Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Household and Contextual Indicators of Poverty in Tunisia: A Multilevel Analysis

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Using micro data from the 2010 National Survey on Households’ Budget, Consumption and Standard of Living, this study aims to investigate main factors contributing to poverty distribution, one of the most severe socioeconomic problems in Tunisia. To this end, we use a multilevel Logit model and a multilevel mixed linear model to simultaneously analyze the micro-level (household) and macro-level (governorate) factors that might affect the household poverty status. Household size, household composition, occupation, education levels, the gender of the household head and the number of earner by household variables were assessed at the micro-level. Unemployment rate, poverty rate, industrial and agriculture parts and the migration are included to control the effect of contextual effects. Our findings showed that the likelihood of household being poor is positively and significantly related to household size, more children and lower education level. Extreme poverty is more likely to occur in rural than urban areas. Macro-level analyses indicated that greater neighbourhood unemployment rate was associated with higher odds of poverty, while greater industrial agglomeration and migration balance were associated with reduced odds of poverty.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. According the National Institute of Statistics (NIS), the headcount poverty rate declined from 32.4% in 2000, to 23.3% in 2005 and then to 15.5% in 2010. Those statistics are based on National Survey on Household Budget, Consumption and Standard of Living conducted by the NIS. The first survey was conducted in 1968, and starting 1975, it was conducted every five years.

  2. Greater Tunis, North East, and Center East are considered leading areas while the North West, Center West, South East, and South West are considered lagging areas.

  3. AfDB (2012) Tunisia: Economic and Social Challenges Beyond the Revolution.

  4. Enquête Nationale sur le Budget, la Consommation et le Niveau de Vie des ménages.

  5. The 2010 and 2005 National Survey on Households’ Budget, Consumption and Standard of Living can be downloaded from the National Institute of Statistics (www.ins.nat.tn) or from the Economic Research Forum data portal: (www.erfdataportal.com).

  6. See http://www.ins.nat.tn for more details.

  7. For more details, see “Measuring poverty, Inequality and polarization in Tunisia 2000–2010” (NIS and AfDB, 2012).

  8. Preliminary report to the Commission on Human Rights on ‘Human Rights and Extreme Poverty’ (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1993/16).

References

  • Adams, R. H., & Page, J. (2003). Poverty, inequality and growth in selected Middle East and North Africa countries, 1980–2000. World Development, 31(12), 2027–2048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amara, M., & Ayadi, M. (2013). The local geographies of welfare in Tunisia: Does neighbourhood matter? International Journal of Social Welfare, 22(1), 90–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amara, M., & Ayadi, M. (2014). Local employment growth in the coastal area of Tunisia: Spatial filtering approach. Middle East Development Journal, 6(2), 255–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amarasinghe, U., Samad, M., & Anputhas, M. (2005). Spatial clustering of rural poverty and food insecurity in Sri Lanka. Food Policy, 30(5), 493–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arpino, B., & Aassve, A. (2014). The role of villages in households’ poverty exit: Evidence from a multilevel model for rural Vietnam. Quality & Quantity, 48(4), 2175–2189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayadi, M., Boulila, G., Lahouel, M., & Montigny, P. (2004). Pro-poor growth in Tunisia (p. 84). France: International Development & Strategies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayadi, M., El Lahga, A. R., & Chtioui, N. (2008). Poverty in Tunisia: A non-monetary approach. PMMA working paper 2007-05, Poverty and Economic Policy Research Network.

  • Azeem, M. M., Mugera, A. W., & Schilizzi, S. (2016). Poverty and vulnerability in the Punjab, Pakistan: A multilevel analysis. Journal of Asian Economics, 44, 57–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. L., & Grosh, M. E. (1994). Poverty reduction through geographic targeting: How well does it work? World Development, 22(7), 983–995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastos, A., Casaca, S. F., Nunes, F., & Pereirinha, J. (2009). Women and poverty: A gender-sensitive approach. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 38(5), 764–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: a theoretical analysis with special reference to education. New York: National Bureau for Economic Research, Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benson, T., Chamberlin, J., & Rhinehart, I. (2005). An investigation of the spatial determinants of the local prevalence of poverty in rural Malawi. Food Policy, 30(5), 532–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. M., & Duncan, O. D. (1967). The American occupational structure. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, A. (2005). Geographies of welfare and exclusion: Initial report. Progress in Human Geography, 29(2), 194–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chant, S. (Ed.). (2010). The international handbook of gender and poverty: Concepts, research, policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, K. M., & Wang, T. M. (2015). Determinants of poverty status in Taiwan: A multilevel approach. Social Indicators Research, 123(2), 371–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotter, D. A. (2002). Poor people in poor places: Local opportunity structures and household poverty. Rural Sociology, 67(4), 534–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dreze, J., & Srinivasan, P. V. (1997). Widowhood and poverty in rural India: Some inferences from household survey data. Journal of Development Economics, 54(2), 217–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duclos, J. Y., Sahn, D., & Younger, S. D. (2006). Robust multidimensional spatial poverty comparisons in Ghana, Madagascar, and Uganda. The World Bank Economic Review, 20(1), 91–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epprecht, M., Müller, D., & Minot, N. (2011). How remote are Vietnam’s ethnic minorities? An analysis of spatial patterns of poverty and inequality. The Annals of Regional Science, 46(2), 349–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrow, A., Larrea, C., Hyman, G., & Lema, G. (2005). Exploring the spatial variation of food poverty in Ecuador. Food Policy, 30(5), 510–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, H. (2011). Multilevel statistical models. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haughton, J. H., & Khandker, S. R. (2009). Handbook on poverty and inequality. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.

