The thesis considers two pertinent questions about poverty in Fiji. One is about the accuracy of the poverty measures calculated by the concerned organisations and this relates to the use of equivalence scales and the general style of analysis. The other more intricate question is the disregard for poverty due to intra-family distribution asymmetries. Such miscalculations of poverty arise due use of average household per capita expenditure to represent consumption. This research attempts to answer the question of whether the tendency to underestimate the incidence of poverty by disregarding intra-family inequality is significant. Furthermore, it attempts to determine the causes of these inequalities. The issue is whether the classical method of data analysis (using the family as a unit) is the ideal way of analysing poverty and distribution in societies where large family structures exist and government relief remains minimal. To determine the household inequalities, household expenditures have been disaggregated into individualised expenditures. The individualised consumption expenditure is analysed and compared with the outcomes of aggregate household expenditure data. The analysis provides overwhelming evidence for underestimation of poverty when household consumption expenditures are used.

The thesis considers two pertinent questions about poverty in Fiji. One is about the accuracy of the poverty measures calculated by the concerned organisations and this relates to the use of equivalence scales and the general style of analysis. The other more intricate question is the disregard for poverty due to intra-family distribution asymmetries. Such miscalculations of poverty arise due use of average household per capita expenditure to represent consumption. This research attempts to answer the question of whether the tendency to underestimate the incidence of poverty by disregarding intra-family inequality is significant. Furthermore, it attempts to determine the causes of these inequalities. The issue is whether the classical method of data analysis (using the family as a unit) is the ideal way of analysing poverty and distribution in societies where large family structures exist and government relief remains minimal. To determine the household inequalities, household expenditures have been disaggregated into individualised expenditures. The individualised consumption expenditure is analysed and compared with the outcomes of aggregate household expenditure data. The analysis provides overwhelming evidence for underestimation of poverty when household consumption expenditures are used.

published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

ABSTRACT This paper describes the limitations of the housing policy in Botswana when dealing with poverty alleviation. Botswana is faced with high levels of poverty that does not conform to the country’s economic success since independence. Very few opportunities exist for the urban poor to earn a living and work themselves out of poverty. Efforts to address poverty in the past yielded mixed results and failed the urban poor more especially that the interventions were biased towards rural areas. Evidence has been provided that housing has a critical role to play in poverty alleviation. The Government of Botswana has put in place housing projects (one of which is used for this enquiry) through which poverty can be addressed alongside other human needs such as shelter. An enabling environment has to be created for the successful exploitation of housing for poverty alleviation. It is therefore imperative that the government ensures the existence of such an environment.

Micro enterprises have become popularised globally as the favoured option for development and have played a key role in poverty alleviation. The main premise of using micro enterprises has been to build the capacity of the individual to be self- sustaining and to move away from the continued dependency on state welfare. Micro enterprises are also seen as a key tool to allow participation of the disempowered population. In South Africa micro enterprises have been hailed by government as playing a pivotal role in creating employment opportunities for the poor people. The study was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of how beneficiaries view the role played by micro enterprises in reducing poverty. This qualitative research was based on case studies of 12 female participants who were selected using convenience sampling based on their availability and participation in micro enterprise initiatives. An interview schedule was used and the interviews were tape recorded. The major findings that emerged were that beneficiaries perceive micro enterprises as meeting their basic needs like food and rates, to others they were a way of supplementing income. Most participants perceived micro enterprise rather as a hobby than an effective income generating activity. None of the beneficiaries had business skills, equipment or information and capital to grow their business beyond their residential areas. None of the micro enterprises were able to create employment for others. Various factors such as lack of capital, low literacy levels, poor business management skills and non-entrepreneurial mind-set amongst others have resulted in this failure. Beneficiaries of this study perceived the income from their micro enterprises not enough to qualify their micro enterprises as a poverty reduction tool. The main conclusion drawn from the study is that whilst profit generated through participating in micro enterprises meet the beneficiaries’ basic necessities, it is insufficient income to meaningfully reduce poverty.

