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“Measuring multidimensional poverty in Kenya across time and space”
23rd Oct 2024 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
ACEIR / SALDRU Seminar
Presenter: Susan Kamundia
Date: 23 October 2024
Time: 13:00-14:00
Venue: Seminar room, 4th floor, School of Economics, UCT
(light lunch served from 12:30 in adjacent staff lounge)
Format: Hybrid
Read more and register to attend
Dear friends and colleagues,
Our next seminar, co-hosted with the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR), will be presented by Susan Kamundia on Kenya’s progress in the reduction of poverty in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr Susan Kamundia and Prof. Murray Leibbrandt from ACEIR’s SA node at the University of Cape Town show that Kenya has experienced remarkable improvements in the poverty situation as shown by the significant reduction in the poverty headcount and multidimensional poverty index (MPI) at the national, sub-group and spatial level between 2014 and 2022.
They interrogate the existing Alkire-Foster framework and its appropriateness to the Kenyan setting. This is done in the context of the indicators used in the calculation of the poverty indices, weights applied to the indicators and the poverty line. A decomposition of the MPI showed that the largest contributor to multidimensional poverty was the living standards dimension, while the education dimension had the least contribution. Rural areas experience higher poverty levels. Areas to the North and North-east of Kenya also experience higher poverty levels compared to the rest of the country. While poverty headcount and MPI have reduced, the poverty intensity remains unchanged. Government interventions in housing, electricity, and clean cooking fuel are essential to reduce the deprivations of the poor.
About the presenter:
Susan Kamundia is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Cape Town. Her research interests include maternal and child health, spatial economics, poverty, inequality, and program evaluation. Susan also has experience in academia, having lectured at several universities in Kenya.
Kind regards
SALDRU and ACEIR