Consumption expenditure and female poverty: a review of the evidence (original) (raw)

A Note on the Analysis of Female-Headed Households in Developing Countries

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

In this paper, we will attempt to clarify some issues commonly found in recent discussions surrounding female headship analysis, in general, and will also discuss recent literature on the relationship between female headship and poverty, in particular. The issues addressed here include: the confusion between female headship analysis and gender analysis of poverty; the existence of alternative definitions of household headship; and the existence of different analytical purposes of using the concept of household headship and the need for using appropriate headship definitions for each purpose.

Female headship, poverty and child welfare: A study of rural orissa, India

1997

First, on the basis of primary data collected in a rural setting in the State of Orissa, an attempt has been made in this paper to compare the socioeconomic status of male-and female-headed households. Subsequently the differences in the use of resources (time and money) between male-headed and female-headed households have been analysed. Finally, the paper explores the relative well-being of the children between the two groups, i.e., to what extent female headship influences children's access to social services, and children's actual welfare outcomes, measured in terms of health and education indicators.

Poverty amongst Female-headed Households in Bosnia and Herzegovina: an empirical analysis

South East European Journal of Economics and Business, 2007

Poverty amongst Female-headed Households in Bosnia and Herzegovina: an empirical analysisThis paper conducts an empirical investigation of whether female-headed households (FHHs) are over-represented amongst the poor compared to male-headed households in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), measured through the consumption dimension of poverty. Apart from self-reported and demographic definitions of headship, which do not make reference to the economic support provided for a household, households whose headship is assigned according to economic definition are included in the analysis. Moreover, the heterogeneity of FHHs is recognised in our study. In this way, the study avoids the main pitfalls associated with similar studies. Since the relationship between poverty and headship has regional and ethnic characteristics, the specific characteristics of BiH in this context are taken into account. Finally, given that our analysis did not find evidence of FHHs being disadvantaged in terms of hou...

GENDER ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD POVERTY – AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The study reported in this article used household level data to comparatively analyse the determinants of poverty amongst female and male-headed households in a township of Bophelong, South Africa. A random sample of households was divided into two sub-groups. A logistic regression model was estimated based on this data with the poverty status of a household as the dependent variable and a set of demographic variables as explanatory variables. The poverty rate was calculated at 68% and 59% for female and male-headed households, respectively. Further analysis revealed household income and household size as predictors of poverty in both sub-groups. The age of the household was statistically significant in female-headed households while it was not significant in maleheaded households. The employment status of the household head appeared to decrease poverty in female-headed households but in male-headed this variable was not significant. There was a strong negative relationship between the labour force and poverty status in male headed households but this relationship was weak in female-headed households. The results of the study draw attention to a number of policy interventions necessary to reduce poverty in South African townships.

A Global View of Poverty, Gender, and Household Composition

Policy Research Working Papers

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Female household headship and poverty in South Africa: an employment-based analysis

2018

Female household headship is generally associated with higher poverty incidence relative to male headship. Female headship has generally been on the increase in South Africa. And while generally declining over the post-apartheid period, poverty has increased in the recent past. South Africa also has high unemployment rates. However, there is scant evidence on the role of employment in mediating the relationship between female headship and poverty in South Africa. Using South Africa’s National Income Dynamics Study dataset, we find that female headship is positively associated with complete household non-employment, while the latter is positively associated with poverty. However, female-headed households (FHHs) are heterogeneous in nature, and the importance of employment in eradicating the poverty differential between FHHs and male-headed households (MHHs) depends on employment-related household structure. While employment generally eradicates the poverty differential between FHHs a...