Investigating the Effects of Structural Adjustment Programmes on Poverty in the Ivory Coast (1985 and 1988)

Authors

  • Momodou Mustapha Fanneh

Abstract

In investigating the effects of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) on poverty, it is necessary to put into context the rationale behind SAPs and the measurements of poverty used to define and qualify poverty. The objective of the study was to assess the determinants of poverty in the adjustment period (1985) and non-adjustment period (1988). The study uses the mean per capita household expenditure as a measure of poverty and a logit model to examine the factors affecting the likelihood of a household being poor. The Cote d’Ivoire Living Standard Survey (CILSS) data for 1985 and 1988 was used to compare the level, and composition of the poor class both in rural and urban areas. The most important variables affecting the probability of poverty are the household size, the type of industry where the household head is employed and expenditure on education and health. The study has also shown that gender of the household head has no effect on the probability of poverty. The effects of both structural adjustment policy of subsidy removal in 1985 and the re-instatement of subsidization during the non-adjustment period starting in 1988 were compared and are presented here; the results suggest that poverty had actually been reduced.

Keywords: Structural Adjustment Program, Logit Model, Poverty, Ivory Coast

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Published

2020-08-12

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Articles