Public Spending and Poverty in Ibero-American Countries

Literature Review

The literature consulted shows that there is no single definition of poverty: 1) poverty is identified with notions such as deprivation, absence or lack (Kaen, 2012); 2) most economic studies have focused their attention on the concepts of insufficient resources or lack of wealth (Acosta, 2009); 3) consensus in relation to considering poverty as the deprivation of essential assets and opportunities to which all human beings are entitled (Batthyány, 2008); 4) four meanings of poverty are identified: absolute or severe, relative, objective and subjective deprivation (Lara & Cornejo, 2008); 5) epiphenomenon that is governed by other phenomena so that relative poverty will always exist, their eradication is unfeasible (Unwin, 2007).

In relation to the area of knowledge that studies poverty, Garcia del Junco and Espasandín-Bustelo (2018) conclude the following evidence: There is no single definition of poverty; it tends to be studied from the point of view of the income; it has various characteristics (complex, multidimensional, dynamic, adjustable and heterogeneous); the material object of poverty is individuals (households/families/state); the paradigms used are the one-dimensional approach and the multidimensional approach; and in the field of poverty measurement, it is possible to measure incidence or extent, intensity, inequality and duration or dynamism.