This paper explores the ways in which consensually-defined, socially-constructed living standards could be helpful in providing new ways of understanding living standards in Mexico. A pilot study formulating a “Minimum Income Standard”, carried out in the country in 2016, asked members of Mexican society what they consider to be necessary to achieve a dignified standard of living in urban Mexico today. Participants discussed the meaning of a dignified standard of living and translated such definition into concrete items in a hypothetical living room and in leisure time. Our study reveals that social participation, security, and employment are seen as important elements to live a dignified standard of living, which permeate the rationale for identifying the goods and services seen as needed to achieve a dignified living standard. The definition of a dignified standard of living could usefully inform and contribute to the ongoing debate on wage adequacy in the country.
The ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 challenges health systems and epidemiological responses of all countries worldwide. Although mitigation measures have been globally considered, the spatial heterogeneity of its effectiveness is evident, underscoring global health inequalities. Using Bayesian-based Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations, we evidenced that factors contributing to poverty are also risk factors for COVID-19 case-fatality, and unexpectedly, their impact on the case-fatality risk is comparable to that produced by health factors. Additionally, we confirm that both case-fatality risk and multidimensional poverty index have a heterogeneous spatial distribution, where the lastest consists of health, educational, dwelling, and employment dimensions. Spatio-temporal analysis reveals that the spatial heterogeneity in case-fatalities is associated with the percentage contribution of the health (RR 1.89 95%CI=1.43-2.48) and dwelling (RR 2.01 95%CI=1.37-2.63) dimensions to the multidimensional poverty, but also with the educational (RR 1.21 95%CI=1.03-1.49), and employment (RR 1.23 95%CI=1.02-1.47) dimensions. This spatial correlation indicates that the case-fatality risk increase by 189% and 201% in regions with a higher contribution of the health dimension (i.e., lack of health insurance and self-reporting) and dwelling dimension (i.e., lack of access to safe water, inadequate disposal of human feces, poor housing construction, and critical overcrowding), respectively. These findings assist policy-makers in the spatial and temporal planning of strategies focused on mitigating the case-fatality risk in most vulnerable communities and preparing for future pandemics by progressively reducing the factors that generate health inequality.
Dentro de sus objetivos, las mediciones de pobreza siguen las condiciones socioeconómicas de la población y sirven como herramienta para el desarrollo de política social. El Índice de Pobreza Multidimensional es limitado a la hora de identificar realidades locales de pobreza. Es el caso de Teusaquillo, donde dicho fenómeno se manifiesta entre sus habitantes y no se evidencia en los indicadores oficiales. El objetivo de este artículo es proponer con una metodología mixta, una medición de pobreza que identifique y caracterice a Teusaquillo partiendo de las carencias que experimentan sus habitantes. Solo así se cumplirán completamente los objetivos planteados.
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