Ismael Bermúdez
02/22/2021 10:07
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 02/22/2021 10:07
The
47%
of the population -
21 million people
- are poor because they live in precarious conditions, in overcrowded school attendance has problems, job insecurity or access to health,
according to
official statistics
.
The most affected are minors:
55% of those under 18
in Argentina
live in this condition
.
This poverty level
does not take into account the insufficiency of monetary income
, such as salaries, pensions, social benefits, fees - to buy a basket of food and basic expenses.
If income is considered, 30.1% - 13.6 million -
are poor in both ways
: due to lack of income and non-monetary causes.
And
58.1% of the population
- 26 million people -
is poor due to insufficient monetary income or their living conditions
.
The data are official for the first semester of 2020, from the Social Programs Information, Evaluation and Monitoring System
(SIEMPRO
), a body that depends on the Presidency of the Nation.
It corresponds to the measurement of Multidimensional Poverty, which
complements the traditional measurement of poverty by income from INDEC.
Income poverty calculates the number of poor households and people by comparing the monetary income of individuals and families with the value of the total basket, which includes food and other basic expenses.
For the first semester 2020, this measurement showed that
40.9% of the population was poor
.
Multidimensional measurement measures poverty but by variables that are not "insufficient income" but rather broader forms of evaluation of the living conditions and needs of the population, not directly linked to monetary income. These variables can determine that a person may be poor for their living conditions, regardless of their income.
Thus, one can be multidimensional poor and not be poor due to lack of income.
Or being poor due to insufficient income and also due to multidimensional causes.
Or be poor due to lack of income and not be multidimensional poor.
The SIEMPRO system explains that, following international recommendations, the multidimensional poverty index "allows an analysis based on multiple dimensions to be carried out, accounting for a complex social reality" in relation to "the living conditions of vulnerable individuals and families in their rights ”taking into account, not the monetary income levels, but the non-monetary ones, such as
housing, habitat and basic services, education, employment and social protection and health
.
For example, the
precariousness of housing materials, overcrowding, insecure housing tenure, poor sanitary conditions or the location of the home in a vulnerable area
are taken into account
.
In employment, the
difficulties in accessing paid employment
and the
precariousness
of workers
are measured
.
In education,
non-attendance at an educational establishment
in the compulsory ages,
school lag
of the assistants or
insufficient
educational achievements
are taken into account
.
In social protection, the
deficit of pension coverage
of the elderly and the absence of
double health coverage
(social work or prepaid)
are measured
.
Thus, “in order to account for multidimensionality, it was determined that, if a household presents deprivation in at least two indicators of different dimensions, it will be considered to be in a situation of poverty”, and the SIEMPRO Report clarifies) “for example, a deprivation in the housing dimension (overcrowding) and another in the education dimension (school lag) ”.
Of the 47% of the multidimensional poor population, "the most affected are children and adolescents."
• Up to 3 years, it reaches
58.8%
• Between 4 and 17 years old, at
54.2%
• Between 18 and 64 years old,
47.7%
• 65 years and over, at
25.1%.