IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dls/wpaper/0055.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Poverty among the Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean

Author

Listed:
  • Leonardo Gasparini

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

  • Javier Alejo

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

  • Francisco Haimovich

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

  • Sergio Olivieri

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

  • Leopoldo Tornarolli

    (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)

Abstract

This paper provides evidence on the incidence of poverty among the elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean, based on household survey microdata from 20 countries. The situation of older people is characterized in terms of income, employment, education, health and access to services vis-à-vis the rest of the population. The paper identifies the role played by the current pension systems in Latin America, and assesses the efforts needed to achieve substantial improvements toward the reduction of old-age poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonardo Gasparini & Javier Alejo & Francisco Haimovich & Sergio Olivieri & Leopoldo Tornarolli, 2007. "Poverty among the Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0055, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    • Handle: RePEc:dls:wpaper:0055
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://cedlas.econo.unlp.edu.ar/archivos_upload/doc_cedlas55.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin Ravallion & Gaurav Datt & Dominique van de Walle, 1991. "Quantifying Absolute Poverty In The Developing World," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 37(4), pages 345-361, December.
    2. Nanak Kakwani & Kalanidhi Subbarao, 2005. "Ageing and Poverty in Africa and the Role of Social Pensions," World Bank Publications - Reports 8535, The World Bank Group.
    3. Timothy Smeeding & Gunther Schmaus & Brigitte Buhmann & Lee Rainwater, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well-Being, Inequality and Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates Across Ten Countries Using the LIS Database," LIS Working papers 17, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    4. Martín Cicowiez & Leonardo Gasparini & Federico Gutierrez & Leopoldo Tornarolli, 2006. "Areas Rurales y Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio en America Latina y el Caribe," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0043, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    5. Nord, Mark & Bickel, Gary, 2002. "Measuring Children'S Food Security In U.S. Households, 1995-99," Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Reports 33801, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Lanjouw, Peter & Milanovic, Branko & Paternostro, Stefano, 1998. "Poverty and the economic transition : how do changes in economies of scale affect poverty rates for different households?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2009, The World Bank.
    7. Grootaert, Christiaan & Braithwaite, Jeanine, 1998. "Poverty correlates and indicator-based targeting in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1942, The World Bank.
    8. Angus Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1997. "Poverty Among Children And The Elderly In Developing Countries," Working Papers 992, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    9. Whitehouse, Edward, 2000. "How poor are the old? a survey of evidence from 44 countries," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 23141, The World Bank.
    10. Steven Haider & David Loughran, 2001. "Elderly Labor Supply: Work or Play?," Working Papers 01-09, RAND Corporation.
    11. Gasparini Leonardo & Leonardo Tornaroli, 2009. "Labor Informality in Latin America and the Caribbean: Patterns and Trends from Household Survey Microdata," Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad, Universidad de los Andes,Facultad de Economía, CEDE, September.
    12. Nanak Kakwani & Kalanidhi Subbarao, 2005. "Ageing and poverty in Africa and the role of social pensions," Working Papers 8, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    13. Brigitte Buhmann & Lee Rainwater & Guenther Schmaus & Timothy M. Smeeding, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well‐Being, Inequality, And Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates Across Ten Countries Using The Luxembourg Income Study (Lis) Database," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(2), pages 115-142, June.
    14. Deaton, A. & Zaidi, S., 1999. "Guidelines for Constructing Consumption Aggregates for Welfare Analysis," Papers 192, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Development Studies.
    15. repec:pri:crcwel:wp98-09-deaton is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Barrientos, Armando & Gorman, Mark & Heslop, Amanda, 2003. "Old Age Poverty in Developing Countries: Contributions and Dependence in Later Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 555-570, March.
    17. Ravallion, Martin & Datt, Gaurav & van de Walle, Dominique, 1991. "Quantifying Absolute Poverty in the Developing World," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 37(4), pages 345-361, December.
