SOME FACETS OF RURAL POVERTY IN COLOMBIA

Generally addressing relevant issues of the rural poor, this paper reviews previous studies and collected data, and comments on the quality and methods of these existing studies and where they diverge from one another. The paper examines more closely trends in the distribution of rural wealth, the typically low consumption of health, housing, and educational services, and noneconomic indicators of rural poverty, such as infant mortality and illiteracy. Comparative tables, accompanied by descriptive text, indicate differences in incomes of the rural poor by occupation, region, sex, and economic status (landowners, sharecroppers, etc.). After considering the evidence of rural poverty on the aggregate level, the report focuses on case studies of the economic behavior of the small farmers and the variety of income distribution policies directed to them. Based on the evidence of rural poverty, the authors draw the following conclusions: (1) The distribution of rural income has been and still is, highly concentrated. (2) Although groups with the lowest incomes have been the least to benefit from recent economic growth, their real incomes have increased at a rate of 1.5% annually between 1960 and 1970. (3) Noneconomic indicators also confirm a gradual, steady improvement in living standards among the rural poor. (4) Because rural poverty strikes the small farmer, agricultural laborers, landless workers, and sharecroppers alike, no single approach to improving the living standards of these groups will succeed. A multifaceted approach is required. (5) Nearly every rural occupational group has benefited from a set of economic policies except the landless workers, for whom more should be accomplished. (6) The observed increasing inequality of small farm incomes in some areas can be attributed to disparate responses to technical change. Provision of equal opportunities for credit and education may balance these disparities. (7) Policies assisting one particular group should take into consideration their impact upon members of another group. Expanded rural education appears to be the only policy positively affecting all groups. (8) Future research efforts should measure the distribution of rural consumption patterns and monitor developments in rural labor markets, which may indicate more accurately the characteristic traits of the rural poor. An appendix describes the method for estimating the shares of economic growth received by different income groups. A list of references includes 56 entries from 1966 to 1978 whose topics concern agricultural production, income distribution, economic development, and the structure of small farms.