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Coping Strategies among Urban Poor: Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya

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  • Djesika D Amendah
  • Steven Buigut
  • Shukri Mohamed

Abstract

Aims: In Kenya, it is estimated that 60 to 80% of urban residents live in slum or slum-like conditions. This study investigates expenditures patterns of slum dwellers in Nairobi, their coping strategies and the determinants of those coping strategies. Method: We use a dataset from the Indicator Development for Surveillance of Urban Emergencies (IDSUE) research study conducted in four Nairobi slums from April 2012 to September 2012. The dataset includes information related to household livelihoods, earned incomes of household members, expenditures, shocks, and coping strategies. Results: Food spending is the single most important component, accounting for 52% of total households' income and 42% of total expenditures. Households report a variety of coping strategies over the last four weeks preceding the interview. The most frequently used strategy is related to reduction in food consumption, followed by the use of credit, with 69% and 52% of households reporting using these strategies respectively. A substantial proportion of households also report removing children from school to manage spending shortfalls. Formal employment, owning a business, rent-free housing, belonging to the two top tiers of income brackets, and being a member of social safety net reduced the likelihood of using any coping strategy. Exposure to shocks and larger number of children under 15 years increased the probability of using a coping strategy. Policy Implications: Policies that contain food price inflation, improve decent-paying job opportunities for the urban poor are likely to reduce the use of negative coping strategies by providing urban slum dwellers with steady and reliable sources of income. In addition, enhancing access to free primary schooling in the slums would help limit the need to use detrimental strategies like “removing” children from school.

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  • Djesika D Amendah & Steven Buigut & Shukri Mohamed, 2014. "Coping Strategies among Urban Poor: Evidence from Nairobi, Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0083428
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083428
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    1. Mohammad Mazharul Islam & Mohammad Muzahidul Islam & Haitham Khoj, 2022. "Coping Mechanisms and Quality of Life of Low-Income Households during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Renate Strobl & Conny Wunsch, 2021. "Risky choices and solidarity: disentangling different behavioural channels," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(4), pages 1185-1214, December.
    3. Strobl, Renate & Wunsch, Conny, 2018. "Risky Choices and Solidarity: Why Experimental Design Matters," Working papers 2018/17, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    4. Kansiime, Monica K. & Tambo, Justice A. & Mugambi, Idah & Bundi, Mary & Kara, Augustine & Owuor, Charles, 2021. "COVID-19 implications on household income and food security in Kenya and Uganda: Findings from a rapid assessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    5. Catherine Nkirote Kunyanga & Morten Fibieger Byskov & Keith Hyams & Samuel Mburu & Grace Werikhe & Rawlynce Bett, 2023. "Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Market Prices and Food Supply in Urban Markets in Nairobi, Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, January.
    6. Strobl, Renate & Wunsch, Conny, 2017. "Does Voluntary Risk Taking Affect Solidarity? Experimental Evidence from Kenya," Working papers 2017/12, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    7. Natéwindé Sawadogo & Youmanli Ouoba, 2023. "COVID-19, food coping strategies and households resilience: the case of informal sector in Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(4), pages 1041-1056, August.
    8. Sangeetha Madhavan & Shelley Clark & Sara Schmidt, 2021. "Single mothers coping with food insecurity in a Nairobi slum," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(13), pages 2703-2720, October.
    9. Emma E. W. Termeer & Katrine Soma & Nina Motovska & Oscar Ingasia Ayuya & Marvin Kunz & Tinka Koster, 2022. "Sustainable Development Ensued by Social Capital Impacts on Food Insecurity: The Case of Kibera, Nairobi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, May.
    10. Kailash Chandra Pradhan & Shrabani Mukherjee, 2018. "Covariate and Idiosyncratic Shocks and Coping Strategies for Poor and Non-poor Rural Households in India," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 16(1), pages 101-127, March.
    11. Kevin Kipkemei Koech & Christine G. Kiria Chege & Hillary Bett, 2022. "Which Food Outlets Are Important for Nutrient-Dense-Porridge-Flour Access by the Base-of-the-Pyramid Consumers? Evidence from the Informal Kenyan Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.

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