Montserrat Survey of Living Conditions (MSLC) Executive Summary

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Montserrat Survey of Living ConditionsExecutive SummaryFigure ES7: Priority Needs as expressed in the PPAsPrices/ JobsAgricultureSSIs (responses=113)26%5%15%6% 4%12%4%12% 8%8%HealthTraining / EducationHousingSocial ServicesRecreation/ SportsFGDs/KIIs (responses =208)26%13%8%8%6%11%8%5% 4%12%Migration IssuesGovernanceInfrastructure/ MajorProjects0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%% of Responses3.7 The Causes of Poverty in MontserratThe primary causes of poverty on Montserrat are economic. This bears out recent research undertaken bythe World Bank 14 which shows that economic factors - lack of employment 15 , low wages and high prices -as the main causes of poverty - were the reasons that two thirds of households fell into poverty. Thesefactors were also the primary concern, and by a considerable margin, of every group interviewed duringthe PPAs be they unemployed, low waged, old or young, male or female, Montserratian or non-national.Figure ES6 shows that the underlying economic causes of poverty can be diverse. In Montserrat’s case,the most important are the spike in world market prices, its low natural resource base (especially since theeruptions) and the low demand on the island for goods and services. None of these are amenable to easysolutions.Economic issues are however not the only cause of poverty in Montserrat. Family breakdown, pressureson the carer parent to generate income as well as provide child care, domestic violence, unplannedpregnancies, drug and alcohol use, all play their part – and can lead to a cycle of continuing and intergenerationalpoverty from which it is very difficult for either parents or their children to escape.For other vulnerable groups, the issues are more fundamental. Their ability to work is limited for reasonsof age, infirmity, disability or parental duties. They thus have to depend on family and friends, with14 Narayan D., Pritchett L. and Kapoor S., 2009, Moving out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up, World Bank/ PalgraveMacmillan15 Only a minority of households (most of which are those with older persons) have no one working implying thatlow wages allied to increased prices are more of an issue than unemployment per se.Montserrat Country Poverty Assessment, Final ReportHalcrow Group Limited, July 2012.ES14
Montserrat Survey of Living ConditionsExecutive Summarygovernment and other organisations stepping in to assist those who are alone or whose families are unableor unwilling to support them. Direct assistance from government is however negligible meaning that thosewithout family support have to resort to one or more of the coping strategies described previously.Figure ES6. Economic Causes of PovertyLack of investment Depressed local orWorld↓ ↓due to poor security / international markets formarketperceived corruption.goods.pricesNatural disasters/Resource depletion.No/ limited naturalresourcesLow demand for jobs and goods.No jobsExploitation.Profiteering. Lack oflabour laws/ tradeunionsHoarding.Inequitable termsof trade. HightaxationLack of skills No Work Low pay High pricesINSUFFICIENT INCOMENB. Items in larger font are considered to be those that apply most to Montserrat.Yet poverty is not just a question of income. Members of these vulnerable groups are also moresusceptible to some of the non-income aspects of wellbeing – loneliness, depression, vulnerability due toirregular support and absence of family members, and problems of housing and health care. By the sametoken the loss of wellbeing and social fragmentation and resulting psycho-social pressures resulting fromthe eruption are a long way from being healed.But these issues are not confined to vulnerable groups. Many Montserratians had to relocate following theeruption. Several of these still live in poor housing and are struggling with both the economic situation anda general feeling of vulnerability arising from their loss of houses, assets, income and family membersoverseas – over a third of households are single person. The psychological impact of the eruption stillcontinues and is likely to do so for years to come. In many PPAs, respondents referred to a loss ofcommunity spirit, mutual self help, togetherness – in short a loss of social capital - which exacerbatesproblems of economic hardship. In several cases, there is resentment towards migrants who are seen astaking jobs that should go to Montserratians. Conversely, for migrants, economic difficulties arecompounded by the view that their general wellbeing is adversely affected by having to pay more forhealth treatment, not being eligible for social welfare, bureaucratic issues related to work permits andimmigration requirements.Yet, by and large, the Montserratian population has a high standard of living in terms of consumer goods,a near universal availability of basic infrastructure, generally good housing conditions, and a very lowincidence of severe (food) poverty. In most cases therefore poverty on the island is largely due to theinability of current household incomes to keep up with the expenditures required to sustain current livingstandards rather than the absence of basic needs or severe unemployment – as is evident from the largeMontserrat Country Poverty Assessment, Final ReportHalcrow Group Limited, July 2012.ES15
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