Extreme poverty and food insecurity: consumption pattern, Mexico 2020

Abstract

Food insecurity can be seen as a form of extreme poverty, since it is defined based on the lack of income necessary to acquire the food basket that provides a situation of nutritional well-being. This article evaluates the existing indicators of food insecurity in Mexico, proposes an alternative indicator that deepens the study of food insecurity, evaluates food consumption patterns by groups of individuals, analyzes the poverty gap of income indicator and builds redistribution scenarios through a microsimulation model. Finally, the impact of the Mexican redistributive policy on the poor and non-poor of income population is estimated. The results confirm the main hypothesis of the research, demonstrating that the official methodology underestimates food insecurity; specifically, it was found that: i) 6.2% of the population living in extreme poverty of income is incorrectly classified as having "food security" despite their insufficient income; ii) more than 50% of the population living in extreme poverty does not consume the minimum recommended amounts of protein and micronutrients; and iii) there is a deficiency in the targeting of redistributive policies.