poverty exists in many forms and arises in a broad range of circumstances the causes may be manmade and systemic or they may be environmental meaning people may live in poverty because they are not part of a system in other words poverty may be the result of effective as well as ineffective policy interventions policies tend to be effective where interdependent systems exist it is possible to rationally coordinate and direct collective action in a certain direction and people are sufficiently dependent upon the system to feel the pinch