Is poverty really just about hunger—or is the problem much deeper?
In this episode, we unpack Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of Poor Economics, focusing on hunger, health, and why well-intentioned policies often fail.

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We challenge the most common assumption about poverty:
👉 “The poor are hungry because they lack food.”

Chapter 2 explores the Hunger Trap and reveals a surprising truth—when poor households get extra money, they don’t spend all of it on calories. Instead, they seek better food quality, festivals, even TVs. This isn’t irrational—it’s about dignity, boredom, and mental survival.
The real issue turns out to be Hidden Hunger: deficiencies in iron, iodine, and other micronutrients that silently damage productivity and long-term health.

Chapter 3 dives into the Health Trap.
Preventive solutions like ORS, bed nets, chlorine, and deworming are incredibly cheap—yet massively underused. Why?
Because of time inconsistency, misinformation, and badly designed systems that put all responsibility on people who already have limited willpower.

In this episode, we cover:

• Hunger Trap & S-shaped curves

• Inverted L curves and when big pushes aren’t needed

• Calories vs micronutrients

• Why prevention beats cure

• Why “free” doesn’t mean “wasted”

• How invisible nudges outperform moral lectures

🎯 What you’ll gain:

• A new way to think about hunger and health

• Why evidence beats ideology in policy

• How small nudges create massive long-term impact

• Why Poor Economics focuses on fixing specific broken gears, not big slogans

🔍 KEYWORDS / TAGSPoor Economics, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Hunger Trap, Health Trap, Randomized Control Trials, S Shaped Curve, Inverted L Curve, Micronutrients, Public Health Policy, Poverty Economics, Evidence Based Policy, Behavioral Economics, গরিবি অর্থনীতি, ক্ষুধা ও স্বাস্থ্য, #BetweenLinesAndLands📣 CALL-TO-ACTIONBengali:আপনার কী মনে হয়—গরিবদের সমস্যা বেশি hunger, না system design? Comment-এ জানান। Episode ভালো লাগলে অবশ্যই share করুন।English:Do you think poverty is more about hunger—or bad policy design? Share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe for more deep dives.🔗 CONNECT WITH US🌐 Website: www.betweenlinesandlands.com📺 YouTube: @BetweenLinesAndLands_podcast📘 Facebook: facebook.com/BetweenLinesAndLands📸 Instagram: @BetweenLinesAndLands_podcast🎵 TikTok: @BetweenLinesAndLands🎙️ Podcast: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Audible