The empathy fix: Why poverty persists and how to change it

The empathy fix: Why poverty persists and how to change it

From Between the Lines by Institute of Development Studies

April 30, 2025 · 47 min · Season 7 · Episode 4

About this episode

The episode discusses the persistence of poverty and the role of empathy in addressing it, featuring insights from Keetie Roelen's book.

A poverty line of $6.85 a day, as used by the World Bank , indicates a substantial level of deprivation, impacting the lives of billions globally. Indeed, nearly half of the World’s population falls into this category. So, if poverty is something we all want to see less of, why does it prove so difficult to tackle and can empathy help fix it? In this podcast, IDS Research Fellow Stephen Devereux is in conversation with Keetie Roelen, Senior Research Fellow from the Open University and an IDS Research Associate who talks about her book, The Empathy Fix: Why Poverty Persists and How to Change it. In the podcast, Keetie exposes the realities of poverty – with examples from the Global North and South – and reveals why current policies don’t work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Keetie Roelen

Topics covered

  • poverty
  • empathy
  • policy
  • Global North
  • Global South

Keywords

  • World Bank
  • deprivation
  • social policy
  • research

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Empathy Fix

Books & works: The Empathy Fix: Why Poverty Persists and How to Change it.

Places: World, the Global North

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