Dynamics of inequality, poverty and sustainable development of Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

This article examines the dynamics of inequality, poverty and sustainable development of Delta State, Nigeria. A non-probability and probability sampling technique was adopted. Inequality was measured based on Gini coefficient, while poverty categories (non-poor, transient poor and chronic poor) was measured using $1.25 and $2.00 thresholds respectively. The non-poor are living above $2.00 a-day poverty threshold, the transient poor are living below the $2.00 a-day poverty threshold, while the chronic poor are living below $1.25 a-day poverty threshold. The result reveals that a Gini coefficient of 0.4650 was recorded for Delta State in (2004), 0.4698 in (2010), 0.33609 in (2012/2013) and 0.34268 in (2015/2016). There was 343 (41.5%) chronic poor households in Delta South, 283 (33.3%) in Delta Central and 180 (22.2%) in Delta North, while 147 (21.6%) of households in Delta South, 116 (12.7%) in Delta North and 103 (11.3%) in Delta Central were transient poor. One-Way ANOVA significantly explained the spatial variation in distribution of inequality and poverty among households at (p ≤ 0.05). Water source, distance to water source, improved sanitation, road length and household size were important predictors of spatial variation of inequality and poverty. This paper recommends that government at all levels should invest more in livelihood development, inequality and poverty reduction strategies. Increased public spending on social services and enhance geographic access to basic amenities are key fundamentals to reducing inequality and poverty levels and sustainable development of Nigeria.