Multidimensional poverty fuzzy in the Brazilian cities (2010)

Abstract

This paper, based on Sen’s Capability Approach (1985; 1988; 2000; 2001), aims to measure fuzzy poverty for Brazilian municipalities in 2010. Using data from the Demographic Census (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE), 16 were selected indicators distributed in the dimen¬sions housing conditions, income, access to knowledge and education and health and sanitary conditions for the construction of five poverty indices: the first four for each dimension and the last for the aggregate poverty fuzzy index (IFP). The Fuzzy Set Theory allows addressing poverty as a complex phenomenon and generating the relative poverty index. The results found show that poverty is not restricted only to the income dimension, which presented the lowest deprivation in the municipalities. Multidimensional measures allow poverty to be reduced more effectively when considering the deprivations suffered in other dimensions not restricted to monetary income. The results indicate that there is greater poverty in the health dimension, followed by education and housing. The indicators with the greatest deprivations are microcomputer and washing machine. The North and Northeast regions have the highest number of municipalities in a situation of very high and high poverty.