Multidimensional Poverty Research Articles

Breaking the chains of poverty: examining the influence of smartphone usage on multidimensional poverty in rural settings

We analyze the impact of smartphone usage on multidimensional poverty reduction. Utilizing the A-F approach, we compute a multidimensional poverty index based on five dimensions: education, health, income, living standard, and labor force. This index categorizes multidimensional poverty into three levels: Vulnerable Multidimensional Poverty Index (VMPI), General Multidimensional Poverty Index (GMPI), and Extreme Multidimensional Poverty Index (EMPI), following MPI criteria. Furthermore, we investigate the mediating role of social capital in the smartphone-multidimensional poverty relationship through a mediating effects analysis. We used the survey data of 382 sample out-of-poverty rural households in Jiangxi, China, in 2020. Our results indicated that: (1) Education (37.80%), labor force (29.7%), and health (20.40%) were identified as the primary contributors to multidimensional poverty. (2) Increasing deprivation categories correlated with declining multidimensional poverty index, following an inverted U-shaped pattern. (3) Smartphone usage significantly reduced VMPI (57.6%), GMPI (52.6%), and EMPI (5%). (4) Social capital fully mediated EMPI reduction through smartphones (91.67%), and partially mediated VMPI (14.09%) and GMPI (20.84%) reduction. These insights inform targeted policy formulation for rural multidimensional poverty reduction.

Can technological innovations contribute to more overcome the issue of poverty reduction in africa?

Although recent years have shown that innovation can also thrive in economies where the challenges of absolute poverty and inequality remain long-standing problems, the effects of innovation on poverty reduction has remained a largely unexplored field of investigation. . So this study assesses the effect of technological innovations on poverty reduction using a panel of 36 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2008 to 2019. More specifically, the study examines the influence of technological innovation on poverty reduction. Using the principal component analysis (PCA) we constructed an indicator of the use, adoption and adaptation of technological innovations and that of multidimensional poverty. After applying several estimation techniques for panel data such as fixed effects, Driscoll and Kraay, kiviet (2020), Lewbel two stage least square (Lewbel 2SLS), mediating effects, the results shows that technological innovations significantly reduce poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Our results survive several robustness checks. Taking into account the level of urbanization, it appears that technological innovations reduce poverty in countries with low urbanisation rates and increase it in countries with high urbanization rates. Finally, the analysis of mediation effects suggests that almost 30 % of the total effect of the use, adoption and adaptation of technological innovations on multidimensional poverty reduction is through the improvement of productivity in the industrial sector while 62.5 % is through the productivity of the agricultural sector. These results imply that poverty reduction policies in sub-Saharan Africa need to refocus on capacity building in the use, adoption and adaptation of technological innovations, particularly in the agricultural and industrial sectors.

Does land transfer help alleviate relative poverty in China? An analysis based on income and capability perspective

ABSTRACT By the end of 2020, China had achieved the goal of eradicating absolute poverty and entered an essential stage of consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation and promoting rural revitalization. In the future, poverty governance will shift towards relative poverty. Based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database and the propensity score matching model, this paper empirically analyses the alleviating effect of land transfer on relative poverty among rural households. The results show that land transfer can effectively alleviate the multidimensional relative poverty of rural households, and the effect of transferring out land is greater than that of transferring in land. In the future, to improve the land transfer system and promote rural revitalization, it is necessary to actively establish a long-term financial poverty alleviation system in rural areas to ensure a stable income for households that transfer in land, strengthen the construction and regulation of the land transfer market, and further improve the rural social security system to provide comprehensive social security for migrant workers who move to cities and agricultural operators who stay in rural areas.

