Socioeconomic Determinants of Poverty in Paraguay

To this day, poverty strikes about one in four Paraguayans. This study sought to explore the determinants of poverty in Paraguay and to find which household characteristics were related to poverty status. By finding these possible determinants of poverty, policymakers can design improved social policies that target poverty more effectively. To analyze the determinants of poverty both an ordinary least squares regression and logistic models were used with data from Paraguay's 2013 Permanent Survey of Households. Among the primary factors significantly related to poverty or lower incomes were being a female household head, being only Guarani-speaking, a lack of education, lacking health insurance, lacking access to sewers, lacking a work contract, being self-employed, and working in agriculture (for the general and urban data). Among the possible policy recommendations given were strengthening bilingual education programs, enhancing enrollment in, and access to, secondary and tertiary education, an agrarian reform for a more equitable land distribution, formalizing informal sector employment, improving access to health insurance, and improving access to sewers. By better understanding poverty, the Paraguayan government's policies will be more effective in their goals of reducing the high poverty rate in the nation.