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Headship and Poverty in Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Caitlin Brown
  • Dominique van de Walle

Abstract

Standard welfare comparisons between female-headed households (FHHs) and male-headed households (MHHs) have largely ignored two confounding factors: marital status (affecting access to assets and markets) and heterogeneity in household demographics (with bearing on economies of scale in consumption). Both influence welfare and are correlated with sex of headship. As judged by the usual per capita welfare measures, FHHs have lower poverty rates than MHHs in Africa. However, even a modest adjustment for economies of scale in consumption changes the poverty comparisons, with FHHs faring significantly worse overall in East, Central, and Southern Africa. Marital status also matters: the households of female heads are poorer than MHHs except when the female head is married. Taking the head's marital status and the household's demographics into account is critical to the association between female headship and welfare outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Caitlin Brown & Dominique van de Walle, 2021. "Headship and Poverty in Africa," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(4), pages 1038-1056.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:35:y:2021:i:4:p:1038-1056.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhaa024
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    Cited by:

    1. Hoy,Christopher Alexander & Rajee Kanagavel & Cameron,Corey Morales, 2022. "Intra-Household Dynamics and Attitudes toward Vaccines : Experimental and Survey Evidencefrom Zambia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10136, The World Bank.
    2. Kugler, Maurice & Viollaz, Mariana & Duque, Daniel & Gaddis, Isis & Newhouse, David & Palacios-Lopez, Amparo & Weber, Michael, 2023. "How did the COVID-19 crisis affect different types of workers in the developing world?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Admasu,Yeshwas & Alkire,Sabina & Ekhator-Mobayode,Uche Eseosa & Kovesdi,Fanni & Santamaria,Julieth & Scharlin-Pettee[,Sophie, 2021. "A Multi-Country Analysis of Multidimensional Poverty in Contexts of Forced Displacement," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9826, The World Bank.
    4. Sutirtha Bandyopadhyay & Bipasha Maity, 2021. "Widowhood and Consumption of Private Assignable Goods: The Role of Socio-Economic Status, Rainfall Shocks and Historical Institutions," Working Papers 73, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    5. Hanmer,Lucia C. & Rubiano Matulevich,Eliana Carolina & Santamaria,Julieth, 2021. "Differences in Household Composition : Hidden Dimensions of Poverty and Displacement in Somalia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9818, The World Bank.
    6. Maneka Jayasinghe & Christine Smith, 2021. "Poverty Implications of Household Headship and Food Consumption Economies of Scales: A Case Study from Sri Lanka," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 157-185, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    female-headed households; gender; poverty; scale economies; Africa; marital status;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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