Thesis (M. Dev) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / Literature has shown that focusing on local economic development is one of the best ways to alleviate poverty and unemployment. Municipalities have been tasked with the responsibility of coordinating local economic development initiatives to bring unemployment and poverty under control. This study highlighted the impact of local economic development on the livelihood of communities in Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, Mopani, Limpopo Province within a qualitative paradigm. A questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents with key research findings highlighted in Chapter 4 and a summary of the findings presented in Chapter 5. The study recommends, based on its findings, the importance of local economic development initiatives in poverty and unemployment alleviation.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Refer to document

<p>Economists today agree that growth is fundamental in reducing poverty. But the strength of the relationship between the two has been debated, and there is a lack of satisfactory explanations to why the growth elasticity of poverty differs between countries. Solid democratic institutions have been mentioned as a means to ensure that growth is shared by the poor, but this proposition has not been assessed empirically. Using a data set including 157 intervals from 57 developing countries I estimate the elasticity of poverty to growth. I also use two different democracy indices to test the hypothesis that growth in democracies is more poverty-reducing than in non-democracies. Several other macroeconomic variables are also included in the model to analyze the determinants of the growth elasticity of poverty. Using several measures of growth and poverty, I find strong support that poverty is reduced by economic growth, with the elasticity estimated to be around -2. I do not, however, find any robustly significant determinants of the impact of growth on poverty. The results give some indication that the growth elasticity of poverty is higher in partly free countries than in nonfree countries. However, contrary to the hypothesis, there is stronger evidence that growth in fully democratic countries reduces poverty less than it does in partly free countries. None of the other macroeconomic variables are found to have a significant impact on how poverty responds to growth.</p>

Economists today agree that growth is fundamental in reducing poverty. But the strength of the relationship between the two has been debated, and there is a lack of satisfactory explanations to why the growth elasticity of poverty differs between countries. Solid democratic institutions have been mentioned as a means to ensure that growth is shared by the poor, but this proposition has not been assessed empirically. Using a data set including 157 intervals from 57 developing countries I estimate the elasticity of poverty to growth. I also use two different democracy indices to test the hypothesis that growth in democracies is more poverty-reducing than in non-democracies. Several other macroeconomic variables are also included in the model to analyze the determinants of the growth elasticity of poverty. Using several measures of growth and poverty, I find strong support that poverty is reduced by economic growth, with the elasticity estimated to be around -2. I do not, however, find any robustly significant determinants of the impact of growth on poverty. The results give some indication that the growth elasticity of poverty is higher in partly free countries than in nonfree countries. However, contrary to the hypothesis, there is stronger evidence that growth in fully democratic countries reduces poverty less than it does in partly free countries. None of the other macroeconomic variables are found to have a significant impact on how poverty responds to growth.

Poverty is one of the most important internationally recognized problems. The first Millennium Development Goal declared by the United Nations (UN) is to &ldquo / Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger&rdquo / . Women rank first among groups most affected by poverty. Based on the argument that women compose two-thirds of the poor, the term &ldquo / feminization of poverty&rdquo / took its place in the development discourse in the 1970s. There is an inverse relationship between development and women&rsquo / s poverty, making women&rsquo / s poverty a crucial agenda item of poverty alleviation strategies. Microcredit systems have spread all over the world beginning in Bangladesh and have now become an important poverty alleviation tool both in developed and developing countries. From the beginning of this millennium, microfinance institutions started to spread in Turkey and Turkish Grameen Microfinance Program (TGMP), a commercial affiliate of Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction, is the leading organization. It is one of the crucial microfinance institutions in Turkey. Women are the primary target group of microcredit and this makes microcredit today&rsquo / s most popular poverty alleviation tool. The impact of microcredit on women is examined through interviews with women who registered with the Ankara TGMP v office. In this context, this study investigates microcredit&rsquo / s effectiveness as a poverty alleviation tool for women in the light of the correlation between development and women&rsquo / s poverty. Based on the fact that poverty is a multidimensional concept, positive and negative aspects of microcredit are revealed in this research, however, no conclusion is made as to microcredit&rsquo / s success or failure as an independent poverty alleviation tool. Rather, it is concluded that microcredit should be integrated with other actors and poverty alleviation tools and should be supported with other relevant institutions and policies.