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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Inequality in Southern Africa: An Assessment of the Southern African Customs Union

(Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is the most unequal region in the world. While there has been some progress in recent years, inequality has remained almost stagnant in the most unequal countries. Using an innovative framework, this report provides a systematic and comprehensive analysis of inequality in the region. The main conclusions are as follows: first, inherited circumstances over which an individual has little or no control (i.e., inequality of opportunity) drive overall inequality, and their contribution has increased in recent years. This is an important concern particularly because this type of inequality is not the result of people’s efforts. Second, lack of access to jobs and means of production (education, skills, land, among others) by disadvantaged populations slows progress towards a more equitable income distribution. In a context where jobs are scarce, having post-secondary or tertiary education is key to both accessing jobs, and obtaining better wages once employed. Third, fiscal policy helps reduce inequality through the use of targeted transfers, social spending, and progressive taxation, but results are below expectation given the level of spending. Fourth, vulnerability to climate risks and economic shocks makes any gains towards a more equal society fragile. Looking ahead, accelerating inequality reduction will require concerted action in three policy areas: (a) expanding coverage and quality of education, health, and basic services across subregions and disadvantaged populations to reduce inequality of opportunity; (b) strengthening access to and availability of private sector jobs. It is important to accompany structural reforms with measures that facilitate entrepreneurship and skills acquisition of disadvantaged populations, and to improve land distribution and productivity in rural areas; and (c) investing in adaptive social protection systems to increase resilience to climate risks and economic vulnerability, while enhancing targeting of safety net programs for more efficient use of fiscal resources.
COVID-19 Impact Monitoring: Malawi, Round 5

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01) World Bank

In May 2020, the National Statistical Office (NSO), with support from the World Bank, launched the High-Frequency Phone Survey on COVID-19, (coronavirus) which tracks the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic on a monthly basis for a period of 12 months. The survey aimed to recontact the entire sample of households that had been interviewed during the Integrated Household Panel Survey (IHPS) 2019 round and that had a phone number for at least one household member or a reference individual. This report presents the findings from the fifth round of the survey that was conducted during the period of October 29 - November 16, 2020.
COVID-19 Impact Monitoring: Nigeria, Round 7-8

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12-21) National Bureau of Statistics ; World Bank

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and its economic and social effects on households have created an urgent need for timely data to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the crisis and protect the welfare of Nigerian society. To monitor how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the economy and people of Nigeria and to inform policy interventions and responses, the National Bureau of Statistics with technical support from the World Bank implemented the Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (COVID-19 NLPS). This brief presents findings from the seventh and eighth rounds of this survey which was conducted between November 7-23, 2020 and December 5-21, 2020 respectively.
Monitoring COVID-19 Impacts on Households in South Sudan, Report No. 1: Results from a High-Frequency Phone Survey of Households

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-22) Finn, Arden ; von der Goltz, Jan ; Fatima, Freeha ; Nichanametla Ramasubbaiah, Rakesh Gupta

There is an urgent need for timely data to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and protect the welfare of the South Sudanese citizens. To respond to this need, the World Bank designed and conducted a rapid phone-based Household Monitoring Survey (HMS). This brief summarizes the results of the first round of the HMS, implemented between June 9 and June 25, 2020.
COVID-19 Impact Monitoring the the Household Level: Burkina Faso, Bulletin No. 2

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10) World Bank

This note presents the results of the second round of a nationally representative telephone survey (HFPS). Data collection took place between July 20 and August 14, 2020. The 1,968 households that were successfully interviewed during the first round were called and 1,860 (94.5 percent of the 1,968) were interviewed with success in the second round. In addition, 242 additional household were sampled in the rural strata during the second round, in order to increase representativeness in this area. Of the 242 households in the sample, 177 households (73.14 percent of 242 attempts) were contacted and interviewed successfully. The entire sample of the second round includes 2,037 households. For this second round, the questionnaire includes two key modules that were already administered in the first pass, namely, access to food and basic services (health, education, etc.), and employment and income. Four new modules are added, covering the following themes : food security, shocks, fragility, conflict and violence.
COVID-19 Impact Monitoring: Nigeria, Round 5

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-09-21) National Bureau of Statistics ; World Bank

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and social effects on households have created an urgent need for timely data to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the crisis and protect the welfare of Nigerian society. To monitor how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the economy and people of Nigeria and to inform policy interventions and responses, the National Bureau of Statistics with technical support from the World Bank implemented the Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (COVID-19 NLPS). This brief presents findings from the fifth round of this survey which was conducted between September 7 and 21, 2020.
COVID-19 Impact Monitoring: Nigeria, Round 3

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-07) World Bank

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and its economic and social effects on households have created an urgent need for timely data to help monitor and mitigate the social and economic impacts of the crisis and protect the welfare of Nigerian society. To monitor how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is affecting the economy and people of Nigeria and to inform policy interventions and responses, the National Bureau of Statistics with technical support from the World Bank implemented the Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (COVID-19 NLPS). This brief presents findings from the third round of this survey which was conducted between July 6 and 20, 2020.
COVID-19 Impact Monitoring: Uganda, Round 1

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06-20) World Bank

In June 2020, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, with the support from the World Bank, has launched the High-Frequency Phone Survey on COVID-19 to track the impacts of the pandemic on a monthly basis for a period of 12 months. The survey aimed to re-contact the entire sample of households that had been interviewed during the Uganda National Panel Survey 2019/20 round and that had phone numbers for at least one household member or a reference individual. This report presents the findings from the first round of the survey that was conducted during the period of June 3-20, 2020.
From Isolation to Integration: The Borderlands of the Horn of Africa

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03-01) World Bank

The World Bank Group's Horn of Africa Regional Initiative promotes resilience and economic opportunity in one of the world’s most challenging regions for security and development. Within the region, extreme poverty, vulnerability, fragility, and food insecurity are disproportionately concentrated in the arid and remote border regions. But despite its challenges, there are areas in the borderlands with real economic potential. For example, the region's international borders have long allowed communities to benefit from price differentials through licit and illicit trade (Scott-Villiers 2015). Pastoralism and trade, the dominant livelihoods in the Horn of Africa, require the easy movement of people and goods within and across borders—and continue to heavily rely on cross-country clan and ethnic affiliations. Local institutions therefore still play a key role in regulating and facilitating economic activity and managing conflict, especially as the formal institutions are often weak or absent. Even in areas at the periphery of state control, the borderlands remain highly connected to circuits of global capital and exchange.
Is the Sudan Cash Transfer Program Benefiting the Poor? Evidence from the Latest Household Survey

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03) Etang Ndip, Alvin ; Hassan, Fareed ; Osman, Eiman

The objective of this note is to assess the extent to which the CT program is benefiting intended poor households and the appropriateness of the benefit level under the current inflation situation for poverty reduction. This assessment is needed now more than ever as the impending reforms will require having an appropriate system in place for social safety net delivery for the poor and vulnerable. If CT programs are to reach and aid the poor, then ensuring a correlation between poverty and program beneficiaries must be prioritized. Are current beneficiaries of the Sudan CT program, poor households? If targeting is weak, and the answer to the question is no, then scaling up the existing CT program may not achieve its poverty reduction objective. The note proceeds as follows. Section two presents an overview of Sudan’s CT program, including background details, targeting approach used, the number of beneficiaries and the cash transfer amount. Section three shows the extent to which the CT program is benefiting intended poor households based on evidence from the latest household survey data. Section four evaluates the value of the cash transfer, proposing a correct amount required to lift households out of poverty. Section five concludes this note, and additionally, proposes a number of policy recommendations.