Role of SHG Federations in Promoting Economic and Social Empowerment of Women: Empirical Evidence from a Project in Madhya Pradesh, India

Self-help group federations (SHGFs) in India have come to be recognized as catalytic drivers of women’s economic and social advancement. Over time, their role has expanded to promoting grassroots community leadership, village development and undertaking advocacy initiatives for women’s greater inclusion and participation in their households, communities, and economy. This paper expounds the role and impacts of SHGFs in promoting women’s economic and social empowerment in Madhya Pradesh, one of India’s most densely populated and poverty affected States. With over one third of its population (roughly 25 million people) living in poverty (as per Niti Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, 2021), the State lags behind in critical human development indicators such as malnutrition, infant mortality, education, health, lack of clean drinking water, skills and employment opportunities. Women disproportionately suffer the brunt of these challenges coupled with regressive social and cultural norms that subject them to myriad forms of marginalization and discrimination. Over the last decade, Hand in Hand India (HiHI), a leading NGO championing gender equality through job creation and financial inclusion has been actively working for women’s empowerment, livelihoods promotion and integrated community development in Madhya Pradesh. Under one of our projects in Madhya Pradesh, ‘UNITED: Bringing Unity to Improve Livelihoods and Women Empowerment,’ we worked with a network of 200 SHGFs representing over 20,400 women over 3 years, between 2019 and 2022, where a majority of the women came from backward communities and were supported with integrated training and capacity building programs for livelihoods promotion. Additionally, SHGFs were trained and mentored to become frontrunners for advancing enterprise creation, women’s empowerment and community development. This paper presents empirical evidence of positive transformations witnessed in women’s social and economic spheres that enabled them to expand their agency and improve their lives, livelihoods and communities in significant ways.

The Afrocentric Imperative in Tackling African Environmental Challenges: Afroecosolidarity Perspectives

Africa is not exempted from environmental challenges. Environmental challenges in the continent include desertification, deforestation, soil erosion, gas flaring, overpopulation, resource wars, multidimensional poverty, oil spillage and pollution. The challenge is that in the process of seeking solutions to the environmental crisis in Africa, solutions rooted in African indigenous ecological values may be neglected or sidelined in preference for Western or Eurocentric ideologies and philosophies. This paper argues that there is a need to pay attention to environmental solutions based on indigenous ecological ideals and values. African solutions to her environmental problems should be Afrocentric, sourced from an Afroecosolidarity perspective. A critical hermeneutic and analytic method is adopted here to help understand the issues that the paper deals with. The paper finds that there is an undue privileging of Western ideas in the search for solutions to African environmental problems. The paper concludes that solutions to African environmental problems should be both Afrocentric and also informed by the value of Afroecosolidarity

Households’ Factors Influencing Choice of Waste Management Strategies in Lagos State, Nigeria

The study examined the factors influencing Households' choice of waste management strategies in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. In the first stage, two states (Lagos state and Ogun state) were purposively selected based on their well-organized waste management systems, relatively advanced waste management arrangements and close proximity. In the second stage, three LGAs were purposively selected from Lagos state, while three LGAs were selected in Ogun state considering well-organized waste management systems. In the third stage, a stratified sampling technique was used to select four communities from each LGA into two different strata, namely: high-income and low-income stratum. In the fourth stage, fifteen respondents were selected using a systematic sampling technique. In all, 360 respondents were used for the study. 
 Primary and secondary data collected from 360 respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multidimensional poverty index, multinomial logit, regression model, contingent valuation and probit regression model. The average age of the household head was 47 years, which implies that the respondents were mostly middle-aged people who were still within their economically active age group. This is expected to positively influence the respondents' decision-making as they would be making sound decisions regarding waste management since they are likely to be more exposed to different health-related information. The result further proves that the majority (51.1%) of the household heads in Lagos and Ogun States were male. The higher percentage of male-headed households in the study area suggests that they were the breadwinners of their respective households. The Multinomial logistic regression result showed that years spent in school, household size, cost of waste disposal, membership of cooperative, biodegradable and transfer payment were the major factors that determine the acceptance of waste management strategies alternatives available in the study area.

Multidimensional Energy Poverty in West Africa: Implication for Women’s Subjective Well-being and Cognitive Health

Multidimensional Energy Poverty in West Africa: Implication for Women’s Subjective Well-being and Cognitive Health

How do household living conditions and gender-related decision-making influence child stunting in Rwanda? A population-based study.

