Just a few colons away from poverty: Who, how many, and what are the characteristics of the Costa Ricans who remain just ¢10,000, ¢25,000, or ¢50,000 from the poverty line?

Just a few colons away from poverty: Who, how many, and what are the characteristics of the Costa Ricans who remain just ¢10,000, ¢25,000, or ¢50,000 from the poverty line?

This article examines a critical segment of the Costa Rican population that, although technically not living in monetary poverty, resides on the immediate edge of the poverty line. Using official microdata and artificial intelligence tools, the study reveals that hundreds of thousands of people have incomes that barely exceed the threshold for basic needs. This situation highlights the fragility of traditional statistical measures, which can obscure the true economic vulnerability of groups on the verge of falling into destitution due to minor changes in inflation or their employment circumstances. The research underscores that these households share similar demographic and economic characteristics with those already experiencing poverty: they tend to have larger families with a predominance of children and female-headed households, yet they have fewer employed members and significantly lower wages. Their economic stability crucially depends on state transfers and pensions. This implies that the boundary between poverty and non-poverty is extremely thin, and many families could be pushed into poverty by any external shock, such as rising prices or the loss of a subsidy. The relevance for open data lies in the need to move beyond simplified binary classifications. The analysis demonstrates that transparency and access to detailed data, processed through advanced methods, are essential for understanding socioeconomic complexity. By exposing the hidden vulnerabilities masked by statistical averages, this approach enables public officials and citizens to design more precise and preventive policies, rather than reactive ones, focusing on economic resilience rather than mere categorical classification.

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