Functional rural territories: an application for the analysis of rural poverty in Mexico
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Abstract
The study of rural poverty takes us, at the first level of analysis, to the definition of rural territories. Different proposals have been used for this purpose, from dichotomous to multidimensional approaches, from which the functional criteria are derived. This document develops a proposal for the classification of rural municipalities in Mexico, using as a functional criterion the degree of accessibility to paved roads, which allows the disaggregation of rural territories in the categories of high, medium, and low accessibility. It also offers a framework for the analysis and understanding of rural poverty. The results suggest that the rural is not synonymous with poverty and provides elements that should be considered in the design of public policies.