    18. Angus S. Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1998. "Measuring Poverty among the Elderly," NBER Chapters, in: Inquiries in the Economics of Aging, pages 169-204, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Steven Haider & David S Loughran, 2001. "Elderly Labor Supply Work or Play?," Working Papers DRU-2582, RAND Corporation.
    20. Buhmann, Brigitte, et al, 1988. "Equivalence Scales, Well-Being, Inequality, and Poverty: Sensitivity Estimates across Ten Countries Using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 34(2), pages 115-142, June.
    21. Angus Deaton & Salman Zaidi, 2002. "Guidelines for Constructing Consumption Aggregates for Welfare Analysis," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 14101, April.
    22. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_paxson_poverty_children_paper is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vanesa Valeria D'Elia, 2013. "Changes in pension inequality: A decomposition analysis of Argentina, 1995-2009," Latin American Journal of Economics-formerly Cuadernos de Economía, Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile., vol. 50(1), pages 48-81, May.
    2. Guisan, M.C. & Aguayo, E., 2007. "Health Expenditure, Poverty and Economic Development in Latin America 2000-2005," International Journal of Applied Econometrics and Quantitative Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 4(2), pages 5-24.
    3. Brooks Evans & Robert Palacios, 2015. "Who is Poorer?," World Bank Publications - Reports 24992, The World Bank Group.
    4. Walter Sosa Escudero & Anil K. Bera, 2008. "Tests for Unbalanced Error Component Models Under Local Misspecication," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0065, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    5. Mariana Marchionni & Germán Bet & Ana Pacheco, 2007. "Empleo, Educación y Entorno Social de los Jóvenes: Una Nueva Fuente de Información," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0061, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    6. Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul & Bando, Rosangela, 2016. "Non-contributory pensions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 47-58.
    7. Sule Sahin & Adem Yavuz Elveren, 2009. "A Cost Analysis of a Minimum Pension Guarantee for the Individual Pension System in Turkey," Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah 2009_13, University of Utah, Department of Economics.
    8. Maribel Jimenez & Monica Jimenez, 2009. "La Movilidad Intergeneracional del Ingreso: Evidencia para Argentina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0084, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    9. Bando, Rosangela & Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul, 2022. "Another brick on the wall: On the effects of non-contributory pensions on material and subjective well being," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 16-26.
    10. Leonardo Gasparini & Walter Sosa-Escudero & Mariana Marchionni & Sergio Olivieri, 2013. "Multidimensional poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean: new evidence from the Gallup World Poll," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 11(2), pages 195-214, June.
    11. Akanksha Srivastava & Sanjay Mohanty, 2012. "Poverty Among Elderly in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 493-514, December.
    12. Pundarik Mukhopadhaya & Sunil Venaik, 2014. "Old-Age Income Insecurity in Singapore: A Problem of Non-Inclusive Development," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3-4), pages 184-206, December.
    13. Javier Olivera & Blanca Zuluaga, 2014. "The Ex‐Ante Effects Of Non‐Contributory Pensions In Colombia And Peru," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(7), pages 949-973, October.
    14. Ricardo Bebczuk, 2009. "SME Access to Credit in Guatemala and Nicaragua: Challenging Conventional Wisdom with New Evidence," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0080, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    15. Gasparini, Leonardo & Sosa Escudero, Walter & Marchionni, Mariana & Olivieri, Sergio, 2008. "Income, Deprivation, and Perceptions in Latin America and the Caribbean: New Evidence from the Gallup World Poll," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3248, Inter-American Development Bank.
    16. Diego Battiston & Francisco Franchetti, 2008. "Inequality in Health Coverage, Empirical Analysis with Microdata for Argentina 2006," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0063, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    17. Armando Barrientos & Dario Debowicz & Ingrid Woolard, 2014. "Antipoverty Transfers and Inclusive Growth in Brazil," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series iriba_wp04, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    18. Javier Alejo, 2010. "Transición Demográfica y Pobreza en América Latina. Un Análisis de Microsimulaciones," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0108, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    19. Ricardo N. Bebczuk, 2008. "Dolarización y Pobreza en Ecuador," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0066, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    20. Ojimba, Thankgod Peter, 2013. "Socio-Demographic Factors As Determinants Of Poverty In Crude Oil Polluted Crop Farms In Rivers State, Nigeria," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 1(1), pages 1-13, July.
