundamentally a human rights issue. Overcoming exclusion is a complex political agenda with legal, cultural, social, economic, technological, and governance dimensions. Social psychology and behavioral issues need to be considered as well. The purpose of this brief is to assess the relationships between exclusion and resilience, and to identify opportunities for overcoming exclusion and thereby strengthening the resilience of the poor. To address these complex issues in a brief note cannot do much more than raise key issues and suggest broad sets of policy actions. A few examples will illustrate symptoms, causes, and points of entry for action.