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Wednesday 29 October 2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Costa Rica A Country of
"Casi Casi"
The fourteenth report of
the State of the Nation
reveals that the gap
between those who have
more money and the
poorest are stretched
further in the last
year.
The report indicates
that the rich got richer
in 2007, while the poor
were just getting by,
similar to the situation
reported the previous
year.
Even though the
government increased its
investment in social
programs and
infrastructure, research
shows that the gap
between the rich and the
poor continues to grow.
The research also
indicates that earnings
don't go as far due to
high inflation.
The director of the
Programa Estado de la
Nación, Miguel Gutiérrez
Saxe, explained that in
the social groups in
extreme poverty (first
decile - represents
1/10th of the sample)
the increase in income
was 38%, being the
highest. In the tenth
decile of the study (the
richest) the increase in
revenue was 17.8%, the
second highest.
The data indicates that
the high earners have
incomes higher thatn
¢1.600.000 (us$2.900)
monthly, while those on
the lower end of the
scale must do with a
monthly income of only
¢55.000 colones
(us$100).
"Given the enormous
differences between the
two, this implies that
the share of households
in the tenth decile in
the total revenue, grew
much more than that of
the poorest. Secondly,
while the selective
policies used poor out
of poverty, usually do
not cover the entire
poor population, most of
which are not cared for
in social programs"
underlines the report.
A volatile growth of
wages and insufficient
levels of social
investment, alongside an
increase in income that
is not apportioned
equally, draw a picture
of inequality.
The most affected by the
inequality are the
peasants and the
informal agricultural
sector whose earnings
depend on the weak
labour market.
The report indicates
that 32 out of 100 non
skilled workers receive
salaries below the
minimum wages
established by law.
Despite it all, the
reports considers 2007 a
good year for the
national economy, as for
the third year in a row
there has been a strong
increased in the Gross
National Production
(more than 7%) and there
was a reduction in the
poverty rate that is now
16.2%, down 3.5 points.
The report noted that
Costa Rica is a country
of "casi casi" (most
nearly), as the major
economic and social
achievements made were
insufficient to create
sustainable conditions,
to overcome the setbacks
that the country
accumulated over the
years.
The report by the
numbers:
- in 2007, 95.724 new
jobs were created
- 41 out of every 100
workers are women
- 19 out of 100 students
did not finish school
- 87.6% of the
population are covered
social security
- 1/3 of the workers
work more than 47 hours
per week and earn below
minimum wages
- in 2007 credit
extended by banks rose
by 28%, above the
average of 20.8% for the
last ten years
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