Literature review: poverty, social analysis and the political economy of Tonga (original) (raw)
2013
Undertake a review of recent literature on poverty, social analysis and the political economy of Tonga. This literature review would consist of a synthesis of findings under each topic, summarising research results and, where appropriate, providing brief synopses of reports directly relevant to these topics. GSDRC is also asked to identify academic institutions or individuals who are undertaking research on Tongan issues on a regular/ongoing basis. Include research from 2010 onwards.
Public Perceptions of Child and Adult Poverty in Tonga
Institute of Education, USP, 2019
This study was commissioned by the Tonga Department of Statistics (SD) to examine the perceptions of the Tongan people about poverty, and was carried out by the Institute of Education (IOE) of The University of the South Pacific (USP). The study draws attention to Tongan people's perceptions about adult and child poverty and the SD and Tongan government's efforts to establish tools to reduce poverty. The very first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 1) targets a reduction in poverty in all its forms, everywhere. This study is part of the SD and the Tongan Government's efforts to improve the quality of life for all the people of Tonga. The research has revealed that the main poverty-related issues affecting participants' lives fell into four broad themes: money, social obligations, individual characteristics, and resources. Under the theme of money, these sub themes emerged: income, cost of living, debt, and hardship. Social obligations had the following sub themes: community and family. The theme of individual characteristics related mainly to behaviours, while the theme of resources revealed the sub-themes of: education, technology, housing, drinking water, and transportation. The study also reveals that participants' definitions of poverty fell into four broad categories, namely physical, mental, spiritual, and social poverty. The category of the physical issues of poverty has sub themes which include basic needs, access, and financial hardships. The category of mental poverty included the sub themes of intellectual and knowledge poverty. The category of spiritual poverty included the sub themes of apathy and the complete person, while the category of poverty relating to social life had the sub themes of cultural practice, idleness, and unemployment. The study asked participants about ways in which children in Tonga are vulnerable to poverty. Their answers fell under four broad themes, indicating that children's vulnerability to poverty is seen in these areas: education, hardship, social issues, and youth characteristics. For education, sub themes were found, which included: school dropout; school opportunities; and corporal punishment. For hardship there were the sub themes of financial hardships and technology. Under the theme of social issues, the sub themes were: community expectations; family issues; and relationships. The theme of youth characteristics was divided into sub themes relating to youth problems, employment, and empowerment. Participants were also asked to provide a list with what they now regarded as the 'necessities of life' in the Tongan context. From a long list, their top six necessities in descending order are: drinking water, electricity, education, and health. Perhaps not surprisingly, mobile phones came in number six and ahead of transportation. Participants wanted the Tongan Government to support and empower the people to contribute positively to the country's economy, like finding markets for their farm produce and helping youth to find employment.
The impact of Tongan cultural practices on Tongans’ economic behaviour
2014
The purpose of this thesis was to find ways in which the current practices of Tongan culture and of the church could be modified so that any economic adverse impact they have on Tongans could be alleviated. This research is particularly significant when contextualised in the current unfavourable economic environment surrounding Tongans in Tonga and overseas. The findings from this research are original contributions on the subject of cultural modification in the context of Tonga. This study has used North's Institutional Path Dependency Theory to investigate the impact of current cultural practices in Tonga on Tongans' economic performance. North's argument that institutions and institutional change do matter in defining a society's economic performance underpins this thesis. In this context, Tongan culture is considered an informal institution. This research has used both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, relying largely on tālanoa or dialogue to collect the data. One of key findings of this research is that cultural and church obligations place undue financial burdens on Tongans, especially at the nuclear family level. Many Tongan families have gone into debt through borrowing to finance these obligations. The research also identifies the social impact, such as tension among the extended family's members. Seventy per cent of the participants pointed out that while the culture of fetokoni'aki (makafetoli'aki) or reciprocity, fevahevahe'aki or sharing, faka'apa'apa or respect and tauhi vā or maintaining good relationships ix ACRONYMS ADB Asian Development Bank
Indigenous wealth and development: micro–credit schemes in Tonga
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 2002
Women in Development' aid-funded credit schemes in the Kingdom of Tonga were designated as 'failures' by the funders because the recipient groups of textile producers, who were meant to be engaging in commercial handicraft production as development, were instead making and seemingly 'retaining' textile koloa (indigenous wealth). It is my contention that rather than making low-valued, low-priced textiles for tourist consumption the women made koloa textiles for the Tongan ceremonial economy where a greater range of ideological, spiritual and material gains including cash were available to them. Even though the default rate on the loans was low, and the women were engaged in a Tongan notion of development known as fakalakalaka, the funders and the critics of the schemes were either unable to or would not recognise development taking place, so driven by macroeconomic indices were their criteria and assessment.