A pobreza é veneno para o desenvolvimento das crianças

"As the article explained, neuroscientists have found that “many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.” The effect is to impair language development and memory — and hence the ability to escape poverty — for the rest of the child’s life." A citação é de Paul Krugman, no artigo: Poverty Is Poison - New York Times.

Outra citação do mesmo artigo, fala por si: "I’d bracket those new studies on brain development in early childhood with a study from the National Center for Education Statistics, which tracked a group of students who were in eighth grade in 1988. The study found, roughly speaking, that in modern America parental status trumps ability: students who did very well on a standardized test but came from low-status families were slightly less likely to get through college than students who tested poorly but had well-off parents."

Krugman discute a realidade da pobreza nos EUA; apresenta estatísticas; argumenta as causas (devem calcular quais as que indica); apresenta a experiência europeia e perspectiva o que um Presidente democrata poderá fazer (no imediato, por razões políticas, pouco).

PS (1): Mark Thoma (Economist's View), a-propósito deste artigo de Krugman, alerta para outra investigação, feita na Suécia, sobre o mesmo tópico: "Childhood Poverty and Labour Market Exclusion".

PS(2): Mais sobre o mesmo tópico - no seu blogue, Krugman acrescenta informação adicional: Other countries wars on poverty - Paul Krugman - Op-Ed Columnist - New York Times Blog.

PS(08.02.20-1) No blogue Consider the evidence, mais sobre comparações internacionais de níveis de pobreza: Is Poverty Highest in the U.S.?.

PS(08.02.20-2) Krugman responde ao Consider the evidence em Absolute Poverty.

PS(08.02.21) Consider the evidence replica.