    21. Małgorzata Ćwiek & Katarzyna Maj-Waśniowska & Katarzyna Stabryła-Chudzio, 2021. "Assessment of Poverty by Municipalities in the Context of Population Ageing—The Case of Małopolskie Voivodeship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, February.
    22. Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul & Bando, Rosangela, 2016. "Non-contributory pensions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 47-58.
    23. Leopoldo Tornarolli & Adriana Conconi, 2007. "Informalidad y Movilidad Laboral: Un Análisis Empírico para Argentina," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0059, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akanksha Srivastava & Sanjay Mohanty, 2012. "Poverty Among Elderly in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 109(3), pages 493-514, December.
    2. Marchand, J. & Smeeding, T., 2016. "Poverty and Aging," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 905-950, Elsevier.
      • Marchand, Joseph & Smeeding, Timothy, 2016. "Poverty and Aging," Working Papers 2016-11, University of Alberta, Department of Economics, revised 20 Nov 2016.
    3. Francisco H. G. Ferreira & Shaohua Chen & Andrew Dabalen & Yuri Dikhanov & Nada Hamadeh & Dean Jolliffe & Ambar Narayan & Espen Beer Prydz & Ana Revenga & Prem Sangraula & Umar Serajuddin & Nobuo Yosh, 2016. "A global count of the extreme poor in 2012: data issues, methodology and initial results," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 14(2), pages 141-172, June.
    4. Vandeninden, Frieda, 2012. "A Simulation of Social Pensions in Europe," MERIT Working Papers 2012-008, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    5. Regier, Gregory & Zereyesus, Yacob & Dalton, Timothy & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2015. "Do Adult Equivalence Scales Matter in Poverty Estimates? A Ghana Case Study," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212487, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Shaohua Chen & Martin Ravallion, 2010. "The Developing World is Poorer than We Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight Against Poverty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1577-1625.
    7. Whitehouse, Edward, 2000. "How Poor are the Old? A Survey of Evidence from 44 Countries," MPRA Paper 14177, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Edward Whitehouse & Richard Disney, 2002. "The Economic Well-Being of Older People in International Perspective: A Critical Review," LIS Working papers 306, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    9. Leonardo Gasparini & Federico Gutiérrez & Leopoldo Tornarolli, 2007. "Growth And Income Poverty In Latin America And The Caribbean: Evidence From Household Surveys," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 53(2), pages 209-245, June.
    10. Ruiz-Castillo, Javier, 2005. "Relative and absolute poverty : the case of México, 1992-2004," UC3M Working papers. Economics we061103, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    11. Disney, Richard & Whitehouse, Edward, 2001. "Cross-country comparisons of pensioners’ incomes," MPRA Paper 16345, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Olken, Benjamin A., 2005. "Revealed community equivalence scales," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2-3), pages 545-566, February.
    13. Shaohua Chen & Martin Ravallion, 2013. "More Relatively-Poor People in a Less Absolutely-Poor World," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59(1), pages 1-28, March.
    14. Barros, Ricardo Paes de & Ferreira, Francisco, 2000. "Education and income distribution in urban Brazil, 1976-1996," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    15. Echeverría, Lucía, 2022. "Sensibilidad del análisis de la pobreza a las escalas de equivalencias. Una aplicación para Argentina," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3789, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    16. Ravallion, Martin, 2015. "On testing the scale sensitivity of poverty measures," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 88-90.
    17. Brun, Martín & Colacce, Maira, 2019. "Medición de la pobreza monetaria en el Uruguay: conceptos, metodologías, evolución y alternativas," Estudios y Perspectivas – Oficina de la CEPAL en Montevideo 44415, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    18. Newhouse, David & Suárez Becerra, Pablo & Evans, Martin, 2017. "New global estimates of child poverty and their sensitivity to alternative equivalence scales," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 125-128.
    19. Martin Ravallion, 2015. "The Luxembourg Income Study," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(4), pages 527-547, December.
    20. Facundo Alvaredo & Leonardo Gasparini, 2013. "Recent Trends in Inequality and Poverty in Developing Countries," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0151, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    elderly; ageing; poverty; Latin America; Caribbean;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dls:wpaper:0055. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ana Pacheco (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/funlpar.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.