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Asset versus consumption poverty and poverty dynamics in the presence of multiple equilibria in rural Ethiopia

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Listed author(s):
  • Liverpool, Lenis Saweda O.
  • Winter-Nelson, Alex

Abstract

Effective poverty reduction programs require careful measurement of poverty status. Several studies have shown conceptually that assets reflecting productive capacity form a more robust basis for identifying the poor than do flow variables such as expenditures or income. Nonetheless, little work has empirically compared poverty measurements based on assets and expenditures. This paper uses panel data from Ethiopia to generate an asset-based poverty classification scheme. Regression results are used to estimate an asset index and classify households into categories of structural poverty. Asset index dynamics are also explored to test for the existence of multiple asset index equilibria; evidence of potential poverty traps. Results provide evidence of multiple equilibria in the study sample as a whole as well as convergence at different levels over space, depending on commercialization opportunities and agroecological factors. The asset-based poverty classifications consistently predict future poverty status more accurately than do income-based measures, confirming that the asset-based measure could be used to more carefully target poverty interventions in rural areas and to more accurately assess the impact of those interventions.

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Paper provided by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in its series IFPRI discussion papers with number 971.

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Date of creation: 2010
Handle: RePEc:fpr:ifprid:971
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Keywords: asset index; asset poverty; Commercialization; expenditures; income-based measures; index equilibria; Poverty dynamics; Poverty reduction; regression;

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  1. Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2003. "Food Aid and Child Nutrition in Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1309-1324, July.
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  8. Sahn, David E. & Stifel, David C., 2000. "Poverty Comparisons Over Time and Across Countries in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2123-2155, December.
  9. Stefan Dercon & Pramila Krishnan, 1998. "Changes in poverty in rural Ethiopia 1989-1995: measurement, robustness tests and decomposition," CSAE Working Paper Series 1998-07, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
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  12. Cutler, Peter, 1984. "The measurement of poverty: A review of attempts to quantify the poor, with special reference to India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 12(11-12), pages 1119-1130.
  13. Michelle Adato & Michael Carter & Julian May, 2006. "Exploring poverty traps and social exclusion in South Africa using qualitative and quantitative data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 226-247.
  14. Tewodaj Mogues, 2005. "Shocks, Livestock Asset Dynamics, and Social Capital in Ethiopia," Development and Comp Systems 0512006, EconWPA.
  15. David E. Sahn & David Stifel, 2003. "Exploring Alternative Measures of Welfare in the Absence of Expenditure Data," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 49(4), pages 463-489, December.
  16. Michael Carter & Christopher Barrett, 2006. "The economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: An asset-based approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 178-199.
  17. Carter, Michael R. & May, Julian, 2001. "One Kind of Freedom: Poverty Dynamics in Post-apartheid South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 1987-2006, December.
  18. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
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Cited by:

  1. Mogues, Tewodaj & Petracco, Carly & Randriamamonjy, Josee, 2011. "The wealth and gender distribution of rural services in Ethiopia: A public expenditure benefit incidence analysis," IFPRI discussion papers 1057, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
  2. Tsehay, Abrham Seyoum & Bauer, Siegfried, 0. "Poverty and Vulnerability Dynamics: Empirical Evidence from Smallholders in Northern Highlands of Ethiopia," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, vol. 51.
  3. Kanwal Zahra & Tasneem Zafar, 2015. "Marginality as a Root Cause of Urban Poverty: A Case Study of Punjab," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 629-650.
  4. Jolejole-Foreman, Maria Christina & Baylis, Katherine R. & Lipper, Leslie, 2012. "Land Degradation’s Implications on Agricultural Value of Production in Ethiopia: A look inside the bowl," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126251, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
  5. Tsehay, Abrham Seyoum & Bauer, Siegfried, 2012. "Poverty Dynamics and Vulnerability: Empirical Evidence from Smallholders in Northern Highlands of Ethiopia," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126873, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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