Child stunting (chronic undernutrition) is a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. In Rwanda, an estimated 33% of children are affected. This study investigated the household living conditions and the impact of gender-related decision-making on child stunting. The findings contribute to ongoing discussion on this critical public health issue. In December 2021, a population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Rwanda's Northern Province; 601 women with children aged 1-36 months were included. Stunting was assessed using low height-for-age criteria. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was used to determine household socioeconomic status. Researcher-designed questionnaires evaluated gender-related factors such as social support and household decision-making. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified risk factor patterns. Six hundred and one children were included in the study; 27.1% (n = 163) were diagnosed as stunted; there was a higher prevalence of stunting in boys (60.1%) than girls (39.9%; p<0.001). The MPI was 0.265 with no significant difference between households with stunted children (MPI, 0.263; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.216-0.310) and non-stunted children (MPI, 0.265; 95% CI, 0.237-0.293). Most households reported a lack of adequate housing (78.9%), electricity (63.0%), good water sources (58.7%), and proper toilets (57.1%). Male-headed households dominated (92% vs. 8.0%; p = 0.018), and women often shared decision-making with their partners. However, 26.4% of women reported forced sexual intercourse within marriage (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.81; 95% CI, 1.15-2.85). Lack of support during illness ([OR], 1.93; 95% CI, 1.13-3.28) and absence of personal guidance (OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.41-4.26) were significantly associated with child stunting. Poverty contributes to child stunting in the Northern Province of Rwanda. Limited social support and women's lack of decision-making power in the household increase stunting rates. Interventions should empower women and address the broader social and economic context to promote both women's and children's health.

Multidimensional Poverty: Complementary Measure to Absolute and Relative Poverty

Poverty is a complex issue that involves more than just income levels, affecting various aspects of life such as health, education, and living conditions. The ongoing discussion about how to measure poverty, whether through absolute or relative terms, reflects the challenges in assessing it. Absolute poverty is based on a set standard that focuses on meeting basic needs for survival, while relative poverty looks at income disparities within a society. This study explores existing research on multidimensional poverty and examines the debate between absolute and relative poverty measures, considering their respective advantages and disadvantages. A notable conclusion from the research is that multidimensional poverty indices (MPIs), like the Multidimensional Poverty Index, provide a broad view of deprivation by including multiple factors. MPIs help policymakers design more targeted interventions in areas such as education, healthcare, and living standards. However, absolute poverty measures, such as the World Bank’s $1.90-per-day threshold, are still essential for tracking extreme poverty in developing nations, offering a clear benchmark for international comparisons. In contrast, relative poverty measures are particularly relevant in wealthier nations, where inequality and social exclusion are more prominent factors in poverty. This study highlights gaps in how these different approaches are integrated and calls for further research to improve models that address both absolute and relative poverty. The findings suggest that combining multidimensional, absolute, and relative poverty measures is important for fully understanding poverty and creating effective strategies to reduce it, adapted to the needs of specific regions and contexts.

Multi-dimensional poverty and health outcomes in Ghana

There is evidence on the social gradient in health in multiple settings. Recent research is increasingly focused on linkages between multidimensional poverty and health to capture and ascertain the role of non-monetary factors on individuals' health. In this paper, using the 2018/19 wave of the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey (GSEPS) and the country's newly introduced multidimensional poverty index, bivariate correlations and regression analyses are carried out to explore associations between household multidimensional poverty and a series of health outcomes, including physical and mental health. There is evidence of significant subgroup differences across the country by gender, rural/urban residence, education, and region. Regression analyses consistently indicate that poorer mental and physical health outcomes are positively and significantly correlated with greater multidimensional poverty. Robustness tests indicate that deprivations in electricity access, safe sanitation and education are particularly relevant. Findings suggest the importance of a more equal geographical distribution of social amenities and infrastructure, as well as adequate targeting of policies to reduce health inequalities across the country and achieve a more equitable and inclusive distribution of resources within the country.

