Pobreza multidimensional en la Argentina. Asimetrías regionales (Parte I)

This document presents the results of a Multidimensional Poverty Measurement exercise conducted for minor spatial units (MSU) of Argentina (jurisdictions as well as subdivisions consisting of major cities and other relatively smaller urban centers in terms of population). The data source is the Annual Urban Household Survey that collects information from urban areas of over 1,999 inhabitants. The multidimensional measurement exercise includes indicators related to the economic capacity of households, housing quality, sanitation and social inclusion. The results show a strong asymmetry between MSU, with poverty rates ranging from 2.5% to 40.3%. Argentina’s Northeastern and Northwestern MSU are the most intensely affected by multidimensional poverty. The multidimensional approach, like its predecessor the basic needs approach, widens the traditional poverty approach based on incomes or consumption levels, providing a more comprehensive structural framework to think and design better public policies that go beyond the limited conditional cash transfer programs currently ongoing in Argentina and other several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.