The effect of social and political policy on the conditions of a person living in poverty is the subject of the first group of essays. These authors remind readers that a quantifiable poverty—determining who exactly is counted as poor—is as much an issue of numbers as it is policy. In her essay on international economic policies, Cheryl Bourassa explores two primary indicators of poverty; the “absolute” (the individual) and the “relative” (the individual within a group). Bourassa explains how organizations such as the World Bank are contributing to the dialogue on poverty and offers insight into the ways local and global issues in poverty intersect. The broad gestures on policy presented in these first essays are followed by denotative essays, as they define two major areas of inquiry: social and cultural theories of poverty. Michael P. Auerbach’s review of the “cultural underpinnings” of poverty helps readers understand more clearly the personal, familial, and communal issues that underlie poverty.