Access to Household Resources and Human Development: Evidence from Survey Data for Tanzania

Abstract

We use five rounds of two large-scale surveys conducted in Tanzania to explore the two-way relationship between household resources and human development. Several indicators for household resources have been used in the exercise. We find systematic evidence of a relationship in both directions, with household resources enhancing human development and human development feeding into increased resources. While the overall results do indicate a positive relationship between household resources and human development, the magnitude of the effects of key indicators such as income per capita and expenditure per capita on human development outcomes is sobering. However, we see larger effects of household resource variables such as durable assets and wealth on human development outcomes. While household resources is likely to be a primary driver of progress in human development indicators in Tanzania, results seem to suggest its limitations and potential in future human development gains. We also find strong positive effects of human development aspects such as literacy, schooling and food security on household resources. Household resources at the regional level tend to drive human development in females, in terms of access to health care, more than males.