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Multidimensional Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Levels and Trends

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  • Sabina Alkire
  • Bouba Housseini

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of multidimensional poverty - levels and trends - in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), using the most recent estimations and analyses of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which was developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) launched in 2010 and reported in UNDP's Human Development Reports. The global MPI 2014 covers 37 SSA countries, which are home to 91% of the population of the region. This paper synthesises the main results: the levels of poverty in SSA overall as well as in West, East, Central and Southern Africa. It compares the MPI in rural and urban areas and the MPI with income poverty. It also summarises results on inequality among the poor as this is highest in SSA countries. In terms of poverty dynamics, of the 19 SSA countries for which we have time-series data, 17 - covering 93% of the poor people across all 19 - had statistically significant reductions in multidimensional poverty. Finally, we scrutinise the situation in SSA according to a new measure of destitution, which identifies a subset of poor people as destitute if they experience a number of extreme deprivations like severe malnutrition or losing two children. Throughout this analysis, the paper demonstrates the descriptive analyses that multidimensional poverty indices enable - such as decomposition and dynamic analysis of poverty by subnational groups and ethnic groups, and the breakdown and dynamic analysis of the composition of the MPI according to its constituent indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabina Alkire & Bouba Housseini, 2014. "Multidimensional Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: Levels and Trends," OPHI Working Papers 81, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:qeh:ophiwp:ophiwp081
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    1. Sabina Alkire, Maria Emma Santos, 2010. "Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries," OPHI Working Papers 38, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    2. Olinto, Pedro & Beegle, Kathleen & Sobrado, Carlos & Uematsu, Hiroki, 2013. "The State of the Poor: Where Are The Poor, Where Is Extreme Poverty Harder to End, and What Is the Current Profile of the World’s Poor?," World Bank - Economic Premise, The World Bank, issue 125, pages 1-8, October.
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    5. Alkire, Sabina & Foster, James, 2011. "Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 476-487.
    6. Jane Kabubo-Mariara & Anthony Wambugu & Susan Musau, 2011. "Multidimensional Poverty in Kenya: Analysis of Maternal and Child Wellbeing," Working Papers PMMA 2011-12, PEP-PMMA.
    7. Sebastian Levine & James Muwonge & Y�l� Maweki Batana, 2014. "A Robust Multi-dimensional Poverty Profile for Uganda," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 369-390, November.
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    2. Jessica Noromalala Andriamparany & Hendrik Hänke & Eva Schlecht, 2021. "Food security and food quality among vanilla farmers in Madagascar: the role of contract farming and livestock keeping," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 981-1012, August.
    3. Lukas Salecker & Anar K. Ahmadov & Leyla Karimli, 2020. "Contrasting Monetary and Multidimensional Poverty Measures in a Low-Income Sub-Saharan African Country," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 547-574, September.
    4. Shinkai, Naoko, 2016. "Examination of Poverty in Northern Mozambique: A Comparison of Social and Economic Dimensions," Working Papers 133, JICA Research Institute.
    5. Vibeke Bjornlund & Henning Bjornlund & André Rooyen, 2022. "Why food insecurity persists in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of existing evidence," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 845-864, August.
    6. Mathias KUEPIE & Eric Patrick FEUBI PAMEN, 2017. "An Application of the Alkire-Foster’s Multidimensional Poverty Index to Data from Madagascar: Taking Into Account the Dimensions of Employment and Gender Inequality," Working Paper 6ca04615-044d-41a0-8737-9, Agence française de développement.
    7. Gbetoton Nadege Djossou & Gilles Quentin Kane & Jacob Novignon, 2017. "Is Growth Pro‐Poor in Benin? Evidence Using a Multidimensional Measure of Poverty," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(4), pages 426-443, December.
    8. Tabish Nawab & Saqlain Raza & Malik Shahzad Shabbir & Ghulam Yahya Khan & Sana Bashir, 2023. "Multidimensional poverty index across districts in Punjab, Pakistan: estimation and rationale to consolidate with SDGs," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1301-1325, February.
    9. Zaman, Qamar uz & Zhao, Yuhuan & Zaman, Shah & Alenezi, Marim & Jehan, Noor, 2023. "Spatial evaluation of multidimensional energy poverty between farming and non-farming communities of agro-climatic zones of Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    10. Arndt, Channing & Mahrt, Kristi & Hussain, M. Azhar & Tarp, Finn, 2018. "A human rights-consistent approach to multidimensional welfare measurement applied to sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 181-196.
    11. Eva-Maria Egger & Vincenzo Salvucci & Finn Tarp, 2023. "Evolution of Multidimensional Poverty in Crisis-Ridden Mozambique," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 485-519, April.
    12. Steven Henry Dunga, 2019. "Housing insecurity measure, a development of a validated scale using household data," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 9010627, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    13. Sebastián Burgos Dávila & Fernando Cando Ortega, 2016. "Multidimensional poverty: an index for Ecuador using Alkire and Foster methodology," Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales (IIES). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales. Universidad de Los Andes. Mérida, Venezuela, vol. 41(42), pages 11-52, july-dece.
    14. Arndt, Channing & Mahrt, Kristi & Hussain, M. Azhar & Tarp, Finn, 2018. "A human rights-consistent approach to multidimensional welfare measurement applied to sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 181-196.
    15. Hannah Dunga, 2019. "A critique of the conceptualization of child poverty," Proceedings of International Academic Conferences 9010710, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    16. Muna Shifa & Murray Leibbrandt, 2017. "Profiling Multidimensional Poverty and Inequality in Kenya and Zambia at Sub-National Levels," SALDRU Working Papers 209, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.

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