With respect to the distribution
of households according to the income-related indicators and the living
conditions index, a difference can be noted in connection with the
categories at the two ends of the distribution. Households classified as
having a very low degree of satisfaction based on the income-related
indicators account for 19.4 percent of the total, compared to 7.1
percent of households classified according to the living conditions
index; while households classified as having a very high degree of
satisfaction account for 8.5 percent and 4.5 percent of households,
respectively. This difference has important implications. In the case of
the higher category, it indicates that the high level of income allows
it to enjoy a higher level of well-being, given the prevailing general
conditions in the country (especially as they relate to the standard of
public services, such as water and sewerage); or with respect to the
education indicator, which reduces its overall classification below that
based on income indicators. The opposite is true of the households
classified as having a very low degree of satisfaction. Services
provided by the public sector (water and sewerage), and/or resources and
amenities accumulated from the past (house, ownership of durable goods),
results in a larger number of households being classified as having very
low satisfaction on the basis of the income-related indicators, relative
to those classified according to the living conditions index. Based on
the above, it is possible to conclude that the distribution of economic
resources, and the mechanisms influencing them (as reflected in the
income-related indicators) tend in the direction of reducing the size of
the middle categories in favor of a more accentuated social
polarization. A comparison of households, based on the two mentioned
indices shows that the increase in the share of households classified as
having a very high degree of satisfaction according to the
income-related indicators has occurred at the expense of the share of
households having a high degree of satisfaction. Similarly, the large
increase in households classified as having a very low degree of
satisfaction has been at the expense of households classified as having
intermediate satisfaction. In other words, indications are that the
economic mechanisms and the wage and income situation tend to push the
vulnerable and middle categories to lower levels (Table 40 and Chart
10).
|
| Table
40. Distribution of households by degree of satisfaction according to
the living conditions index and the index of income-related indicators
(Percent of resident households in Lebanon) |
| Index |
Degree
of satisfaction |
| Very low
|
Low |
Intermediate
|
High |
Very high |
| Living conditions index (1)
|
7.1 |
25.0 |
41.6 |
21.9 |
4.5 |
| Index of income-related
indicators (2) |
19.4 |
23.4 |
32.4 |
16.3 |
8.5 |
| Change (2-1) |
+12.3 |
-1.6 |
-9.2 |
-5.6 |
+4.0 |
|
Chart
10. Direction of change in the distribution of households, based on the
living conditions index and income-related indicators index
|
|
Table 40 and chart 10 show that
the markedly higher (12.3 percent) in the percentage of households
having a very low degree of satisfaction based on the index of
income-related indicators, compared to the living conditions index, has
been mainly at the expense of households classified as having an
intermediate degree of satisfaction (9.2 percent) and low satisfaction
(1.6 percent). The relative expansion in the household category with
very high satisfaction has been at the expense of the share of
households with high satisfaction. The shift appears to have occurred
from the three middle categories towards those at the two extremes of
the distribution; the more important shift occurring in the direction of
the lower categories.
These comparisons assume great importance when designing social
policies. In this connection, a distinction ought to be made between the
situation as it exists at a given time - which is the outcome of the
available means and the inherited and continuing setup - and the dynamic
influences bearing on the standard of living, which determine the
direction of its evolution. It should also be borne in mind that the
index of income-related indicators reflects better the prevailing
dynamic influences, which indicate an erosion of accumulated resources
and growing difficulties confronting young people and newly-formed
households.
|
