Global Poverty and the United Nations

Abstract

The impact of poverty on consumers’ lives has received considerable attention in the public policy and marketing literature, but primarily from the perspective of the United States. The purpose of this article is to examine global poverty using the multidimensional position advanced by the United Nations (UN). The authors provide a discussion of the history of the UN, from its founding during World War II to the present, with an emphasis on the resolutions, declarations, and conventions that guide its focus on poverty. Then, the authors present UN data on human development to create an understanding of the magnitude and dimensions of poverty worldwide. They close with recommendations for a specific research agenda for public policy and marketing scholars.