Issues in Comparing Poverty Trends Over Time in Cote d'Ivoire

No AccessPolicy Research Working Papers21 Jun 2013Issues in Comparing Poverty Trends Over Time in Cote d'IvoireAuthors/Editors: Christine Jones, Xiao YeChristine Jones, Xiao Yehttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-1711SectionsAboutPDF (4.5 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:January 1997 Exploring poverty trends across regions and socioeconomic groups raises questions about the pattern of change and the reliability of the data and the methods used to derive poverty estimates. Secondary data cast some doubt on certain survey findings, suggesting that they may be more an artifact of survey data than a reflection of real economic trends. Cote d'Ivoire is one of the few African countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that conducted household surveys between 1985 and 1995. These surveys make it possible to trace changes in urban and rural poverty and changes in poverty among different socioeconomic groups. During the decade surveyed, the country experienced a major recession. Economic recovery began only with the devaluation of the CFA franc in January 1994. Poverty increased substantially during the recession and did not diminish in the year after devaluation, in part because much of the increase in export crop prices, especially for cocoa, was taxed away. Moreover, the effects of the recession and devaluation were not uniform. Between 1988 and 1993, urban poverty increased faster than rural poverty did, though mean expenditures in urban areas remained substantially above mean expenditures in rural areas. And food crop farmers apparently suffered more than export crop farmers. These trends persisted after devaluation. But exploring poverty trends across regions and socioeconomic groups raises questions about the patterns of change and the reliability of the data and the methods used to derive poverty estimates. Secondary data cast some doubt on certain survey findings, suggesting that they may be more an artifact of the survey data than a reflection of real economic trends. These problems are not unique to Cote d'Ivoire. Results from surveys in Uganda and to a lesser extent Ghana have also raised issues of comparability. The ability to draw reliable conclusions from time-series data is crucial for our understanding of how policy reform affects poverty. Far more attention must be paid to comparison issues in designing surveys and analyzing data. Attention must also be paid to developing better regional and temporal price indices, if reliable time series data are to be generated for Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper - a product of the Macroeconomics and Growth Division, Policy Research Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to understand the link between economic policy change and poverty. Previous bookNext book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByJump spillovers in energy futures markets: Implications for diversification benefitsEnergy Economics, Vol.34, No.5Nonparametric Methods in Continuous-Time Finance: A Selective Review **We thank Haitao Li for his valuable and helpful comments. Cai's research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation grant iJMS-0072J00 and funds provided by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Sonderforschungsbereich 373, Berlin, Germany. Hong's research was supported, in part, by the National Scient:" Foundation grant SES-0111769. View Published: November 1999 Copyright & Permissions Related RegionsAfricaRelated CountriesGuernseyRelated TopicsIndustryAgricultureRural DevelopmentHealth Nutrition and PopulationMacroeconomics and Economic GrowthPoverty ReductionFinance and Financial Sector Development KeywordsEXTREME POVERTYEXTREME POVERTY LINEFARM INCOMEFARMERSFOOD CROPFOOD EXPENDITUREFOOD PRICESHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSMACROECONOMIC STABILITYPOORPOVERTYPOVERTY ESTIMATESRURALRURAL AREASRURAL CONTRIBUTIONRURAL INCOMESRURAL POVERTYRURAL REGIONSRURAL SECTOR Loading

Art · Cote d ivoire · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Humanities · Poverty · Socioeconomics · Income, Poverty, and Inequality

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