The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
This study employs a synthetic panel approach based on nationally representative micro-level data to track poverty and income mobility in Malaysia in 2004–16. On aggregate, there were large reductions in chronic poverty and increases in persistent...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/626721641828785529/The-Interplay-of-Regional-and-Ethnic-Inequalities-in-Malaysian-Poverty-Dynamics http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36820 |
| Summary: | This study employs a synthetic panel
approach based on nationally representative micro-level data
to track poverty and income mobility in Malaysia in 2004–16.
On aggregate, there were large reductions in chronic poverty
and increases in persistent economic security, but those who
remained poor in 2016 were increasingly likely to be poor in
a structural sense. Further, the poverty and income dynamics
differ notably across geographic dimensions. Such
disparities are most striking when comparing affluent urban
Peninsular Malaysia with poorer rural East Malaysia.
Although there are important differences in welfare levels
between the main ethnic groups in Malaysia, the mobility
trends generally point in the same direction. While the
findings show that there is still scope for poverty
reduction through the reduction of interethnic inequalities,
the study underscores the importance of taking regional
inequalities into account to ensure a fairer distribution of
socioeconomic opportunities for poor and vulnerable
Malaysians. Hence, addressing chronic poverty is likely to
require additional attention to less developed geographic
areas, as a complement to the current policies that are
largely ethnicity-based. |
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