Monday, November 8th, 2021
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EDT
via Zoom
This was the fourth event in the continuation of our seminar series on Multidimensional Poverty Measurement, jointly hosted by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford, the Human Development Report Office (HDRO) at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP) at George Washington University. Liyousew Borga (Postdoctoral Research Associate, Universite du Luxembourg) presented a paper and Catherine Porter (Director, Young Lives, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford) discussed.
Abstract: We investigate the impact of three large-scale social-protection schemes in Ethiopia, India, and Peru on multidimensional poverty. Using data from the Young Lives cohort study, we show the trend, changes and evolution of multidimensional poverty for individuals in program participant households. We follow a number of strategies to produce estimates that deal with non-random program placement. Our findings show that both the incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty declined in all three countries over the period 2006–2016, more so for program participants than non-participants. We find positive short-term impact on asset formation, livestock holding, and some living standard indicators. In all three countries these positive impacts are sustained even in the medium and longer-term.
About the Presenter:
Liyousew Borga is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Luxembourg. Before that, he was a Junior Researcher at CERGE-EI (Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education – Economics Institute) in Prague, Czech Republic, where he did his PhD. His research interest lies in applied econometrics, mainly labor and development economics. He is particularly interested in the early origins and evolution of health and human capital; the role of intrahousehold resource allocation, and the measurement of poverty and vulnerability. The aim is to understand the mechanisms through which effective policy interventions and optimal choices of investment can help mitigate inequalities and promote health and human capital development.
About the Discussant:
Catherine Porter is the Director of Young Lives and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Lancaster University, UK. Her research interests are in applied microeconomics, often using panel or longitudinal datasets. Her focus is on the impact of unexpected events (shocks) on various outcomes such as nutrition, education and parental investments, how inequality develops through childhood into adolescence and early adulthood, and the effectiveness of policy in remediating such inequalities.
