Gender and poverty: how we can be misled by the unitary model of household resources – the case of Tajikistan

Using the 2003 Tajikistan Living Standard Survey this paper looks at the relationship between gender and poverty and show how, by modifying the equal sharing assumption of the household resources, we can easily be misled by the poverty and gender relationship. This paper also shows how those gender analyses which use the female headed household and male headed household dichotomy in Tajikistan obscure the gender analysis of poverty due to the heterogeneity of female headed household types

Creating a poverty map for Azerbaijan

'Poverty maps' - graphic representations of spatially disaggregated estimates of welfare - are increasingly used to geographically target scare resources. But their development in many low resource settings is hampered due to data constraints. Data on income or consumption are often unavailable or direct survey estimates for small areas yield unacceptably large standard errors. Census data offer the required level of coverage but do not generally contain appropriate information. Alternative methods aim either at combining survey data with unit record data from the Census to produce estimates of income or expenditure for small areas or at developing alternative welfare rankings, such as asset indices, using existing census data. This paper develops a set of poverty maps for Azerbaijan. Two alternative approaches are adopted. First, a map is constructed using an asset index based on data from the 1999 Census to produce reliable estimates of welfare at the raion level. Second, an alternative map is derived using imputed household consumption, combining information from the 2002 Household Budget Survey (HBS) with 1999 Census data. This provides a unique opportunity to compare the welfare rankings obtained at the regional level under the two approaches

Staying in school: assessing the role of access, availability and cost

This paper investigates the role of contextual factors outside the household in determining whether or not a child attends basic education in Tajikistan. By combining data from the Tajikistan Living Standard Survey with data from a parallel community survey, aggregated census data at the jamoat (village) level, and spatial data, a series of variables are constructed which characterize the environment where the child lives. These variables serve as proxies for the accessibility and availability of school services, quality of education, opportunity cost of education in terms of the opportunities for income generating activities forgone, and level of economic development in the communities. Applying multilevel modelling techniques, the results show that contextual factors have a strong effect on school attendance. Accessibility of service and higher quality of school have a positive effect, however a high opportunity cost to education in a community exerts a negative effect on school attendance

Ethnic differences in transition to first marriage in Iran

This paper, using data from the 2000 Iran Demographic and Health Survey and a range of time-varying district-level contextual information derived from the 1986 and 1996 censuses of Iran, applies a discrete time hazard model to study ethnic differences in women’s transition to first marriage. The model specification accounts for both spatial and temporal changes in the socio-economic context of transition to marriage. We found ethnic-specific responses on women’s marriage timing to changes in the socio-economic context between the mid 1970s and 2000. Some ethnic groups appear to be more resistant to change despite sharing similar changes in their socio-economic context.development, education, ethnicity, Iran, marriage, marriage market, women status

The proximate determinants of fertility and birth intervals in Egypt

In this paper we use calendar data from the 2000 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) to assess the determinants of birth interval length among women who are in union. We make use of the well-known model of the proximate determinants of fertility, and take advantage of the fact that the DHS calendar data provide month-by-month data on contraceptive use, breastfeeding and post-partum amenorrhoea, which are the most important proximate determinants among women in union. One aim of the analysis is to see whether the calendar data are sufficiently detailed to account for all variation among individual women in birth interval duration, in that once they are controlled, the effect of background social, economic and cultural variables is not statistically significant. The results suggest that this is indeed the case, especially after a random effect term to account for the unobserved proximate determinants is included in the model. Birth intervals are determined mainly by the use of modern methods of contraception (the IUD being more effective than the pill). Breastfeeding and post-partum amenorrhoea both inhibit conception, and the effect of breastfeeding remains even after the period of amenorrhoea has ended.calendar data, contraceptive use, Egypt, fertility, proximate determinants, survival analysis

Hunger and Food Insecurity in Nairobi's Slums: An assessment using IRT models'

Although linked to poverty as conditions reflecting inadequate access to resources to obtain food, issues such as hunger and food insecurity have seldom been recognized as important in urban settings. Overall, little is known about the prevalence and magnitude of hunger and food insecurity in most cities. Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa where the majority of urban dwellers live on less than one dollar a day, it is obvious a large proportion of the urban population must be satisfied with just one meal a day. This paper suggests using the one- and two-parameter item response theory (IRT) models to infer a reliable and valid measure of hunger and food insecurity relevant to low income urban settings, drawing evidence from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS). The reliability and accuracy of the items are tested using both the Mokken Scale Analysis and the Cronbach test. The validity of the inferred household food insecurity measure is assessed by examining how it is associated with households? economic status. Results show that food insecurity is pervasive amongst slum dwellers in Nairobi. Only one household in five is food secure, and nearly half of all households are categorized as ?food insecure with both adult and child hunger?. Moreover, in line with what is known about household allocation of resources, evidence indicates that parents often forego food in order to prioritize their children. (229 words)Food insecurity; Hunger; Sub-Saharan Africa; Slum; Nairobi

Creating a Poverty Map for Azerbaijan

"Poverty maps"-that is, graphic representations of spatially disaggregated estimates of welfare-are being increasingly used to geographically target scarce resources. But the development of detailed poverty maps in many low resource settings is hampered because of data constraints. Data on income or consumption are often unavailable and, where they are, direct survey estimates for small areas are likely to yield unacceptably large standard errors due to limited sample sizes. Census data offer the required level of coverage but do not generally contain the appropriate information. This has led to the development of a range of alternative methods aimed either at combining survey data with unit record data from the census to produce estimates of income or expenditure for small areas or at developing alternative welfare rankings, such as asset indices, using existing census data. This paper develops a set of poverty maps for Azerbaijan that can be used by different users. Two alternative approaches to the measurement and mapping of welfare are adopted. First, a map is derived using imputed household consumption. This involves combining information from the 2002 Household Budget Survey (HBS) with 1999 census data. Second, an alternative map is constructed using an asset index based on data from the 1999 census to produce estimates of welfare at the rayon level. This provides a unique opportunity to compare the welfare rankings obtained at the regional level under the two alternative approaches. In order to visually present the spatially disgaggregated estimates of welfare in Azerbaijan, this paper has also produced a digital census map of Azerbaijan. This involved matching the census enumeration areas to a digital settlement map of Azerbaijan. Therefore, it is now possible for the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan to display graphically the results of the 1999 census of Azerbaijan along with other data.Rural Poverty Reduction,Economic Theory&Research,Poverty Lines,Poverty Diagnostics,Technology Industry

Support for the Ethiopian Health Sector Development Programme (Federal Ministry of Health MDG Performance Fund)

This Annual Review draws on the findings of the HSDP IV Mid Term Review (MTR), the FMOH’s Annual Performance Report and the Annual Review Mission. As the MDG PF supports implementation of the HSDP IV, this Annual Review examines the performance of the MDG PF as an instrument to achieve sector-wide progress

Expansion of the pacific northwest biochar atlas to a nation-wide decision support tool: Online resources for biochar users and producers

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