Resource information
Christiaensen, Demery, and Paternostro review recent evidence on the trends in
household well-being in Africa during the 1990s. They draw
on the findings of a series of studies on poverty dynamics
that use the better data sets now available. The authors
begin by taking a broad view of poverty, tracing changes in
both income poverty and in other more direct measures of
individual welfare. Experiences have been varied: several
countries have seen a sharp decline in poverty, while some
have witnessed a marked increase. Yet, in the aggregate,
economic growth has been pro-poor. Nonetheless, the
aggregate numbers also hide significant and systematic
distributional effects which have caused some groups to be
left behind. The authors draw four key conclusions: Economic
policy reforms (improving macroeconomic balances and
liberalizing markets) have been conducive to reducing
poverty. Market connectedness is key for the poor to benefit
from new opportunities generated by economic growth. Some
population groups and regions, by virtue of their sheer
remoteness, have been left behind when growth picks up.
Education and access to land further condition the extent to
which households can benefit from economic opportunities and
escape poverty. Finally, rainfall variations and ill health
are found to have profound effects on poverty outcomes in
Africa underscoring the significance of social protection in
a poverty reduction strategy.
