Montserrat Survey of Living Conditions (MSLC) Executive Summary

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Montserrat Survey of Living ConditionsExecutive SummaryThe great majority of houses in Montserrat are single dwellings, have piped water, proper sanitation,electricity and use gas/ LPG for cooking. Overcrowding (defined as households with fewer living roomsthan persons), affected 21% of households, a similar proportion to that prevailing in 1991 7 . Nonetheless,around 30% of dwellings do not have concrete roofs – although this is substantially lower than theequivalent 2001 proportion, 45%.3 Poverty in Montserrat (Chapter 3)3.1 The Definition of PovertyPoverty is most often defined on the basis of an indigence (or severe poverty) line based on minimumfood requirements, and a general poverty line (minimum food requirements plus an element of non-foodexpenditure) derived according to the CDB methodology. In 2009, the annual indigence line is aroundEC$4,735 (c. EC$13/US$5 per day) for an adult male while the poverty line is around EC$14,400 (c.EC$39.5/US$15 per day).Current definitions of poverty are more wide-ranging than those based on income alone. They includeconsideration of, inter alia, living conditions, access to health and education, and less easily defined notionssuch as vulnerability, voicelessness, powerlessness, and lack of opportunity. The general concept of ‘wellbeing’has been used in this study to bracket these non-income aspects of poverty – this is an importanttheme of this CPA.In general, there is a high correlation between lack of income and lack of well-being. However this is notalways the case – some people and households living below the poverty line may not feel insecure orthreatened. Conversely, others, with incomes above the poverty, may experience lack of well-beingresulting from factors such as family disruption, teenage pregnancy, crime, drug abuse or be at risk offalling into poverty from one or more of these factors.3.2 The Extent of Poverty in Montserrat in 2008/09In late 2008/ early 2009, when the SLC was carried out, 25% of Montserratian households 8 and 36% ofthe population are poor. The level of indigence is however low at 2% of households and 3% of thepopulation 9 . Around 20% of both population and households are classified as vulnerable (i.e. withexpenditures up to 25% above the poverty line). Overall, 75% of households and 64% of the populationare not poor; if those most vulnerable to poverty are excluded, 56% of households and 44% of thepopulation are neither poor nor vulnerable to poverty. (Figure ES5).7 The 2001 census did not tabulate the number of habitable rooms.8 Persons residing in collective households, e.g. hostels, care homes, the hospital and the prison, are excluded.9 As with any sample survey, these estimates are subject to sampling error, which as a proportion of the estimate,increases with smaller percentages. The 90% confidence level for households in severe poverty is ± 1.4% while theconfidence level for those in poverty is ± 3.6%.Montserrat Country Poverty Assessment, Final ReportHalcrow Group Limited, July 2012.ES8
Montserrat Survey of Living ConditionsExecutive SummaryThese data are generally consistent with thePPAs which indicated both low levels ofsevere poverty and high levels of poverty/hardship amongst the population – thewords ‘struggle’, ‘surviving’, ‘hardship’appear over 500 times in the discussionswhile issues related to the high price offood and utilities were mentioned byvirtually everyone. Conversely, there werevery few mentions relating to ‘hunger’which corroborates the low statistical levelof severe poverty. The only groups seen asbeing relatively unaffected by this situationwere senior civil servants, business peopleand politicians - around a third of thoseemployed.Figure ES5. Poverty in Montserrat, 2009100%90%80%44%70%56%60%50%20%40%19%30%20%32%23%10%0%2% 3%HouseholdsPopulationIndigent Poor not indigent Vulnerable Not PoorTable ES3 provides a comparison of poverty levels in Montserrat with those of other Caribbeancountries 10 . Montserrat’s poverty level is higher than most of the other countries, the exceptions beingBelize (which was carried out about the same time) and Guyana. The food share percentage of the povertyline is a good indicator of relative poverty levels, as this variable traditionally decreases with affluence.Montserrat, at 34%, is lower than all the cited countries except St Lucia.CountryTable ES3. International Comparisons of PovertyYear**% Popindigent% H’holdsindigent% poppoor*% H’holdspoorGinicoeff.Food as % ofPoverty LineMontserrat 2008/09 3 2 36 25 0.39 34%Antigua 2005/6 4 3 19 - 0.48 39%Barbados 2010 9 - 19 15 0.47 -Belize 2009 16 10 42 31 0.42 58%Dominica 2009 3 - 29 23 0.44 39%Guyana 2006 19 - 36 - - -St. Kitts 2008 1 - 24 - 0.40 -Nevis 2008 0 - 16 - 0.38 -St. Lucia 2005 2 1 29 21 0.42 31%St Vincent 2007/8 3 - 30 - 0.40 44%Trinidad & Tobago 2005 1 - 17 - 0.39 38%Based on this table, Montserrat’s low level of indigence is similar to that of most other countries.Conversely its level of poverty is higher than most, the exceptions being Belize (which was carried out10 These comparisons are not straightforward as the surveys were not undertaken at the same time and the calculationmethodologies, although similar, do vary. Furthermore, the current study was undertaken at a period when there hadbeen a serious hike in food prices.Montserrat Country Poverty Assessment, Final ReportHalcrow Group Limited, July 2012.ES9
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