Does Gender Matter in Income Diversification and Household Vulnerability to Poverty? Evidence from Nigeria Living Standard Survey and General Household Survey Data

This chapter seeks to investigate whether gender matters in income diversification and household vulnerability to poverty in Nigeria. The empirical analysis utilized Logit and Probit model based on Nigeria Living Standard Survey and General Household Survey data, 2013 and 2017. The study found that age of the household head for the diversified households is positive and statistically significant. For households that have multiple sources of income, age has negative effect on household vulnerability to poverty. The coefficient for health is negative and statistically significant. The coefficient of education is also positive and significant. In addition, the coefficient of agricultural income (−0.7529) which is one of the measures of diversified households is negative and statistically significant. As further indicated, trade, gender, time, main occupation of household head and consumption expenditure for households with income diversification were not significant in determining poverty vulnerability risk. Meanwhile, health of households without income diversification with coefficient of 0.1405 is positive and statistically significant, implying that when there is an improvement in the health conditions of households that do not have diversified income sources, the more the households become vulnerable to poverty risk. On while some diversified households still remain vulnerable to poverty, the result shows that consumption expenditure with coefficient of −1.207, time (−0.0005), mother’s main occupation (0.346), mother’s level of education (−0.045), marital status of the household head (0.426) and the household consumption expenditure had a negative and insignificant effect on the household vulnerability to poverty. On the converse, gender of the household, level of education, main occupation of the household head, and the age of household head had positive and significant effect on household vulnerability to poverty. The level of education of the household head also had a positive and significant effect on household vulnerability to poverty. Main occupation of household head had a negative and significant effect on household vulnerability to poverty. From policy perspective, government should consider a mix of demographic and socioeconomic policies to help improve income diversification and reduce vulnerability to poverty among households in Nigeria.