Other Poverty Study

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Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than 1 billion people, half of whom will be under 25 years old by 2050, is a diverse ...

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  • Publication
    Informing Durable Solutions for Internal Displacement in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan: Country Case Studies
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04-18) World Bank Group
    Understanding forced displacement and developing effective solutions requires closing several critical gaps in the data. With forced displacement rising worldwide, the body of work on displacement is growing rapidly. Data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) are particularly problematic, as the distinction between IDPs and internal migrants are not consistent across countries, and as the presence and number of IDPs is often politicized. While efforts have been made to create standardized frameworks for collecting quantitative data on forced displacement, important data gaps persist. This study helps to close data gaps by using micro-level data to profile IDPs. The report uses micro-data, defined as individual and household-level data that is collected directly through personal interviews. Comprehensive micro-data surveys cover IDP populations in four countries in Sub Saharan Africa: Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. The micro-data surveys represent IDPs, refugees, and non-displaced populations. The analysis is guided by the durable solutions indicator framework while the policy insights focus on overcoming displacement-induced vulnerability. The analysis examines the demographic structure of IDP and resident populations and draws on reasons triggering displacement.
  • Publication
    Informing Durable Solutions for Internal Displacement in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan: Overview
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04-18) World Bank Group
    Understanding forced displacement and developing effective solutions requires closing several critical gaps in the data. With forced displacement rising worldwide, the body of work on displacement is growing rapidly. Data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) are particularly problematic, as the distinction between IDPs and internal migrants are not consistent across countries, and as the presence and number of IDPs is often politicized. While efforts have been made to create standardized frameworks for collecting quantitative data on forced displacement, important data gaps persist. This study helps to close data gaps by using micro-level data to profile IDPs. The report uses micro-data, defined as individual and household-level data that is collected directly through personal interviews. Comprehensive micro-data surveys cover IDP populations in four countries in Sub Saharan Africa: Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. The micro-data surveys represent IDPs, refugees, and non-displaced populations. The analysis is guided by the durable solutions indicator framework while the policy insights focus on overcoming displacement-induced vulnerability. The analysis examines the demographic structure of IDP and resident populations and draws on reasons triggering displacement.
  • Publication
    Informing Durable Solutions for Internal Displacement in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan: Technical Aspects
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04-18) World Bank Group
    Understanding forced displacement and developing effective solutions requires closing several critical gaps in the data. With forced displacement rising worldwide, the body of work on displacement is growing rapidly. Data on internally displaced persons (IDPs) are particularly problematic, as the distinction between IDPs and internal migrants are not consistent across countries, and as the presence and number of IDPs is often politicized. While efforts have been made to create standardized frameworks for collecting quantitative data on forced displacement, important data gaps persist. This study helps to close data gaps by using micro-level data to profile IDPs. The report uses micro-data, defined as individual and household-level data that is collected directly through personal interviews. Comprehensive micro-data surveys cover IDP populations in four countries in Sub Saharan Africa: Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. The micro-data surveys represent IDPs, refugees, and non-displaced populations. The analysis is guided by the durable solutions indicator framework while the policy insights focus on overcoming displacement-induced vulnerability. The analysis examines the demographic structure of IDP and resident populations and draws on reasons triggering displacement.
  • Publication
    Mauritius: Earnings Mobility and Inequality of Opportunity in the Labor Market
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03-22) World Bank Group
    This report sheds light on the extent to which earnings mobility and inequality of opportunity in access to the labor market have contributed to the increase in earnings inequality in Mauritius. Among the most important concerns about rising inequality is a situation where people become trapped in low-paying jobs and do not have the opportunity to improve their welfare through their own efforts. For this reason, this report takes a closer look at the extent and nature of earnings mobility and inequality of opportunity in the Mauritian labor market.
