VEN 1 of 6 LatAm countries close to breaking the cycle of poverty

[magbana]

Quite an endorsement of Pres. Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution, I'd say!!

World Bank reveals poverty rooted in childhood
By Naomi Mapstone
The Financial Times
October 3, 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4cd90f9e-90e4-11dd-8abb-0000779fd18c.html

Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, 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.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Amazing to see this story carried by F.T. This is impressive for the 6 countries named.

Who wouldn't, however, believe the circumstances of one's birth and early life are far more responsible than the percentages they listed. Everything proceeds from that point, and people born into tragically deprived circumstances don't, as far as anything I've ever heard, make it very far from their early environments. It's too far a leap without the necessary tools.

This is one article to save, no doubt about it. Congrats to the countries which have managed this level of success so far:

Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
No small accomplishment, is it?

Thanks so much, Magbana. Wonderful news to savor beginning a new week.

[EFerrari]

2. I have to read this! Thank you magbana.

:)