Living Standards Measurement Study Research Articles

Macroeconomic impact of agricultural financing reforms: a computable general equilibrium analysis of Nigeria

Purpose- The study analyzed the macroeconomic impact of agricultural financing reforms: a computable general equilibrium analysis of Nigeria. Specifically, the study evaluated the macroeconomic impact of the agricultural financing reforms on economic growth, and agricultural output. Methodology- This study employed time series data from secondary sources such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the National Bureau of Statistics' (NBS) in conjunction with the World Bank Living Standard Measurement Study (LSMS) and Information from the Nigerian Living Standard Survey for 2019 was used to obtain shares of household income and expenditure which covered the period 2010-2022. Applying the economy-wide methodology of Computer General Equilibrium model on reformatted upgraded Social Accounting Matrix for Nigeria, Simulation Designs, and t- test. Findings- The study finds that agricultural financing reforms through a decrease in interest rates on agricultural loans by 10% and 8% have positive significant impact on economic growth. The results of the study also reveal that agricultural financing reforms through a decrease in interest rates on agricultural loans by 10% and 8% have positive significant impact on agricultural output. Conclusion- The two policy scenarios (10% and 8% reduction in interest rate on agricultural loans) were simulated and the results for both cases indicated that all the macroeconomic indicators increased significantly due to the policy options. Keywords: Macroeconomic impact, agricultural financing reforms, computable general equilibrium analysis, economic growth, Nigeria. JEL Codes: A11, B23, B41, C53, E47

Factors Affecting Food Security among Households in Nigeria: The Role of Crop Diversity

Agriculture is central in order to achieve nutrition goals through the provision of food, energy and essential micronutrients for the physical and mental development of humans. Dietary diversity is a good indicator of human food security status. Using a dataset obtained from the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study—Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), this paper examines the linkages between crop diversity and food security (measured as dietary diversity) among farming households in Nigeria using ordinary least squares, Poisson regression, and instrumental variables (IV) Poisson regression to estimate the relationship. In addition, we investigate the determinants that lead to the consumption of each food groups considered for generating dietary diversity using a logit regression model. The results show that food expenditure, asset ownership and location of households are the key factors driving the types of food consumed by the households. Furthermore, increased food expenditure and access to credit were found to positively influence food security. The result established a positive and significant relationship between crop diversity and dietary diversity. Our findings call for more attention to diet diversity, as well as the need to harmonize the roles of rural income improvement, especially through non-farm livelihood diversification in tackling multiple nutritional deficiencies in Nigeria.

Technological change, completeness of financing microstructures, and impact on well-being and income inequality

Financing microstructures are increasingly recognized as critical for promoting financial inclusion and improving overall well-being in developing countries. In practice, the digital transformation in finance has the potential to accelerate the optimal functioning of financing microstructures, including households' access to microfinance and microinsurance. Increased access to finance can lead to a reduction in income inequality and overall well-being for households. This paper investigates the impact of access to digital finance and financing microstructures on household well-being and the reduction of income inequality. To achieve this, we use a combination of propensity score matching, double difference, and smooth instrumental quantile regression as estimation methods with two periods of survey data. Specifically, the paper uses the FinScope consumer data (2016) and the Harmonized Living Standards Measurement Study (2018) from Togo in a comparative perspective. The results suggest that access to both digital finance and financing microstructure is a cultural game-changer that significantly improves overall household well-being and contributes to reducing income inequality.

