POVERTY IN THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF ECUADOR, PERIOD 2000-2016

Abstract

Ecuador is one of the countries that has achieved economic progress. In the last decade, it experienced GDP growth until reaching 4.3% in 2014, which facilitated the increase in public spending and thereby reduced poverty levels. The fall in oil prices between 2014 and 2016 affected the stagnation of poverty. In this context, there is an interest in investigating the relationship of poverty with the indicators that affect economic growth, with the objective of analyzing the impact of economic growth on poverty in Ecuador for the period 2000-2016. To do this, an econometric model based on the multiple linear equation obtained from the least squares method was designed. The results showed a strong correlation of the poverty variable with unemployment and inflation as opposed to gross domestic product and external debt with low significance. The conclusions of the model explain the levels of poverty in Ecuador are influenced by the variations in unemployment and inflation, noting that these levels are partially influenced by the rest of the macroeconomic variables and in the economic policies adopted during the study period.