  • Publication
    Mauritius Addressing Inequality through More Equitable Labor Markets
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03-26) World Bank Group
    Mauritius is often cited as one of the few African success stories, and with good reason. In the aftermath of independence (1968), this small island nation in the Indian Ocean seemed to be bound for economic failure because of its high poverty rate and numerous vulnerabilities, including high population growth, ethnic tensions, substantial unemployment, and an economy greatly dependent on the production of sugar for international markets. However, Mauritius was successful in diversifying the economy and accomplishing an unprecedented structural transformation.The Inclusiveness of Growth and Shared Prosperity report (World Bank 2015a) turned the spotlight on the expanding gap of inequality in household incomes that occurred between 2007 and 2012 and on the negative impact on poverty. The report estimates that the incidence of absolute poverty between 2007 and 2012 would have declined twice as quickly had growth been shared more widely and inequality not worsened. Building on these earlier findings, this study investigates the driving forces behind the growing income inequality and identifies policy levers that could mitigate and, in the long run, possibly reverse the upward trend.This study takes a comprehensive approach to the determinants of inequality by including the role of the choices of households and individuals, markets, and institutions. The report is structured as follows. Chapter one sets the stage by presenting stylized facts on the trends in household income inequality between 2001 and 2015, comparing these trends with trends in consumption inequality, and identifying the main culprit behind the rapidly rising inequality in household incomes, that is, household labor income. Chapter two supplies a set of descriptive trends of the two groups of factors, namely, household demographics and labor market forces, that contribute to changes in household laborincome and follows up with a decomposition exercise on changes in household labor income between 2001 and 2015.Because the analysis indicates that an unequal increase in female labor force participation and rising inequality in individual earnings are among the main contributors to the expanding inequality in household labor income, Chapter three takes a deep dive into the issue of gender inequality in the labor market. The chapter illustrates the gender gap in labor market participation, describes the differences in the activities of working women in the labor market relative to men, and concludes with a detailed analysis of gender gaps in wages separately in the public and private sectors. Chapter four resumes the main analysis of the drivers of increasing inequality in individual earnings. The chapter first presents stylized facts about overall inequality in wages and then separates out changes in inequality between and within groups defined by demographic characteristics. The chapter distinguishes the role of changes in prices (or wages) and the role of changes in the composition of the workforce in rising earnings inequality. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the analysis of the role of the main potential drivers of expanding earnings inequality. The possible candidates include the interaction of changes in labor supply and labor demand, giving rise to skills shortages or surpluses, and changes in labor market institutions, namely, remuneration orders (ROs). The chapter concludes with an analysis of an additional source of skills mismatches among the employed population, namely, education mismatches, and advances potential explanations for the coexistence of a substantial skills shortage, over education, particularly among youth, and a large share of highly educated youth among the unemployed.
  • Publication
    Findings of the Mozambique Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Poverty Diagnostic
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-03-01) World Bank Group
    The Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Poverty Diagnostic in Mozambique is part of a global initiative to improve the evidence base on the linkages between WASH, human development, and poverty. The Diagnostic provides a detailed analysis of sector status, strengths and weaknesses to inform the conditions needed to attain the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim not only for universal access but for safely managed water and sanitation coverage. This report summarizes three background papers of this activity; the first containing the overall summary of findings, a dossier of sector data, and lessons and recommendations; then two technical reports that cover (i) the detailed information and data on the linkages between WASH, health and human development outcomes, and (ii) the analysis of the main institutional barriers that exist in the rural water subsector. The report presents updated evidence and data using diverse analytical tools that contribute to understand why and how WASH investments could be coordinated with other sectors to improve human development outcomes, such as reduced childhood stunting. The information presented in this comprehensive report explores water supply service quality, affordability and availability and offers conceptual framework and institutional diagnostic applied to the rural water sector, where services have been lagging behind in terms of coverage over the past decades.
