INCOME AND CONSUMPTION STRUCTURE OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN DIFFERENT AGROECONOMIC REGIONS OF PUEBLA, MEXICO

The importance of the study of social welfare of rural households at the municipal level lies in that the results can be used to propose specific intervention strategies, addressing productive, socioeconomic and environmental characteristics. This study had the objective of calculating and analyzing indicators or socioeconomic welfare, poverty and income inequality, and their relation with sociodemographic and productive characteristics of rural households. The data were obtained using a structured questionnaire applied to a sample of 141 households and through in-depth interviews with key informants. Simple random statistical sampling was used. The size of the sample was determined with a reliability of 95 % and an accuracy of 5 %. The study was performed in three municipalities of the state of Puebla: San Salvador el Verde, Tlapanala and Coatzingo. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the income and consumption of the households, explained by the diversification of income, access to productive assets, and quality of seasonal rains. The inequality, estimated by the Gini index, is high: 0.502, 0.439 and 0.416 para San Salvador el Verde, Tlapanala and Coatzingo, respectively. The explicative factors of inequality are the value of the inheritance assets, the human capital index, and the value of transferences at the municipal level. The poverty index for the three municipalities is higher than the one reported by CONEVAL in 2014.