July 23, 2009

A controversial finding on poverty

Juan Cristóbal says: - UCAB Sociologist Luis Pedro España knows about poverty. Having spent years thinking about the topic, he is one of the rare researchers in Venezuela that not only uses official data but goes further and collects his own. His latest looks like an eye-popper.

Although I've yet to read the paper (I can't find a copy online), the article from El Universal suggests it's worth taking a look. His main point is that most of the improvement in poverty comes in the "D" sector, the second-to-last rung in the classification of income levels. Incomes in the "E" sector have barely nudged.

Some of the money quotes:
"Ten years ago, 9% of the families in the E sector lived in housing with dirt floors; now that proportion is 22%. At the same time, the proportion of homes without running water went up from 40 to 60%"
"10 years ago, only 25% of the households in the B class lived in a barrio. Today, it's 57%. Now you can find families in Antímano or San Agustín who make 5 or 6 times the amount needed to cover the basic food basket, with relatives who are college graduates. The lack of housing means they cant move."
"The government's claims to the contrary, 73% of the income in the E sector does not come from the government. Public transfers are not focused and are not as important as commonly thought."
Interesting stuff.

Post 65 of 100 ... this one really piqued my interest.