SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Journal of Research in Economics / 2026 / Volume: 7 Issue: 1

THE EXTENT OF HOUSEHOLD POVERTY IN AFGHANISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF MAZAR-I-SHARIF CITY, BALKH PROVINCE (2019/20 AND 2020/21)

Baqir Khawarı

Pages
—
Publication Date
2023-03-30
DOI
—
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗

Abstract

There is limited literature review and analysis of poverty in Afghanistan, particularly in the analysis of an urban area. Therefore, due to the limited information on the extent of poverty in Mazar-i-Sharif city especially at the micro/household level, this paper will provide such information and a more current one. To conduct the study, an actual data of 1060 households in Mazar-i-Sharif, obtained from a strictly random process, is used and applied the “Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT)” measures of poverty to analyse poverty based on income and expenditure approach in two waves, before “COVID-19” (March 21, 2019-March 20, 2020) and during “COVID-19” (March 21, 2020-March 21, 2021). Also, the “Independent t-test” is applied to compare the mean of poverty indices in wave 1 compared to wave 2. It is found that, overall, the poverty rate is high in Mazar-i-Sharif, and more than two-thirds of the population severely suffers from the phenomenon, and it increased during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic time. Also, the depth and severity of poverty are also serious issues and the indices increased in wave 2 compared to wave 1. Further, the study suggests that the government and international organizations should do urgent actions to save million lives and to overcome of this phenomenon

Keywords
🔖

Cite This Article

Khawarı, B. (2023). THE EXTENT OF HOUSEHOLD POVERTY IN AFGHANISTAN: A CASE STUDY OF MAZAR-I-SHARIF CITY, BALKH PROVINCE (2019/20 AND 2020/21). Journal of Research in Economics, Volume: 7 Issue: 1. https://ajindex.com/articles/1060300

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

References (54)

