Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed

Re:Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed by kbutler on Friday September 21, 2018 @08:32AM (#18039192)

I had a maid in Thailand who did laundry for us, and her favorite person in the world was a previous employer who found and provided a washing machine.

I haven't yet read the book, but I recently heard opposing statistics that washing machines don't necessarily free up much time, but they dramatically increase the amount of laundry done and expected cleanliness of clothing. (Jevons paradox)

I suspect the truth is mixed, and that at lower income levels, it probably saves a lot of time, and at higher income levels, "consumption" of clean clothing dominates.

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Re:Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed by pbhjpbhj on Friday September 21, 2018 @08:47AM (#18039267)

I've heard similar reports. Hoovers (vacuum cleaners) mean fitted carpets rather than a rug you take out and shake off, or mopped floors, so time savings get eaten up. But "luxury" levels increase.

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Re:Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed by m_mueller on Friday September 21, 2018 @08:44AM (#18039250)

Probably yes. In a culture with 8 kids per family on average the time saving must be huge, but once you are at 2 kids per family (e.g. India now btw.!) it becomes more a quality of life thing.

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