Poverty in the regional social dimension: its causes and factors

Аbstract. The article presents the results of a sociological study conducted to identify the causes and factors of poverty. The analysis of the causes and factors of poverty has been carried out at both theoretical and empirical levels. The authors provide a theoretical review of the concept of "poverty", identify and describe the following basic conceptual approaches to the definition of the poverty phenomenon: absolute, relative, subjective. The article also considers the stratification and socio-cultural approaches to poverty measurement. The results of the authors’ sociological research allowed to determine a number of causes and factors causing poverty at the regional level. It is revealed that in the consciousness of the population, there is a stable un-derstanding of the causes of poverty. The causes of poverty and measures to reduce them are described. It is noted that residents of the city of Orel have a clear idea of both the "poverty line" and its specific factors. The dominant factor of poverty occur-rence, according to the respondents, is noted. The influence of political, demograph-ic, educational-qualification, social-medical, and regional-geographical factors on the emergence of poverty is determined. The main signs of poor living in the consciousness of the inhabitants of the city of Oryol were identified. According to the results of the sociological study, a portrait of a "poor man" in the regional dimension was made. According to the results of the sociological research, recommendations for re-ducing the causes and factors of poverty are proposed.