  1. Adams, R., Lopez-Feldman, A., Mora, J., Taylor, J. E., DeWind, J., & Holdaway, J. (2008). Remittances, inequality and poverty: Evidence from rural Mexico. Migration and development within and across borders: Research and policy perspectives on internal and international migration, 101-130.
  2. Afera, N. (2015). Determinants of poverty in rural Tigray: Ethiopia evidence from rural households of Gulomekeda Wereda. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development, 10(1), 95-102. https://core. ac.uk/download/pdf/234695199.pdf
  3. Ali, A. F. M. (2019). Difference Between Income and Expenditure Method in Measuring Poverty in Kelantan, Malaysia. International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting, 27(1), 1-40. https://journals.iium.edu.my/enmjournal/index.php/enmj/article/view/594/314
  4. ANDS. (2005). Afghanistan National Development Strategy: An Interim Strategy for Security, Governance, Economic Growth & Poverty Reduction. Accessed on September 8, 2022. https://reliefweb.int/sites/ reliefweb.int/files/resources/AFA4970B33A0505E492.571.07000811C6-unama-afg-30jan2.pdf
  5. Atkinson, A. B. (1991). Comparing poverty rates internationally: lessons from recent studies in developed countries. The World Bank Economic Review, 5(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/5.1.3 Atkinson, A. B., Rainwater, L., & Smeeding, T. M. (1994). Income distribution in European countries (No. 121). LIS Working Paper Series. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00072-9
  6. Bellù, L. G., & Liberati, P. (2005). Impacts of Policies on Poverty. Basic Poverty Measures. https://mpra. ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/44666
  7. Beverly, S. G. (1999). Economic poverty reconsidered: Material hardship and income-poverty in the United States. Washington University in St. Louis.
  8. Borko, Z. P. (2016). Determinants of Poverty in Rural Households (The Case of Damot Gale District in Wolaita Zone) A Household Level Analysis, International Journal of African and Asian Studies, V(29), https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234690246.pdf
  9. Boskin, M. J., Dulberger, E. L., Gordon, R. J., Griliches, Z., & Jorgenson, D. W. (1998). Consumer prices, the consumer price index, and the cost of living. Journal of economic perspectives, 12(1), 3-26. https:// dio.org/10.1257/jep.12.1.3
  10. Cancho, C. A., & Pradhan, T. (2020, August 16). Mitigating the poverty implications of COVID-19 in Afghanistan. Published on End Poverty in South Asia. https://blogs.worldbank.org/ endpovertyinsouthasia/mitigating-poverty-implications-covid-19-afghanistan
  11. Chamhuri, N. H., Karim, H. A., & Hamdan, H. (2012). Conceptual framework of urban poverty reduction: A review of literature. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 68, 804–814. doi:10.1016/j. sbspro.2012.12.268
  12. CSO. (2018). Afghanistan Living Conditions Survey 2016-17. Central Statistic Organization: Kabul, Afghanistan. Accessed on September 7, 2022. https://washdata.org/sites/default/files/documents/ reports/2018-07/Afghanistan%20ALCS%202016-17%20Analysis%20report.pdf
  13. Cutler, D. M., Katz, L. F., Card, D., & Hall, R. E. (1991). Macroeconomic performance and the disadvantaged. Brookings papers on economic activity, 1991(2), 1-74. https://doi.org/10.2307/2534589
  14. De Silva, I. (2008). Micro‐level determinants of poverty reduction in Sri Lanka: a multivariate approach. International Journal of Social Economics, 35(3), 140-158. https://doi. org/10.1108/030.682.90810847833
  15. Demeke, M., Guta, F., & Ferede, T. (2003). Growth, employment, poverty and policies in Ethiopia: an empirical investigation. Issues in employment and poverty Discussion Paper, 12, 86. http://www.ilo. int/wcmsp5/groups/public/—-ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_120734.pdf
  16. Dharmadasa, R. A. P. I. S., Weerahewa, J., & Samarathunga, P. A. (2018). Labor migration and impact of remittances on poverty and income inequality: evidence from estate sector of Sri Lanka. Tropical Agricultural Research, 30(1), 69. https://doi.org/10.4038/tar.v30i1.8279
  17. Duclos, J. Y., & Araar, A. (2006). Poverty and equity: measurement, policy and estimation with DAD (Vol. 2). IDRC.
  18. Duniya, K. P., & Rekwot, G. Z. (2015). Determinants of poverty among groundnut farming households in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics and Sociology, 4(3), 224- 230. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajaees/2015/13539
  19. EASO. (2020). Afghanistan Key socio-economic indicators Focus on Kabul City, Mazar-e Sharif and Herat City. https://doi.org/10.2847/497573
  20. Eskelinen, T. (2011). Relative poverty. Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, 942- 943.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5
  21. Etuk, E., Angba, C., & Angba, A. (2015). Determinants of poverty status of fish vendor households in Lower Cross River Basin, Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Sustainable development, 6(14), 50-55. https:// core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234647149.pdf
  22. Fisher, J. D., Johnson, D. S., & Smeeding, T. M. (2013). Measuring the trends in inequality of individuals and families: Income and consumption. American Economic Review, 103(3), 184-88. https://doi. org/10.1257/aer.103.3.184
  23. Foster, J., Greer, J., & Thorbecke, E. (1984). A class of decomposable poverty measures. Econometrica: journal of the econometric society, 761-766. https://doi.org/10.2307/1913475
  24. Fox, L., Wimer, C., Garfinkel, I., Kaushal, N., & Waldfogel, J. (2015). Waging war on poverty: Poverty trends using a historical supplemental poverty measure. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 34(3), 567-592. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21833
  25. Gass, G., & Adetunmbi, O. (2000). Summary report: DFID’s civil society consultation process in Nigeria (13 December 1999–2 February 2000).UK: Department for International Development.
