Analyzing Poverty and Policy Reform

This book provides an exceptionally well documented case study, unique for Africa, of the impact of structural adjustment on poverty - a subject on which there is much debate but a dearth of solid empirical evidence. The basic messages are that the poor are better protected during a period of managed macroeconomic adjustment than under recession or destabilization, and that the poorest people are most likely to suffer the most in conditions of economic recession, especially regarding the fulfillment of their basic needs. The case study documents this on the basis of four years of continuous household survey data, and three two-year panels. The latter provide insights into the dynamics of poverty. The set of economic problems encountered by CA'te d'Ivoire in the 1980s were shared by many African countries, and the book highlights the lessons which may be valid for other countries as well. Household survey data are increasingly used for policy analysis. Methodologically this book is a demonstration of the value of household survey data as a basis for poverty analysis - in its different dimensions - and this book seeks to provide an example of good analytic practice.