The mental state would be one of the obstacles for poverty eradication
The study “Mind, Society and Behavior” of the World Bank reveals how the psychosocial aspect of a person plays an important role in order to get out of poverty. The context and human capital are another factors.
Two of the authors, Renos Vakis and Jamele Rigolini, presented part of their research at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), identifying three factors that affect this condition: the context, low endowments (human capital and productive instruments) and mental state.
Psychoanalyst Rodrigo Tenorio, invited to the panel, said that the aspirations of the individual are fundamental to overcome the state of poverty, and are the result of an identity and culture of precariousness.
Tenorio argues that certain projects aimed at reducing poverty have failed to reduce it by concentrating solely on statistics. Until last March, Ecuador had a 24.12% of poverty and 8.97% of extreme poverty.
Thus, the World Bank presents three principles of the decision making process of individuals in his report: automatic thinking and social and mental models. In this sense, to implement a public policy social and cultural influences must be taken into account.