  26. Grosh, M., & Glewwe, P. (2000). Designing household survey questionnaires for developing countries. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25338
  27. Hagenaars, A., & de Vos, K. (1988). The Definition and Measurement of Poverty. The Journal of Human Resources vol. 23, issue 2, 211-221. https://doi.org/10.2307/145776
  28. Hall, S. (2011). Economic Assessment and Labour Market Survey of Mazar-i-Sharif, Pul-i-Khumri, Kandahar City and Kunduz City.
  29. Hall, S. (2014). Urban Poverty Report: A Study of Poverty, Food Insecurity and Resilience in Afghan Cities. Danish Refuge Council and People In Need, Kabul, Afghanistan. https://www.clovekvtisni.cz/ media/publications/729/file/143.350.2328-pin-drc-afghanistan-2014-a-study-of-poverty-foodsecurity- and-resilience.pdf
  30. Imran, K., Devadason, E. S., & Kee Cheok, C. (2020). Foreign remittances and regional poverty: Evidence from household data. International Migration, 58(4), 214-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12681
  31. Le, Q. H., & Nguyen, T. H. T. (2019). Impacts of migration on poverty reduction in Vietnam: a household level study. Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), 15, 261-275. https://doi.org/10.15208/beh.2019.16
  32. Lekobane, K., & Seleka, T. B. (2014). Determinants of household welfare and poverty in Botswana, 2002/03 and 2009/10. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2819997
  33. Mayer, S. E. (1997). What money can’t buy: Family income and children’s life chances. Harvard University Press.
  34. Mayer, S. E., & Jencks, C. (1989). Poverty and the Distribution of Material Hardship. Journal of Human Resources, 24(1), 88-114.https://doi.org/10.2307/145934
  35. Mayer, S. E., & Jencks, C. (1993). Recent trends in economic inequality in the United States: Income versus expenditures versus material well-being. In Poverty and Prosperity in the USA in the Late Twentieth Century (pp. 121-207). Palgrave Macmillan, London. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-22953-6_5
  36. McKay, A., & Lawson, D. (2003). Assessing the extent and nature of chronic poverty in low income countries: issues and evidence. World development, 31(3), 425-439. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305- 750X(02)00221-8
  37. Melkamu, M., & Mesfin, M. (2016). Interconnections Between Income and Expenditure Approach to Measure Poverty in Northern Rajasthan. International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, 5(1), 89-106. https://www.academia.edu/download/41556709/25_Melkamu_ and_Mesfin.pdf
  38. Meyer, B. D., & Sullivan, J. X. (2003). Measuring the well-being of the poor using income and consumption. V(38), 1180-1220. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w9760/w9760.pdf
  39. Milanovic, B. (1999). Explaining the increase in inequality during transition. Economics of transition, 7(2), 299-341. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0351.00016
  40. Mohsen, A., Sadat, S. F., & Haidery, J. (2021). Effects of the macroeconomic variables on GDP growth of Afghanistan. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR), 8(2).
  41. Mussa, R. (2014). Household expenditure components and the poverty and inequality relationship in Malawi. African Development Review, 26(1), 138-147. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8268.12070
  42. Nahar, F. H., & Arshad, M. N. M. (2017). Effects of remittances on poverty reduction: the case of Indonesia. Journal of Indonesian Economy & Business, 32(3). https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ b6ad/4d171f64965d8e92ab367d8190db01547e56.pdf
  43. Tirkaso, W. T., & Hess, S. (2015). The role of ICT expenditure for cash crop production and income generation in Southern Ethiopia. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 71(1), 1–14. doi:10.1002/(ISSN)1681-4835
  44. UNDP. (2021a, September 9). Afghanistan on the brink of universal poverty: UN. Al Jazeera and News Agencies.
  45. UNDP. (2021b). Economic Instability and Uncertainty in Afghanistan after August 15 A Rapid Appraisal. https://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/library/knowledge-products/UNDPreport. html
  46. United Nations. (1995). The United Nations World Summit for Social Development: Copenhagen, 6–12 March 1995. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/198966/files/A_CONF.166_9-EN.pdf?ln=en
  47. United Nations. (2021). Security Council Report: Monthly Forecast (March 2021). Accessed on September 5, 2022. https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3- CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/2021_03_forecast.pdf
  48. United Nations. (2005). Poverty Statistics: Concepts, Methods and Policy Use. United Nation. https:// unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/poverty/pdf/un_book%20final%2030%20dec%2005.pdf
  49. United Nations. (2017). Basic consumption and income-based indicators of economic inequalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: evidence from household budget surveys (13). https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/ stats/documents/ece/ces/ge.15/2017/Expert-meeting-Montenegro-2017/Bosnia_paper_formatted. pdf
  50. WFP. (2021). Afghanistan Food Security Update #2. https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistanfood- security-update-2-22 september-2021
  51. World Bank (2013). Afghanistan Economic Update: Poverty Reduction, and Economic Management. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/ handle/10986/16510/770830REVISED0box377289B00PUBLIC00.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  52. World Bank. (1990). World development report: Poverty. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  53. World Bank. (2005). Introduction to Poverty Analysis. https://numerons.files.wordpress. com/2012/04/5poverty-manual-wb.pdf
  54. World Bank. (2015). Afghanistan Poverty Status Update. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/ en/594.051.468180880731/pdf/100638-v2-WP-P145128-PUBLIC-Box393238B-Poverty-Status- Update-Report.pdf