The Evolution of Poverty During Periods of Stabilization and Structural Adjustment. Mexico and Mexico City, 1982-1994

Abstract

The period of economic crisis and structural adjustment in the 1980s and 1990s saw an increase in poverty based on income, together with a reduction of poverty measured by other indicators of scarcity and deprivation (such as lack of drainage). This article analyzes the paradoxical evolution of trends in poverty in Mexico and Mexico City. To this end, it describes the methodologies used to measure poverty. It also explores the problems of the National Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (INEGIS), the main source for measuring poverty. It then examines existing studies on poverty in Mexico, the majority of which focus on income-based poverty. Development in the sphere of income-based poverty is contrasted with other essential facilities (health, education, housing). This serves as the basis for the discussion of the paradoxical evolution of these two dimensions of poverty. The section concerning the evolution of poverty in Mexico City begins with a review of social micro-studies. It then shows the development of certain indicators of social welfare for the city, which show that the paradox of the evolution of poverty is not exclusive to the country as a whole, but also affects the city. The results of the measurement of poverty in Mexico City, based on the 1984, 1989 and 1992 ENlGHs and applying the Integrated Poverty Measurement Method (MMIP) are used for the discussion of this paradox. The article ends with evidence on changes in household living conditions during the periods of stabilization and adjustment in Xalpa, a working-class neighborhood in Mexico City.