ICT adoption and youth employment in Nigeria's agricultural sector

PurposeThis paper argues that through information and communication technology (ICT) adoption, the youth will be engaged in all nodes of the agricultural value chains, thereby improving the level of employment and reducing post-harvest losses. The study examines the determinants of ICT adoption among the youth. In addition, it estimates the impact of ICT adoption on youth employment in agriculture towards the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-8, to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all.Design/methodology/approachThe study engages data from Wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). The logit regression, the propensity score matching and the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment are used as the estimation techniques.FindingsThe study underscores that educational level, access to electricity, location, age and income are significant determinants of ICT adoption among the youth. The findings also show that the youth's average weekly engagement in agricultural activities is about 24 h. In addition, the result reveals that ICT adoption can increase youth agricultural employment by approximately 21%. The mean difference indicates that those with access to ICT participate in agricultural activities more than their counterparts without ICT access by 29.46%.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations of the study is that some of the variables such as insecurity, social protection/safety nets, that may have a significant influence on youth agricultural participation where not included in the model due to data constraint. As a recommendation for further studies, given data availability, such variables should be considered when examining youth-agricultural employment nexus.Practical implicationsSince ICT adoption has a significant impact on agricultural employment, this study proposes improved infrastructure facilities such as reliable power supply, lowering the cost of mobile and data subscriptions and better education facilities should be prioritised at all localities. This will enable the youth to embrace agriculture and help improve their socioeconomic welfare and livelihood.Originality/valueUsing Wave 4 of the LSMS-ISA, logit regression, propensity score matching and the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment, makes this study one of the very few to examine the impact of ICT adoption on agricultural employment among the youth in Nigeria. It implies that this study has provided empirical evidence and expanded the frontiers of knowledge on the extent to which ICT adoption influences youth agricultural employment in Nigeria.

COVID-19 Pandemic, household income and coping strategies in Nigeria

This study analyzed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on household income and the determinants of coping strategies in Nigeria, using the combination of the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey data and the fourth wave of the General Household Survey, Panel 2018-2019. The fourth wave of General Household Survey, Panel 2018-2019 data is part of the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) and the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria collected the data in collaboration with the World Bank and funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey 2020, Baseline was implemented by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank. The analyses were based on multinomial logistic and multivariate probit models. Multinomial logit regression analysis shows that households that consider the pandemic a substantial threat and households with older heads were more likely to have decreased income while households that received transfer income and self-employed were more likely to have increased income. Several household characteristics exhibited different levels of influence on the choice of coping strategies during the lockdown. Therefore, policy options and support facilities should be developed to foster meaningful (wage/self) employment and coping strategies to achieve optimal results in response to the pandemic.

Health gender gap in Uganda: do weather effects and water play a role?

BackgroundVulnerabilities of men and women to adverse health effects due to weather variability and climate change are not equal. Uganda was among the countries in the world most affected by extreme weather events during the last decade. However, there is still limited gendered empirical evidence on the links between weather variability and health and the possible pathways through which these health effects occur. Therefore, this study analyses the effect of weather variability on illness, and the extent to which water collection ‘time burden’ mediates the relationship between weather anomalies and illness among men and women of working age in Uganda. The study also quantifies the health inequalities to be eliminated if resources are equalized.MethodsSocioeconomic, health and time use data were obtained from the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Studies - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS –ISA), combined with high resolution remotely-sensed weather data. Two-parts and non-linear decomposition regression analysis were used on the national representative pooled dataset from the four household survey waves collected between 2009 to 2014, comprising a total of 22,469 men and women aged between 15 and 64 years.ResultsEmpirical results show that low rainfall below the long-term mean increased the likelihood of illness by at least 8 and 6 percentage points for women and men, respectively. The indirect effect of low rainfall on illness through water access pathway was estimated at 0.16 percentage points in women. Decomposition results reveal that health inequalities among women and men would have been narrowed by 27–61%, if endowments were equalized.ConclusionsStrategies that promote women empowerment (such as education, labor force participation, access to financial services and clean water), health adaptation and time poverty reduction strategies (such as rain water harvesting and improved access to quality health care) would reduce gender-based health inequalities in Uganda despite changing climatic conditions.

Reducing food insecurity through equitable investments in irrigation: The case of Niger

AbstractWe use Niger as a case study to examine the relationship between irrigation and household food security controlling for the point of crop harvest sales. We use longitudinal household and agriculture data collected by the Living Standards Measurement Study. Using panel fixed effects, we find that irrigation was associated with a 10% decrease in food insecurity, a 9% increase in food consumption expenditure, and improved dietary diversity. Farmers using irrigation experienced higher cash incomes, sold a higher share of the harvest, and had higher crop revenues. Access to irrigation was also positively correlated with the consumption of nutritious food items such as fruits, vegetables, and meat products. Importantly, these effects were found for both farmers using irrigation that primarily sold their harvest locally to neighbors and village shops, as well as for farmers using irrigation who sold in bulk to regional or national traders. Results suggest that investing in irrigation can improve food security, even in areas with limited access to formal markets.

Patterns of mortality in domesticated ruminants in Ethiopia.

