Is There a Divergence Between Objective Measures and Subjective Perceptions of Poverty Trends? Evidence from West and Central Africa

Several sub-Saharan African countries have succeeded at increasing their economic growth rate in recent years, and this has translated into substantial poverty reduction according to objective measures based on household survey data. At the same ti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Wodon, Quentin
Format:	Brief
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE MEASURE OF POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE BASIC NEEDS CASH CROP CASH INCOME CHANGES IN POVERTY CLIMATE CHANGE CONSUMPTION DATA CONSUMPTION PER CAPITA CORRUPTION DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS DROP IN POVERTY ECONOMIC GROWTH EMPIRICAL WORK FARMERS GINI INDEX GROWTH PERFORMANCE GROWTH RATES HEALTH CENTERS HIGH GROWTH HIGH POPULATION GROWTH HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS INCREASING INEQUALITY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES LARGE CITIES LEARNING NATIONAL ACCOUNTS POOR POPULATION GROWTH POPULATION GROWTH RATE POVERTY ASSESSMENTS POVERTY DATA POVERTY ESTIMATES POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY MEASURE POVERTY MEASUREMENT POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY SITUATION PROGRESS PUBLIC OFFICIALS RATE OF GROWTH RATES OF GROWTH RELATIVE POVERTY LINE STREET CHILDREN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA SUBSISTENCE SUBSISTENCE FARMING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT URBAN AREAS URBAN MIGRATION VULNERABILITY
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/10/8622699/divergence-between-objective-measures-subjective-perceptions-poverty-trends-evidence-west-central-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9554

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Summary:	Several sub-Saharan African countries have succeeded at increasing their economic growth rate in recent years, and this has translated into substantial poverty reduction according to objective measures based on household survey data. At the same time, many people do not feel that the poverty situation has been improving in their country or community, and this is a source of concern for elected policymakers. To what extent is there a divergence between objective measures and subjective perceptions of poverty trends, and what may explain this divergence: the objective of this note is to document and discuss this issue using data from West and Central Africa and results from a series of poverty assessments recently completed at the World Bank.

Is There a Divergence Between Objective Measures and Subjective Perceptions of Poverty Trends? Evidence from West and Central Africa

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