Abstract

RODRIGUEZ GOMEZ, Katya. The Policy Against Poverty in Mexico: Advantages and Disadvantages of the Official Poverty Line in the Light of International Experiences. Gest. polít. pública [online]. 2009, vol.18, n.1, pp.107-148. ISSN 1405-1079.

The appearance of the official poverty line in Mexico in 2000 has not been very useful for a more effective antipoverty policy. One of the main reasons has been that the official line does not acknowledge the wider discussion about poverty that has happened in the last four decades in North countries. Two different approaches emerge from that literature. One is the "basket of good approach" used in the United States. The other is the "social relative standards approach" to poverty that has been applied in the European Union. To select between them has important implications in terms of poverty conceptualizations and the appropriate policies to deal with it. This paper describes both approaches and takes some lessons for the case of Mexico.

Keywords : poverty; social policy; Mexico.

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