  • Publication
    A Wake Up Call: Nigeria Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Poverty Diagnostic
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-08) World Bank Group
    This report offers an overview of the state of WASH services in the country. It draws from a number of national data sources, desk reviews, and original research to analyze service delivery in the country and assess the sector’s performance. It offers an overview of poverty in Nigeria, considers the relationship between poverty and WASH, explores demographic patterns influencing access to WASH, and analyzes the relationship between WASH and child health outcomes. Further, it evaluates the performance of water agencies, examines and identifies institutional bottlenecks, offers insights on how to make the sector more efficient and sustainable, conducts a public expenditure review (PER) of the WASH sector, and explores the organization of the institutional landscape for urban water supply in Bauchi City. The report concludes with recommendations for tackling the current crisis of WASH services in Nigeria.
  • Publication
    Accelerating Poverty Reduction in Mozambique: Challenges and Opportunities
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-10-09) World Bank Group
    Over the past two decades Mozambique enjoyed robust and accelerating economic growth, yet strong economic progress only translated into modest poverty reduction. Not only poverty fell at slower pace than expected but the gains in income and consumption growth are unevenly distributed across the country and across groups of people. Some parts of the country –especially the center and the north– account for a disproportionate share of the poor. Overall, urban provinces tend to have lower poverty rates than rural provinces, particularly those in the central and northern parts of the country. Three factors contribute to the low equity outcomes in Mozambique: (i) unequal access to economic opportunities across regions and income groups; (ii) low productivity and market-based growth in agriculture; and (iii) high vulnerability to weather shocks. Growth could have had a much larger impact on poverty reduction in Mozambique if its effects had not been offset by the observed increase in inequality. Accelerating poverty reduction requires addressing structural factors that undermine the inclusiveness of growth. The returns to growth have to be distributed more widely to invest in the most isolated parts of the country in for these regions to be able to seize the economic opportunities brought about by economic expansion and close the gap with the rest of the country. There is a need to deepen the investments in the human, physical and institutional capital of the country. Finally, given the high exposure of Mozambique to natural disasters, it is necessary to strengthen formal and informal risk management systems to avoid that the living standards of the population are highly influenced by major shocks out of their control.
  • Publication
    Mauritius: Inclusiveness of Growth and Shared Prosperity
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-09) World Bank Group
    Mauritius is a high middle-income country with low levels of poverty and inequality. The headcount poverty level was 6.9 percent in 2012; measured by the international standard of United States (U.S.) $2 per day (PPP), poverty was less than 1 percent. On inequality, Mauritius also fared well compared to its peer middle-income countries. On the negative side, Mauritius’ growth has not been equally shared, despite the general improvement in welfare. The economy’s polarization was associated with a structural transformation from labor-intensive industries to services and knowledge-intensive industries. Inclusiveness remains the main challenge for the current growth pattern. When Mauritius will be able to become a high-income country will depend on its ability to improve the labor force’s skill set, develop infrastructure, and further improve the business environment to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and generate domestic investment. Reduction in inequality and boost of shared prosperity will require more growth and a more pro-poor pattern of growth. An increase in female labor force participation, reduction of high youth unemployment rates, improving the efficiency of the social protection system will reduce growing skills mismatch facilitating inclusive growth and eradicating poverty in Mauritius.
  • Publication
    Forced Displacement and Mixed Migration in the Horn of Africa
    (World Bank, Washington, DC and UNHCR, Geneva, 2015-06-25) World Bank Group; UNHCR
    The Horn of Africa (HOA) covers Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. Despite its rich endowment in human, social, and natural capital, the region is plagued by a complex history of weak governance, insecurity, increasing environmental degradation, entrenched poverty, and a range of persistent development challenges. Conflict remains endemic in the region. The complex cultural, social, and political nature of these conflicts is compounded by demographic shifts due both to population growth and the movement of people, as well as imbalanced service provision, inaccessibility, the growing threat of pandemic diseases, increasing conflicts over scarce natural resources, and harsh climatic conditions including frequent droughts and floods. This study sought to analyze the forced displacement and development nexus, explore the mixed migration phenomenon, assess the impacts of refugees and migrants on hosting areas and communities, identify ongoing innovative interventions, and propose entry points and practical steps to address the development dimensions of forced displacement and mixed migration in the HOA, including regional operations, institutional reforms, and policy changes.