Understanding chronic poverty in Rwanda

Rwanda is one of the poorest countries in the world. Chronic poverty is likely to be widespread and should be addressed through tailored policy responses. But evidence on chronic poverty in Rwanda is lacking. Combining existing poverty data in new ways provides new insights for policymakers.

Research by staff members from the Department for International Development, UK, and the University of Sussex, UK examines chronic poverty in Rwanda. It combines information from existing qualitative and quantitative work. The research uses insights from a 2001 nationwide participatory poverty assessment (PPA) and data from a conventional household survey carried out during 1999-2001.

Rwanda was deeply damaged by the genocide and civil war in 1994. Despite impressive economic growth rates since 1996, Rwanda ranks 158th out of 175 countries in the human development index (HDI). Sixty percent of the population live in poverty and inequality levels are high. Rwanda suffers from severe land pressures: the country’s economy is dominated by agriculture, but cultivatable land is scarce and the population is large and rising.

Chronic poverty is poverty that persists over a long period of time, and it is very difficult to escape from.

This study adopts a multidisciplinary approach to look at the underlying social context of persistent poverty in Rwanda. It examines a mix of factors (beyond income) that impact on well-being, including lack of assets (labour, land and livestock), social exclusion and conflict and its consequences.

The researchers identify a group of persistently very poor households in Rwanda, which have distinct characteristics that differentiate them from other poor groups.

The research finds that:

• Chronic poverty in Rwanda is high, encompassing more than one million people in a population of just over eight million.
• Chronic poverty is predominantly in rural areas.
• People working their own land or reliant on working as agricultural wage labourers are most likely to be chronically poor.
• Chronically poor households are much more likely to be female headed, smaller than average and have a higher share of female members.
• Chronically poor households are heavily reliant on a single type of economic activity.
• Chronically poor households are more reliant on market transactions, particularly buying food to eat (partly because they lack land and livestock).

The multidisciplinary approach used in this paper provides a better understanding of the nature of chronic poverty in Rwanda. This is useful for the design of policy responses.

The authors conclude that:

• Agricultural policy in Rwanda should be designed to take account of chronic poverty.
• Labour intensive public works could benefit many chronically poor people.
• Social protection measures and community programmes (such as the ‘ubudehe’ community action programme) should take account of chronic poverty.
• Further research is needed to understand better the underlying causes of chronic poverty in Rwanda.
• Multidisciplinary approaches should be further developed to enrich the study of chronic poverty.
• Future PPA work and survey projects could be designed to draw on each others’ strengths more.

Source(s):
‘Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Assessing Chronic Poverty: The Case of Rwanda’, World Development 35.2, pages 197-211, by Gerard Howe and Andrew McKay, 2007

id21 Research Highlight: 16 August 2007

Further Information:
Gerard Howe
Equity and Rights Team, Policy and Research Division
Department for International Development
1 Palace Street
London
SW1E 5HE

Tel: +44 (0) 207 023 0234
Fax: +44 (0) 207 023 0624
Contact the contributor: G-Howe@dfid.gov.uk

Department for International Development, UK

Andrew McKay
Department of Economics
Arts Building E
University of Sussex
Falmer
Brighton BN1 9SN, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1273 678739
Fax: +44 (0)1273 673563
Contact the contributor: A.Mckay@sussex.ac.uk

University of Sussex, UK