Poverty and Malnutrition in Argentina: its effects on the labor force

SANTOS, MARÍA EMMA

Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Córdoba, Argentina

Congreso; IV Encuentro Internacional de Economia; 2002

Centro de Investigaciones Economicas de Cordoba (CIEC)

Argentina has experienced in the last twenty years an unprecedented increment of poverty and indigence as a result of the lack of a sensible and coherent long term plan that looked forward to the development of the country. By the definition of indigence, we can suppose that indigent people suffer of undernourishment. In terms of the capacity curve introduced by Dasgupta and Ray (1986), the increment of indigence means that much of our population is allocated at the beginning of its capacity curve, that is, they have very low work capacity, and because of that are prevented from obtaining enough income to satisfy their nutritional requirements. They are trapped in a vicious circle. Assistance plans are required, but that is not enough. We need a deep change in our macroeconomy in order to eradicate poverty and indigence.