World Bank Shows Poverty
Rooted In Childhood
Costa Rica, along with
Argentina, Chile,
Mexico, Uruguay and
Venezuela are closer to
ensuring their citizens
have the chance to break
the cycle of poverty
than many of their
neighbours in Latin
America and the
Caribbean, according to
the World Bank’s first
Human Opportunity Index.
The index, developed by
World Bank economists
and piloted in Latin
America because of its
vast gulf between rich
and poor, is a new type
of measurement that
focuses not on income
but on the factors
children need to ensure
they have an equal start
in life.
It was “a breakthrough
methodology” that would
lead to focusing
investment where it had
the highest impact, said
Marcelo Giugale,
director of the World
Bank’s poverty reduction
and economic management
for the Latin America
and Caribbean region.
Of 19 countries studied,
using data for the
decade up to 2005, El
Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua
were struggling the most
to give their poorest a
way to progress, while
Brazil, Peru, Bolivia,
Panama, Paraguay,
Jamaica, Ecuador,
Dominican Republic,
Colombia and Jamaica
shared the middle of the
table.
“We have found that
between a quarter in
Colombia and half in
Guatemala of the income
inequality the bank
observed had been caused
by the circumstances
people faced as children
– circumstances beyond
their control,” he said.
Race and ethnicity were
a key common obstacle
among the poorest in
Mexico, Brazil, Peru,
Colombia, Ecuador,
Guatemala and Panama.
In Peru, Guatemala and
Brazil, every one of
those in the most
economically
disadvantaged groups was
a member of an ethnic
minority.
Parental education
levels were also a
deciding factor. In
Ecuador and Guatemala,
99 per cent of the
poorest people had
uneducated mothers, and
in Guatemala and Peru 99
per cent and 100 per
cent of the poorest
respectively had
uneducated fathers.
In all of these
countries, 88 per cent
to 100 per cent of
fathers were
agricultural workers.
“Birthplace matters in
Latin America; it
determines a child’s
access to clean water,
sanitation and
electricity,” the report
said.
Mr Giugale said the
World Bank hoped to
update the index every
two years and eventually
use the same methodology
in other countries,
including the US and
Europe. |
