International Journal of Research in Social Sciences
Year : 2011, Volume : 1, Issue : 2
First page : ( 166) Last page : ( 189)
Online ISSN : 2249-2496.

The socio-economic characteristics of the poor in rural Kerala

Rajan K.

Associate Professor, Economics, M.D.College, Pazhanji, Thrissur, Kerala

Online published on 26 September, 2013.

Abstract

In this paper the author examines the socio-economic characteristics of the poor in rural areas of Thrissur district of Kerala collecting primary data from among 200 poor households during the year 2007. The study concludes that the bulk of the poor belongs to scheduled and backward castes, and the housing condition of the poor in terms of roofing pattern and area is unsatisfactory although vast majority of them have toilet and electricity facilities and live in own houses either provided free by the government or homesteads. The study also reveals that Joint family system is widespread among the poor and they have a bigger family size and the poor families have more females than males. The poor have a low educational achievement, higher number of dependents, and bulk of the poor are labourers either agricultural or non agricultural. The study also reveals that the average income and value of assets of the poor are very low and all of them are highly indebted. In terms of calorie intake, three fourth of them are poor although more than half of their expenditure is on non-food items. After revealing the major characteristics of the rural poor, the author points out the need for urgent measures by the government and planners for the improvement of the condition of the poor in the region.

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