Poverty Governance and Surveillance Practices

Poverty governance encompasses the policies and mechanisms by which states and institutions regulate and manage populations experiencing economic hardship. In recent years, this field has witnessed a shift from traditional welfare models towards data-driven regimes that combine conditional assistance with real-time monitoring. Surveillance practices range from means-testing and regular home visits to biometric verification and algorithmic risk profiling. These interventions are often justified on the grounds of efficiency and fraud prevention, yet they carry profound implications for dignity, autonomy and social inclusion. Scholars have highlighted how surveillance technologies can reinforce existing inequalities by targeting marginalised groups, embedding discriminatory biases into decision-making systems and blurring the line between social support and social control. Global case studies reveal a spectrum of approaches—from mobile phone tracking of benefit recipients in South Asia to predictive analytics in European welfare offices—underscoring both practical applications and ethical dilemmas. Understanding this evolving landscape is crucial for policymakers, practitioners and advocates seeking to balance accountability with respect for the rights of people living in poverty.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Poverty Governance and Surveillance Practices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in poverty governance and surveillance practices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Poverty governance: The ensemble of state and institutional strategies designed to regulate, support and control populations experiencing poverty.

Surveillance practices: Methods and technologies employed to monitor individuals’ behaviours, movements and eligibility for public assistance.

Means-testing: The assessment of an individual’s financial resources to determine eligibility for welfare benefits.

Algorithmic governance: The use of automated data-processing systems and predictive models to inform policy decisions and administrative actions.

References

1. From Broken Windows to Broken Homes: Homebreaking as Racialized and Gendered Poverty Governance. Feminist Formations (2021).
2. From Social Assistance to Control in Urban Margins: Ambivalent Police Practices in Neoliberal Chile. Dilemas - Revista de Estudos de Conflito e Controle Social (2022).
3. First They Came for the Poor: Surveillance of Welfare Recipients as an Uncontested Practice. Media and Communication (2015).