Setbacks and advances in poverty in Santiago del Estero (Argentina), 1980-2024.

Abstract

This article analyzes the poverty situation in households in Santiago del Estero (Argentina) from the eighties to the present, through a quantitative analysis of official statistics. On the one hand, the Unsatisfied Basic Needs (NBI) indicator is used for the Province, disaggregating the analysis into each of the dimensions. On the other hand, what happened with the measurements of poverty and monetary indigence for the Santiago del Estero-La Banda Agglomeration is examined. While the NBI indicator in Santiago del Estero showed great progress in the last intercensal period, especially due to improvements in the dimensions of overcrowding and sanitary conditions, the measurements linked to the poverty line indicator showed a significant jump between the second half of 2023 and the first in 2024, which makes the need to articulate policies more urgent, at different levels of government, to improve the situation of thousands of households that have seen their living conditions deteriorate. Added to this is the need to improve information collection instruments with the purpose of having measurements that overcome multidimensional poverty, incorporating the subjective dimension in official measurements and considering the specificities of rurality.