Perception of poverty in the public consciousness

The article considers poverty as a social problem. It discusses a number of concepts of poverty perception. Public perception of poverty exerts a significant impact on the formation of the socio-economic mechanism for poverty reduction. The article examines the role of different institutions, particularly NGOs, in this process. Today the third sector cannot support creation of a social network, which would be able to assist in reduction of poverty. However, potentially NGOs play a more significant part in the socio-economic mechanism for poverty reduction, than governmental programmes.