Emprego fora da fazenda e pobreza multidimensional: evidências empíricas da bacia do rio Amarelo na China

ABSTRACT: As an essential way to enhance farmers’ self-development ability, off-farm employment plays an indispensable role in farmers’ multidimensional poverty reduction in many countries. Employing a survey of 1926 farmers in five provinces of the Yellow River Basin in China, this paper examined the multi-dimensional poverty reduction effect of off-farm employment and the heterogeneous influence of different dimensions of off-farm employment (modes, levels, distances and frequency). The results showed that (1) although absolute poverty in the income dimension was largely eliminated in the Yellow River Basin, the poverty in social resources, transportation facilities, employment security were the key bottlenecks restricting farmers’ self-development. (2) The province with the best multidimensional poverty reduction effect for non-farm employment was Shaanxi, with the largest contribution to employment security. (3) Improving off-farm employment level, distance and time can significantly alleviate the multi-dimensional poverty of farmers. Therefore, to lessen the multi-dimensional poverty of farmers in the Yellow River Basin, it is necessary to focus on the governance of multi-dimensional key poverty-stricken areas, such as the middle and upper courses of the Yellow River, adopting multidimensional poverty alleviation strategy of off-farm employment according to local conditions, working on the farmers’ deficiencies in social resources, mobility, employment security, and deepening the effect of off-farm employment on benefiting farmers and helping the poor.

Contrasting monetary and multidimensional poverty in India: a spatial perspective

The present study makes a comparative analysis on the spatial pattern of poverty by considering both monetary and multidimensional approach and assesses the variation or gap in poverty estimation. Two latest available datasets i.e. NSSO data of planning commission report regarding monetary or consumption poverty and the baseline report on multidimensional poverty by NITI Aayog have been used. Our analysis shows that significant interstate disparities are observed in the spatial concentration of poverty applying two different approaches. Extreme monetary poverty persist in states like Chhattisgarh (39.9 percent), Karnataka (37.0 percent), Meghalaya (36.9 percent) etc. whereas extreme multidimensional poverty exists in Bihar (51.9 percent) followed by Jharkhand (42.2 percent). The result reveals the fact that though monetary poverty and multidimensional poverty are associated with each other the strength of relationship between these two approaches is not strong enough. The study strongly recommends the incorporation of the multidimensional approach along with the consumption approach to measure poverty which has high policy relevance.

An Analytical Study of Multidimensional Poverty in Urban and Rural Areas of Iran

This study aims to measure and analyze multidimensional poverty in Iran using the Alkire-Foster (AF) index across five dimensions: education, employment, living standards, health, and housing. The study period covers the years 2017 to 2019. The results indicate that approximately 28% of individuals in rural areas and 25% in urban areas are poor. Additionally, about 51% of the poor live in rural areas, while 49% reside in urban areas. The highest deprivation in both regions pertains to employment, accounting for around 40%. In other dimensions, deprivation rates are 16% in education, 4% in living standards, 24.5% in health, and 15.5% in housing. The multidimensional poverty index (MPI) is calculated to be 10% for urban areas and 11.5% for rural areas. The findings show that women, particularly in the education dimension, experience higher levels of deprivation in both urban and rural areas. This study demonstrates that poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, and effective policies for poverty reduction must address all its dimensions. Based on the results, improving employment conditions and enhancing living standards are primary priorities for reducing poverty. Additionally, special attention to improving health and education services, especially for women, is essential. The research indicates that targeted and precise policies can significantly reduce poverty and social inequalities.

Pobreza multidimensional no Brasil: evidências para as áreas rurais e urbanas

Abstract This paper studied the behavior of multidimensional and income poverty, as well as its determinants in Brazil, in addition to rural and urban areas, based on information from the 2019 National Continuous Household Sample Survey (PNADC). The Alkire-Foster methodology was used in the construction of a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), in addition to the logit model to estimate the impacts of determinants related to household characteristics on poverty. The health and sanitation dimension was the one that contributed the most to the MPI, followed by the education and housing dimensions. Unidimensional poverty was greater than multidimensional and rural poverty was also greater. Among the determinants of poverty, being in households with non-white heads, younger, unmarried, unemployed, less educated and in the North and Northeast regions increased the chances of poverty. In addition, while female heads reduced the chances of multidimensional poverty, it increased the chances of the unidimensional one.