Premature death of livestock is a problem in all ruminant production systems. While the number of premature ruminant deaths in a country is a reasonable indicator for the nation's health, few data sources exist in a country like Ethiopia that can be used to generate valid estimates. The present study aimed to establish if three different data sets, each with imperfect information on ruminant mortality, including abortions, could be combined into improved estimates of nationwide mortality in Ethiopia. We combined information from a recent survey of ruminant mortality with information from the Living Standards Measurement Study and the Disease Outbreak and Vaccination Reporting dataset. Generalized linear mixed and hurdle models were used for data analysis, with results summarized using predicted outcomes. Analyses indicated that most herds experienced zero mortality and reproductive losses, with rare occasions of larger losses. Diseases causing deaths varied greatly both geographically and over time. There was little agreement between the different datasets. While the models aid the understanding of patterns of mortality and reproductive losses, the degree of variation observed limited the predictive scope. The models revealed some insight into why mortality rates are variable over time and are therefore less useful in measuring production or health status, and it is suggested that alternative measures of productivity, such as number of offspring raised to 1 year old per dam, would be more stable over time and likely more indicative.

Soil technology and post-harvest losses in Nigeria

PurposePost-harvest losses are becoming a huge issue worldwide and are predominantly severe in developing countries. Seeking ways to control post-harvest losses is important because losses decrease farm income by more than 15% for approximately 480 million small-scale farmers.Design/methodology/approachThe study engaged Wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standards Measurement Studies–Integrated Survey on Agriculture, to examine the impact of soil technology such as fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides and certified crops on post-harvest losses in Nigeria. The study engaged descriptive statistics, logit regression and propensity score matching (PSM) to analyse the data.FindingsThe study found that approximately 38% of the household harvest was lost along the value chain. In addition, the results showed that among the indicators of soil technology, crop certification has a significant impact on the reduction of post-harvest losses. The implication is that from the nearest neighbour and kernel-based matching, the use of certified crops by households contributed to 1.62 and 1.36% reduction in post-harvest losses, respectively. In contrast, pesticide, herbicide and fertiliser use had no significant impact on post-harvest losses.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations is that this study applied the PSM, the model did not account for endogeneity. Therefore, in examining this concept, further studies should consider applying other impact model such as the difference-in-difference to account for endogeneity.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have examined how ICT adoption, storage mechanisms and value chain among others help to minimise post-harvest losses, the aspect of how soil technology can reduce post-harvest losses has been a subject of exclusion in the extant literature. This study empirically examines the impact of soil technology adoption on post-harvest losses in Nigeria.

Telescoping Error in Recalled Food Consumption: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Ethiopia

AbstractTelescoping errors occur if survey respondents misdate events from outside the reference period and include them in their recall. Concern about telescoping influenced the design of early Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys, which used a two-visit interview format to bound food consumption recall. This design fell out of favor although not for evidence-based reasons. To measure the extent of telescoping bias on food consumption measures, a survey experiment was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, randomly assigning households to either a two-visit bounded recall or a single visit unbounded recall. The average value of reported food consumption is 16 percent higher (95 percent CI: 7.4–25.9) in the unbounded single visit recall relative to the two-visit bounded recall. Most of the error is explained by difference in reported spending on less frequently consumed, protein-rich foods, so apparent food security indicators based on household diet diversity are likely overstated with unbounded recall.

Decomposing inequality of opportunity in child health in Tanzania: The role of access to water and sanitation.

Poor child nutrition is a major public health challenge in Tanzania. Large between and within regional nutritional inequalities exist in rural and urban areas. We looked at how locational circumstances hinder children from having an equal opportunity for good nutrition. We used the 2008/09 Living Standards Measurement Study data for Tanzania to identify the part played by water and sanitation in rural and urban inequality of opportunity in child nutrition. We used the dissimilarity index and the Shapley decomposition technique to quantify and decompose inequality of opportunity in nutrition. We find that 16% of the circumstance-driven inequality of opportunity needs to be redistributed for equality of opportunity to prevail. We find that in rural areas, about 42% of the inequality of opportunity in nutrition is due to water and sanitation problems and 22% to child age. In urban areas, we find that the inequality of opportunity is related mainly to the child's sex, price fluctuations and intergenerational factors. The findings suggest that policies to improve water and sanitation coverage could help equalize opportunities for children in rural areas. In urban areas, policies that could help equalize opportunities require incentives to change social norms and behavior around feeding practices and vaccination.

Consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods by the African poor: Evidence from Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda

AbstractWe use national Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) datasets from Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda to examine consumption by the rural and urban poor of “unhealthy foods” (including ultra‐processed foods such as sweets and sugary beverages) versus “healthy foods” beyond starchy staples (such as vegetables, beans, animal products, and fruits). Consumption of processed foods and nonstaples is often associated in policy discussion in Africa with middle‐class urban consumers rather than the poor. We analyzed household food consumption expenditure with Locally Weighted Scatterplot Smoothing (LOWESS) curves and augmented Engel regressions. We found that substantial shares of the consumption expenditure of the poor, both rural and urban, are on healthy and unhealthy foods. We found, surprisingly, that the poor's food consumption patterns do not differ sharply from the middle classes’, in rural and urban areas, except for the case of ultra‐processed foods of which the poor still consume much less than the middle class. We found that the poor dedicate 25% of their food consumption expenditure to the category vegetables/beans, versus 22% and 17% by the lower‐middle and upper‐middle‐income strata. Fruits/animal products constitute 17% of the poor's consumption expenditure compared to 23% and 27% by the lower‐ and upper‐middle strata. Ultra‐processed food (e.g., sugar‐sweetened beverages) form 12% of the consumption of the poor, versus 20% and 32% for the lower‐ and upper‐middle strata. Shares are increasing with income starting at incomes well below the poverty line. Nonincome factors play important roles: e.g., rural off‐farm employment is associated with more consumption expenditure of processed foods by the poor due to the opportunity cost of time.

The joint effects of terrorism and land access on livestock production decisions: Evidence from northern Nigeria

Livestock production is an integral part of the livelihoods of many households around the developing world and plays a significant role in farming households' food and nutrition security. However, conflict is a major challenge for livestock production in Africa and Nigeria in particular. We employ the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) panel data for Nigeria with a global georeferenced conflict dataset to examine the effect of terrorism on small-scale livestock production and the role of agricultural land access. Terrorism is an important factor that undermines livestock production. We find that increase in the incidents of terrorism reduces cattle herd size but does not reduce the herd size of households that manage a larger area of land. Also, terrorism significantly increases livestock diversification independently and jointly with land access. However, higher fatalities from terrorism reduces herd size irrespective of the size of land managed by households. Our findings suggest a plausible land abandonment in areas where terrorism is severe. Curbing terrorism in Nigeria would ensure farmers have physical access to their land and sustain livestock production.

Farm size and productivity in Nicaragua: Parametric and nonparametric analyses for panel data

This paper examines the inverse relationship hypothesis (IR-H) between farm size and agricultural productivity in Nicaragua using parametric and nonparametric methods designed specifically for panel data. The data employed are from the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study for the years 1998, 2001 and 2005. The analysis reveals strong support for the IR-H based on a number of alternative parametric specifications. The results from the nonparametric models lend partial support to the IR-H,and such support is weaker than what is obtained from the parametric models, particularly among medium and large landholders.

Climate change and child malnutrition: A Nigerian perspective

Erratic temperatures and precipitation influence nutrition, human capital investment, and living standards, particularly for children. This study investigates the effect of climate change (changes in the monthly maximum average near-surface temperature and total monthly precipitation) on children’s health outcomes, particularly stunting and underweight, in Nigeria. We combine Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) data with high resolution gridded climate data. We find that the rise in temperature is associated with higher levels of stunting – even more so in rural areas. The paper’s findings highlight the need for climate-friendly policies to mitigate the long-term effect of climate change on malnourishment. Without such policies, climate change could reverse years of progress in lowering children’s malnutrition.

Sex-disaggregated agricultural extension and weather variability in Africa south of the Sahara

