Economic crisis and pauperization in the metropolitan region of Barcelona: a demo-space approach using data from Càritas (2005-2013)

Abstract

The years following the outbreak of the economic crisis (2008) were marked by an intense increase in poverty, exacerbated in turn by the retreat of the mechanisms of containment of the state in a context of application of the so-called "structural adjustment measures", one of whose main effects is the generation of redundant population. The seriousness of the situation contrasts with the scarce production of territorially disaggregated statistical series produced by official organisms that allow the scientific community to weigh its impact at the infra-municipal level. In this paper, we evaluate the demo-spatial expression of the crisis over the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona using data from Càritas assigned to the Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics. The methodology used combines the descriptive analysis, the geo-codification of the information provided by Càritas and the computation of indexes of spatial concentration. The results show the pauperization of population groups that were previously at a disadvantage, their extension to other groups (either according to age or place of birth) and, finally, a double movement of territorial difussion and concentration of poverty.