UBN-PL Method

The United Nation’s Economic Commission for Latin America and Caribbean (ECLAC) developed and raised the concept of unmet basic needs (UBN) as indicators of poverty for the region in the late 1970s. Most Latin American countries adopted this approach in the 1980s. Julio Boltvinik first suggested a conceptual approach in 1989, following an analysis introduced by Luis Beccaria and Alberto Minujin for overcoming poverty. Other researchers gave region-wide maps of UBN for overcoming poverty in a given region. Under the UBN, any household is considered poor if it cannot access basic necessities, including proper housing (without critical overcrowding and inadequate services), hygienic food and clean water, basic education, and health facilities. The availability of data determines which goods and services are included in the UBN. ...