Climate change and extreme weather shocks pose serious threats to a number of agricultural outcomes, including agricultural production, productivity, and income, especially when households depend heavily on this activity. Agricultural extension and rural advisory services are key instruments in promoting technical change, advancing agricultural productivity growth and, ultimately, improving farm livelihoods, and are expected to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and extreme weather shocks. Their mitigation effects, however, may vary depending on the sex of the recipient. This paper investigates the role of sex-disaggregated agricultural extension recipients in contexts where agricultural performance of farm households is affected by weather variability. To this aim, we match multiple rounds of panel microdata from the nationally representative, consumption-based Living Standards Measurement Study -Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), collected in four sub-Saharan African countries, with remote sensing data on biophysical dimensions over a long-term horizon as well as year-specific weather shocks. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a micro-level dataset with individual-level information on agricultural extension services’ recipients has been assembled and examined to investigate the effects of extreme weather shocks and climate change. Applying panel data econometric estimators, the study finds that agricultural extension and advisory services translate into higher agricultural performance of farm households where women are also among the beneficiaries, as compared to non-beneficiaries and households where beneficiaries are men only. Moreover, these services can mitigate the negative effects of weather variability and climate change, controlling for country and time fixed effects as well as holding all other variables constant. These results call for national and international policies and interventions strengthening rural advisory services, especially targeted to women in settings where household livelihoods are predominantly agriculture-based and weather variability and shocks are expected to negatively affect farming activities.

Nutritional deficiency and women’s empowerment in agriculture: Evidence from Nigeria

This study investigates the relationship between women’s empowerment in agriculture, their nutritional status and those of their children. Growing empirical evidence suggests that there is a positive link, but that not all empowerment dimensions influence nutritional outcomes. Using longitudinal data from the Nigeria Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), covering the period from 2010 to 2016, specific evidence on this topic is provided. Our findings show no relationship between women’s empowerment as measured by women who own agricultural land and have access to credit, and their caloric energy intake. Nevertheless, if women jointly own land and other agricultural inputs with their spouse, it has a positive influence on their caloric energy intake. The children’s anthropometric scores responded positively to women’s empowerment indicators, although with differential effects for boys and girls. Women’s access to agricultural inputs and land rights are necessary conditions for maximising the potential benefits derived from the women-empowerment-nutrition link. Improvements in the anthropometric scores of girl children of empowered women should be considered a priority for intervention programs.

A Map of the Poor or a Poor Map?

This paper evaluates the performance of different small area estimation methods using model and design-based simulation experiments. Design-based simulation experiments are carried out using the Mexican Intra Censal survey as a census of roughly 3.9 million households from which 500 samples are drawn using a two-stage selection procedure similar to that of Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) surveys. The estimation methods considered are that of Elbers, Lanjouw and Lanjouw (2003), the empirical best predictor of Molina and Rao (2010), the twofold nested error extension presented by Marhuenda et al. (2017), and finally an adaptation, presented by Nguyen (2012), that combines unit and area level information, and which has been proposed as an alternative when the available census data is outdated. The findings show the importance of selecting a proper model and data transformation so that model assumptions hold. A proper data transformation can lead to a considerable improvement in mean squared error (MSE). Results from design-based validation show that all small area estimation methods represent an improvement, in terms of MSE, over direct estimates. However, methods that model unit level welfare using only area level information suffer from considerable bias. Because the magnitude and direction of the bias is unknown ex ante, methods relying only on aggregated covariates should be used with caution, but may be an alternative to traditional area level models when these are not applicable.

Projecting food demand in 2030: Can Uganda attain the zero hunger goal?

A precarious food security situation implies that many countries in the Global South may not achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) of zero hunger by 2030. We focus on the case of Uganda and explore food demand and food security implications for 2030, where 33% (15 million) of the population of 44 million are poor. Matooke (cooking bananas), cassava, and (sweet) potatoes are traditional foods in Uganda; however, the consumption of maize, wheat, and rice has been rising with increases in income and urbanization. Using the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) datasets of Uganda, this study estimated the demand for matooke, cassava and potatoes, maize/coarse grains, wheat and rice, vegetables, and meat and fish in 2030. Our findings confirm that with increases in income and demographic changes, the demand for these food items will increase drastically. To attain SDG2 of zero hunger, as well as food and nutrition security, this study calls for further investments in Uganda's agricultural sector to enhance domestic production capacity to meet the growing demand for food.

Remittances and agricultural productivity in Burkina Faso

AbstractIn this paper, we examine the interplay between remittances and agricultural productivity in Burkina Faso. We estimate a Bayesian instrumental variables model using data from the 2014 Living Standards Measurement Study. We consider three measures of agricultural productivity: total production, total production per unit of land, and total production per unit of labor. Whatever the measure used, our results reveal a significant and negative association between remittances and agricultural productivity. We show that this effect is robust with respect to misspecification of the production function.