The Social Construction of Poverty Indicators: an Application to the Case of Argentina

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical discussion about the sociocultural construction of the category of poverty, in order to investigate the assumptions and uses of the most used indicator in the public debate (the poverty rate). The analysis starts by establishing the links between the category of poverty, the structuring of social space and state intervention. Secondly, it problematizes poverty indicators, by identifying its main weaknesses within the limits of the dominant positivist paradigm. Finally, these theoretical elements are discussed in the case of measuring the poverty rate in Argentina. Here, in addition to these methodological issues, a manifest political conflict has arisen over the production and use of this indicator.