The Mapping
of Living Conditions in Lebanon study is a joint project
between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the United Nations
Development Programme. The project aims to provide information and
analyses needed for the formulation of policies that contribute to the
improvement of living conditions in Lebanon. The data base for the study
came essentially from the results of the Population and Housing Survey
which was carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs in cooperation
with the United Nations Population Fund (March 1994 - September 1996).
). The study also draws on a number of recent works and research
notably: Lebanon Maternal and Child Health Survey (1996 - UNFPA, WHO,
UNICEF, League of Arab States, Ministry of Health); the Labor Market
Study prepared by the National Employment Office and supported by UNDP,
ILO (1997); and the report entitled "A Profile of Sustainable Human
Development in Lebanon" published by the Council for Development
and Reconstruction (CDR) and supported by the United Nations Development
Programme (1997); statistics available from the Centre for Educational
Research and Development; and reports issued by the Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); the Household Living Conditions in
Lebanon conducted by the Central Administration of Statistics supported
by UNDP 1998.
|
The timing of the
study coincides with the mounting concern regarding the pattern of
income distribution in Lebanon, and the ongoing debate on the priorities
of development and need to accord the social dimension greater attention
in the reconstruction effort. The war brought about a reversal of the
significant improvements which were realized during the 1960s and the
first half of the 1970s. The income distribution pattern in the
mid-1990s came to resemble that which prevailed at the beginning of the
1960s with the share of the low-income category rising sharply at the
expense of the intermediate and high-income categories.
|
The study is not on
poverty and the poor, but on living conditions of households and
individuals as can be gauged from the extent of satisfaction of selected
basic needs using the Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN) methodology. It
implicitly includes, however, a rough and indirect estimate of the
poverty phenomenon in Lebanon as an element in a broader phenomenon,
namely that of deprivation from the satisfaction of the selected basic
needs. In this connection, it is important to bear in mind that the term
"low" satisfaction used in the study does not necessarily
correspond to "poor"; nor does the term "high"
satisfaction correspond to "rich"; or that of "intermediate"
satisfaction to "middle class".
|
The study also seeks
to deduce the regional demographic, economic and social characteristics
of the population for the country as a whole and the different regions.
Hence, it constitutes an important endeavor to provide the information
base needed for elaborating remedial policies and measures.
|
The study consists of
two parts. Part one is divided into two chapters. The first outlines the
methodology used in the construction of the indicators and indices
examined in the study. The general features, trends and events
influencing living conditions in Lebanon since the 1960s form the
subject of Chapter II. Part two contains five chapters which deal,
respectively, with the findings of the study with respect to overall
living conditions in Lebanon and its major components, namely,
income-related indicators, education index, housing index, and the water
and sewerage index.
|
The detailed
methodology used in the study is described in Appendix I: Methodological
Guide. The objectives of the Population and Housing Survey Project,
definition of the statistical framework and construction of the sample
survey and field work are outlined in Appendix II. A final section
contains the conclusions and recommendations of the study.
|
The Mapping of Living
Conditions study is an attempt to measure the "level of
satisfaction of basic needs" for resident households and population
in Lebanon that were covered by the Population and Housing Survey, using
the "Unsatisfied Basic Needs" method of measurement. This
method is applicable to data obtained from population surveys, and
allows the classification of households according to the degree of
satisfaction of basic needs for which adequate data are available. The
choice of this approach was based on considerations related to the aims
of the study itself, and to constraints posed by the lack of data that
would have allowed the adoption of other approaches; especially
information on household income and expenditure, which makes it possible
to define the poverty line and related measures. The approach is also
suitable for designing social policies, both general and sectoral. The
measurement of the satisfaction of basic needs, and the mapping of the
geographical and social distribution of deprivation and welfare that the
study provides helps in the elaboration of policies and programs in a
more scientific and objective manner.
|
The present study is
not a study on poverty and the poor, but a study of living conditions of
households and individuals. However, it implicitly includes a rough and
indirect estimate of the poverty phenomenon in Lebanon as an element in
a broader phenomenon, namely that of deprivation from the satisfaction
of the basic needs.
|
The study relies on
what has already been accomplished in terms of research and field
studies, and on the recommendations of the Experts' Mission, which took
place in February 1997 and prepared a conceptual framework for defining
the poverty phenomenon in the circumstances of the country. The Mission
recommended the adoption of an integrated approach that combines the
poverty line method with that of unsatisfied basic needs. It should be
pointed out, however, that some of the information related to the
household budget, income and expenditure-wise, which was lacking when
the preparation of the study began, have become available through the
Household Living Standards Measurement Survey conducted by the Central
Administration of Statistics. More concise data pertaining to household
income and expenditure is expected to become available soon.
|
