Abstract

NUNEZ, Gaspar  and  POLO, Clemente. Transferencias directas vs inyecciones sectoriales: un análisis estructural del combate a la pobreza. Estud. soc [online]. 2007, vol.15, n.29, pp.155-202. ISSN 0188-4557.

The extreme poverty and agricultural crisis in Mexico are issues widely considered by public opinion and policymakers in recent years. Considering that budget constraints imply the choice of alternative policies, in this paper we analize two feasible policies and their effects: a) an injection to the agricultural sector and b) direct cash transfers to households with the lowest income. First, we analyze redistributive effects, then the decomposition of multiplicative effects and, finally, we carry out a structural path analysis to study in detail the transmission of effects. Results, obtained using a Social Accounting Matrix of Mexico for 1996, suggest that direct cash transfers to households, may have more important multiplicative and redistributive effects than those generated by an equivalent injection on the agricultural sector.

Keywords : Extreme poverty; Structural analysis; Cash transfer; Sector injection.