Causal factors for mass poverty are manifold and differ from country to country. Nevertheless, there are certain common features of rural poverty and vulnerability:

• Limited opportunities: The dynamics of global markets do not offer sufficient expansion rates for job opportunities to absorb the majority of the world population in formal labor markets and to create sufficient mass purchasing power for establishing a dynamic demand for rural commodities.
• Inappropriate assets and capabilities: Despite a diversified range of knowledge and coping strategies among the rural population, the capacities to take advantage of limited new opportunities and to cope with new challenges are not equally distributed. Some opportunities remain under-utilized. Many people tend to become losers in the new rural dynamics.

• Institutional deficiencies: Due to deficiencies in public and private service systems, economic, educational, basic health care services are not accessible to the majority of rural people. This affects their capabilities to make effective use of their resources, to manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner and to cope successfully with the various challenges.
• Unbalanced power structures: The majority of the rural poor has neither the purchasing power nor the political power to articulate their needs, to gain access to the private and public service systems or to succeed in the struggle for limited resources and opportunities. They often find it difficult to bear the organizational costs associated with empowerment.