  • Hentschel, J., Lanjouw, J. O., Lanjouw, P., & Poggi, J. (2000). Combining census and survey data to trace the spatial dimensions of poverty: A case study of Ecuador. The World Bank Economic Review, 14(1), 147–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jalan, J., & Ravallion, M. (2002). Geographic poverty traps? A micro model of consumption growth in rural China. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 17(4), 329–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, K. S., Lee, Y., & Lee, Y. J. (2010). A multilevel analysis of factors related to poverty in welfare states. Social Indicators Research, 99(3), 391–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, R., Mohanty, S. K., & Subramanian, S. V. (2016). Multilevel geographies of poverty in India. World Development, 87, 349–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klasen, S., Lechtenfeld, T., & Povel, F. (2015). A feminization of vulnerability? Female headship, poverty, and vulnerability in Thailand and Vietnam. World Development, 71, 36–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lanjouw, P., & Ravallion, M. (1995). Poverty and household size. The Economic Journal, 105(433), 1415–1434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, O. (1966). La vida: a Puerto Rican family in the culture of poverty-San Juan and New York (Vol. 13). New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipton, M., & Ravallion, M. (1995). Poverty and policy. In J. Behrman & T. N. Srinivasen (Eds.), Handbook of development economics (Vol. 3B). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A. Y. (2006). Changing wage structure and education in Vietnam, 1992–1998. Economics of Transition, 14(4), 681–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maclay, C., & Marsden, H. (2013). Responding to the psychological context of extreme poverty: Using cash transfers to stimulate productive investment decisions in Bangladesh. Social Indicators Research, 113(2), 691–710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. S., Gross, A. B., & Eggers, M. L. (1991). Segregation, the concentration of poverty, and the life chances of individuals. Social Science Research, 20(4), 397–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meenakshi, J. V., & Ray, R. (1999). Regional differences in India’s food expenditure pattern: A complete demand systems approach. Journal of International Development, 11(1), 47–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meenakshi, J. V., & Ray, R. (2002). Impact of household size and family composition on poverty in rural India. Journal of Policy Modeling, 24(6), 539–559.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minot, N., & Baulch, B. (2005). Spatial patterns of poverty in Vietnam and their implications for policy. Food Policy, 30(5), 461–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller, C., & Bibi, S. (2010). Refining targeting against poverty evidence from Tunisia. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 72(3), 381–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, C. V., Van den Berg, M., & Lensink, R. (2011). The impact of work and non work migration on household welfare, poverty and inequality. Economics of Transition, 19(4), 771–799.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Partridge, M. D., & Rickman, D. S. (2008). Distance from urban agglomeration economies and rural poverty. Journal of Regional Science, 48(2), 285–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poston, D. L., Jr., Singelmann, J., Siordia, C., Slack, T., Robertson, B. A., Saenz, R., et al. (2010). Spatial context and poverty: Area-level effects and micro-level effects on household poverty in the Texas Borderland & Lower Mississippi Delta: United States, 2006. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 3(2–3), 139–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravallion, M., & Sen, B. (1996). When method matters: Monitoring poverty in Bangladesh. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 44(4), 761–792.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravallion, M., & Wodon, Q. (1999). Poor areas, or only poor people? Journal of Regional Science, 39(4), 689–711.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J. D., & Earls, F. (1999). Beyond social capital: Spatial dynamics of collective efficacy for children. American Sociological Review, 64(5), 633–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1985). A sociological approach to the measurement of poverty: A reply to Professor Peter Townsend. Oxford Economic Papers, 37(4), 669–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, A. R., McLaughlin, D. K., & Findeis, J. (2006). Household composition and poverty among female-headed households with children: Differences by race and residence. Rural Sociology, 71(4), 597–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Eijk, G. (2010). Does living in a poor neighbourhood result in network poverty? A study on local networks, locality-based relationships and neighbourhood settings. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 25(4), 467–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, H., & Masset, E. (2003). The importance of household size and composition in constructing poverty profiles: An illustration from Vietnam. Development and Change, 34(1), 105–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2011). World development report 2012: Gender equality and development. Washington, DC: The World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2014). The unfinished revolution: Bringing opportunity, good jobs and greater wealth to all Tunisians. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hatem Jemmali.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 9 and 10.

Table 9 Distribution of districts and households sampled by governorates.
Table 10 Distribution of poverty and extreme poverty by governorates and by areas

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Amara, M., Jemmali, H. Household and Contextual Indicators of Poverty in Tunisia: A Multilevel Analysis. Soc Indic Res 137, 113–138 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-017-1602-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-017-1602-8

Keywords

Navigation