The Impact of Bicycles on Household Poverty, per Consumption, Enterprises and Education in Malawi

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in research to understand the link between mobility and the increasing vulnerability of poor households to poverty in SSA. This situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in light of growing concerns over the use of public transport. Yet, there seems to be no definite end to the crisis, there is a need to focus on cheaper and sustainable mobility solutions. This study investigates the correlates of household bicycle ownership on household poverty, consumption, off-farm business, and pupil grade overage. The study uses the Integrated Household Panel Survey (IHPS) of 2013 and a combined dataset of the Third (IHS3) and Fourth (IHS4) Integrated Household Surveys of 2010/2011 and 2016/2017 respectively. The study results demonstrate that bicycle ownership decreases household poverty and pupil grade overage, while at the same time increasing household per capita consumption and off-farm business ownership. Furthermore, the correlations for household poverty and pupil grade overage were statistically significant for both urban and rural areas, whereas per capita consumption and off-farm business ownership were only statistically significant only for rural areas. Based on these results and in light of COVID-19, the study recommends policies such as targeted subsidies to increased bicycle ownership among rural and urban populations in Malawi and SSA. The use of graduated subsidies, between 0 and 100%, could be appropriate since the incentives to adopt bicycles might be different within and between communities.