Internet usage and household energy poverty

Abstract Based on the double critical value method and the data of the China Household Panel Survey from 2014 to 2023, this paper measures the multidimensional relative household energy poverty in China. After confirming the impact of income poverty on energy poverty, this paper explores the formation mechanism of energy poverty from the perspective of opportunity acquisition. It explores the occurrence path of “opportunity access-income poverty-energy poverty” of residents by combining the structural equation model. Finally, the impact of Internet use on energy poverty was investigated through multiple regression analysis. According to the study, China’s official poverty line is about 2.0 US dollars, and the energy poverty line has increased by 49.6% in 2022 compared with 197.2 yuan in 2018. In the empirical analysis of access level and energy poverty, the coefficient of Internet learning is 0.311. Further, adding the moderating effect model regression results of the interaction term shows that the Internet penetration rate has a significant positive impact on multidimensional energy poverty. When it is increased by 1%, the multidimensional energy poverty is reduced by 9.25%.

Poverty line and multidimensional poverty index through Sustainable Development Goals in Indonesia

Poverty line and multidimensional poverty index through Sustainable Development Goals in Indonesia

The Impact of IoT on the Performance of Vaccine Supply Chain Distribution in the COVID-19 Context

The Government of India has started the distribution of the Covishield and Covaxin vaccines across all the comprising states. In developing states like Bihar, the vaccine supply chain (VSC) is likely to face many challenges due to poor health infrastructure, multidimensional poverty, and poor literacy. Supply chain practitioners are experimenting with available technologies to deal with supply, demand, and behavioral challenges. The present research work seeks to inspect the potential impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on the performance of the VSC. This study draws literature on the impact of IoT on product management, demand management, supply management, social behavior, and government rules and regulations to develop and test the conceptual model in Bihar. Consequently, the study administrated a survey and used structural equation modeling to investigate the proposed hypothesis. The analysis illustrates the positive influence of IoT adoption on the performance of the VSC in distributing the COVID vaccine. The finding also shows the positive relationship between product, supply, demand, and social behavior in IoT adoption. Analysis displays that Indian politicians can substantially impact vaccine distribution because they have influence and awareness of their local districts. This research work has a significant theoretical and managerial contribution for government and practitioners, supporting regulatory officials and policymakers in improving vaccine distribution.

Compounding impacts of COVID-19, cyclone and price crash on vanilla farmers' food security and natural resource use.

The intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic with other crises can amplify vulnerabilities and push communities further into poverty. In low-income countries, the dual impacts of COVID-19 and extreme weather events, along with multidimensional poverty and structural vulnerabilities in agriculture can decimate farmer livelihoods. This study aims to understand the effects of individual and compounding crises (COVID-19, cyclones, and vanilla price collapse) on smallholder vanilla farmers and local coping strategies in Madagascar, one of the world's largest vanilla producers and poorest countries. We used semi-structured and scenario-based interviews across two case study villages with contrasting enforcement of forest regulations. We found that the impact of the pandemic, combined with the cyclone event, disrupted livelihoods, resulting in income losses and food security challenges that exacerbated farmer vulnerabilities. Sixty eight percent of households reported crop losses due to strong winds and heavy rainfall brought by cyclone Enawo in 2017. The COVID-19 outbreak struck the region just as the residents were recovering from the effects of the cyclone. COVID-19-related travel restrictions in the aftermath of the cyclone took a substantial economic toll, with 54.1% of respondents experiencing a decline in earnings, and 17% facing a total loss of income due to the imposed lockdown. The decline in vanilla prices at the onset of 2020 had a far-reaching additional impact, affecting not only farmers but also residents who rely on other sources of income. Local communities reported using the forest resources more frequently as a safety net during crises in the village with more lenient regulations. This study underscores the importance of understanding the interconnectedness and compounding impacts of cascading crises on food security and natural resource use. We highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to increasing farmer resilience, particularly for those reliant on global market crops such as vanilla.

Headship of Household and Multidimensional Poverty in Sudan: An Empirical Analysis for The Case of Al Manqil Locality, 2023

Headship of Household and Multidimensional Poverty in Sudan: An Empirical Analysis for The Case of Al Manqil Locality, 2023

Headship of Household and Multidimensional Poverty in Sudan: An Empirical Analysis for the Case of Al Manqil Locality, 2023

Headship of Household and Multidimensional Poverty in Sudan: An Empirical Analysis for the Case of Al Manqil Locality, 2023