Zewdu, Abebe (2011) Dimensions and Determinants of Poverty among Rural Households: The Case of Itang Special District in Gambella, Ethiopia. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.
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Abstract
The current paper was designed to study the dimensions and determinants of rural household poverty in Itang special district of Gambella National Regional State of Western Ethiopia. Rural household poverty is usually determined by socio-economic, demographic, institutional and natural factors including vulnerabilities to disaster risks. The study focuses on features and factors determining household poverty in three rural kebeles, where the Annuak and Nuer ethnic groups reside. A total of 89 households drawn from Itang kir, Pukumu and Badel Kebele Administrations were involved in the study. The methodology employed in this study includes descriptive statistics and explanatory analysis based on the data collected through qualitative and quantitative methods. In particular, household survey, focus group discussion as well as key informant interview were used as part of collecting primary information. The Cost of Basic Needs approach was employed to set a poverty line. Besides, the Foster Greek Thorbecke method of poverty indices was employed to find out the level, incidence and severity of poverty among the poor and non-poor categories of the study households. This study showed the absolute poverty line of the households is Birr 1662.65 with the food poverty line of Birr 1334.96. Based on the findings, the total head count index is 0.438 which means 43.8 percent of the sampled households fall under the poverty line. It also indicated that the per capita consumption expenditure distribution, non-food expenditure per AEU of sample households, educational, age and sex of sampled household heads varied for poor and non-poor at less than 1% statistical level. There is a significant differences in poverty level among the poor and non poor sampled households in terms of factors such as the size of cultivated land, remittances, asset possession, income from off-farm and/or livestock. On the contrary, the poor study households have relatively low average family size, low dependency ratio and fewer hours of walking distance to market as compared to the non-poor; and thus the findings do not support the assumption stated in the research hypotheses. Based on the logit regression model out put, the study revealed that the total households’ income was significant at less than 1% probability level. Household size and household head age were found to be significant at less than 5 % while remittance and distance to the markets were significant at less than 10 % probability level. The remaining two variables, namely overall dependency ratio and access to extension service were not statistically significant. Meanwhile, the current study found out that recurring hazards such as inter ethnic conflict and floods which quickly turned in to disaster and subsequently incapacitates households’ resilience and contributes in keeping the study households and communities under the vicious cycle of poverty. Practices of social obligations like excessive dowry payment, sharing of household resource as well as alcoholism and disruptions of social cultural assets caused from a myriad of internal and external factors were found disincentive for saving and investment thereby contributes its own share in exacerbating the overall living conditions. This paper concludes by proposing a range of short-term and long-term intervention options to reduce poverty among poor households. Among others, the study highlights the need to consider policy and programs that seeks to address the structural causes of poverty and its vulnerabilities to attain food self sufficiency at household level thereby ultimately reduce poverty and its manifestations among the population in the study district.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Tim Khabala |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Aug 2018 14:06 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Aug 2018 14:06 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/4830 |
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