Looking for a Path Out of Poverty: Causes and Implications for Policy

This paper applies multivariate and econometric
techniques on cross-sectional data for Malawi to
identify development pathways for poverty reduction,
investigates their determinants and welfare
implications. The study identifies three pathways:-
non-farm/non-food, forestry/livestock and tobacco
pathways. Non-farm/non-food pathway is associated
with lower landholdings and close proximity to output
markets. This pathway increases income inequality but
no effect on household welfare. Forestry/livestock
pathway is associated with the poor and older
households in remote areas with limited market
access. Although this pathway reduces the overall
welfare, it reduces income inequality among
households. Tobacco pathway is associated with
male-headed, richer households with credit access, in
highly populated areas closer to forests. This
pathway increases both welfare and income inequality
among households. From the policy perspective, these
results proposes forestry/livestock pathway as a
pro-poor, rural development strategy. This calls for
the promotion of integrated forestry/livestock
systems and market development for forestry and
livestock products.

Autorentext

Blessings Nyanjagha Botha is a Policy and Research analyst withextensive experience in the areas of policy analysis andgovernance in Malawi. He is a holder of Masters of Science degreein Development and Resource Economics (Agricultural University ofNorway) and a Bachelors of Science degree in AgriculturalEconomics (University of Malawi).

Klappentext

This paper applies multivariate and econometric techniques on cross-sectional data for Malawi to identify development pathways for poverty reduction, investigates their determinants and welfare implications. The study identifies three pathways:- non-farm/non-food, forestry/livestock and tobacco pathways. Non-farm/non-food pathway is associated with lower landholdings and close proximity to output markets. This pathway increases income inequality but no effect on household welfare. Forestry/livestock pathway is associated with the poor and older households in remote areas with limited market access. Although this pathway reduces the overall welfare, it reduces income inequality among households. Tobacco pathway is associated with male-headed, richer households with credit access, in highly populated areas closer to forests. This pathway increases both welfare and income inequality among households. From the policy perspective, these results proposes forestry/livestock pathway as a pro-poor, rural development strategy. This calls for the promotion of integrated forestry/livestock systems and market development for forestry and livestock products.