Persistent peasant poverty and assets. Exploring dynamics of new forms of wealth and poverty in Tanzania 1999–2018

Dan Brockington

doi:10.1080/03066150.2019.1658081

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tracking change in rural communities over time is difficult. It is also important. If we are to understand what forms of peasant poverty persist, or how and in what ways peasant communities can become richer, then we require longitudinal studies. These are however few. It is difficult to access the data required for them. I present one case using assets to track growing prosperity. I examine why exclusions in other data make tracking assets important, and the limitations of longitudinal research for capturing contemporary conditions.

Highlights

The problem of persistent peasant poverty has been a leitmotif of peasant studies for decades
A number of recent contributions to debates about peasant poverty generally, and to Tanzanian rural poverty in particular, are significant for the data sources on which they have based their arguments. They have relied upon changes in the number of people below poverty lines as determined by records of expenditure. This is a problem because these data necessarily exclude forms of peasant prosperity which can be important in local measures of wealth and poverty
I argue in this paper that assets matter to rural smallholders and that investment in assets is systematically and deliberately excluded from calculations of poverty lines based on consumption data

Summary

Introduction

The problem of persistent peasant poverty has been a leitmotif of peasant studies for decades. This is a problem because these data necessarily exclude forms of peasant prosperity ( investment in productive assets) which can be important in local measures of wealth and poverty.

Results

Conclusion