[3] The "economically disadvantaged" is a term used by government institutions in for example allocating free school meals to "a student who is a member of a household that meets the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced-price meals (less than or equal to 185% of US federal poverty guidelines)"[4][5] or business grants.
[6] The "disadvantaged" is often applied in a third world context [citation needed] and typically relate to women with reduced "upward mobility"[3] suffering social exclusion and having limited access to natural resources and economic opportunities.
[3] They are often landless or marginal farmers operating on the most unproductive land.
[3] According to Paul Krugman in an October 2002 article titled "about the distribution of wealth",[7][clarification needed] there is even more of a divide between the classes today than in the 1920s, meaning that the disadvantaged are becoming more economically disadvantaged.
[10] In the United States the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act allowed qualifying hospitals to employ temporary foreign workers as registered nurses.