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Understanding poverty dynamics in Rwanda

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  • Bizoza, Alfred
  • Jäger, Philipp
  • Simons, Alexandre

Abstract

Poverty rates in Rwanda have fallen substantially in the last decades. So far, however, it is not well understood what has driven this poverty decline. Thus, in this paper, we rely on a newly available household panel dataset collected in 2010/11 and 2013/14 to investigate poverty and poverty trajectories in Rwanda. According to our estimates increased labor market participation among originally poor households - especially off-farm employment - has facilitated poverty escape. Even though overall poverty rates have declined, our analysis reveals that a non-negligible part of originally non-poor households have fallen below the poverty line between the two survey waves. The estimates suggest that lower educated households are more vulnerable of becoming impoverished.

Suggested Citation

  • Bizoza, Alfred & Jäger, Philipp & Simons, Alexandre, 2018. "Understanding poverty dynamics in Rwanda," Ruhr Economic Papers 753, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:753
    DOI: 10.4419/86788875
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Azevedo, Viviane & Bouillon, César P., 2009. "Social Mobility in Latin America: A Review of Existing Evidence," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 1656, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Patricia Justino & Philip Verwimp, 2013. "Poverty Dynamics, Violent Conflict, and Convergence in R wanda," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59(1), pages 66-90, March.
    3. Ansoms, An & McKay, Andrew, 2010. "A quantitative analysis of poverty and livelihood profiles: The case of rural Rwanda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 584-598, December.
    4. Chemouni, Benjamin, 2018. "The political path to universal health coverage: Power, ideas and community-based health insurance in Rwanda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 87-98.
    5. Duclos, Jean-Yves & Araar, Abdelkrim & Giles, John, 2010. "Chronic and transient poverty: Measurement and estimation, with evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 266-277, March.
    6. Viviane Azevedo & Cesar Bouillon, 2009. "Social Mobility in Latin America: A Review of Existing Evidence," Research Department Publications 4634, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    7. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bird, Kate & Chabé-Ferret, Bastien & Simons, Alexandre, 2022. "Linking human capabilities with livelihood strategies to speed poverty reduction: Evidence from Rwanda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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