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Poverty can be a good spur/stimulus/stimulation to harder study.
Are the three words in bold all interchangeable here? Thanks.
I am quite sure spur and stimulus are equally suitable here.
Stimulation means the application of a stimulus to a responsive structure.
It does not really work in the context.
Spur and stimulus are the fact of poverty imparted that elicit a response.
Stimulation is the act, process of setting off reaction. Stimulation is the revelation of facts in this case.
spur/stimulus/stimulation 
Linear Mode
