Adjustment, Poverty and Employment in Mexico

Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2000: Analyzing the poverty trends in Mexico during the 1980s and early 1990s, this work is concerned with the extent to which changes in the levels of poverty have modified the extent of participation in the labour market. The period covered is 1982 to 1994, when the Mexican economy experienced an economic crisis and the government set in motion the main stabilization policies and structural adjustment reforms. The author challenges the idea that adjustment reforms have had "social costs" in terms of income and formal employment loss. Despite income losses, well-being indicators continued to improve; and employment statistics show that employment grew despite the economic crisis and adjustment. The paradox of household income decline and the increase in income poverty is explained.