Combined methods in poverty analysis: Experiences from Namibia
Sebastian Levine
Senior Economist, United Nations Development Programme, Windhoek, Namibia
Benjamin Roberts
Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa
PP: 205 - 221
Abstract
We explore differences in the findings on poverty in Namibia from a series participatory poverty assessments and a household survey on household income and expenditure. We find that the main conclusions from these research processes appear plausible even if they point to diverging paths of poverty. These results are attributed to methodological challenges and especially to different perceptions about the determinants of poverty that each approach conveys.
Using a Q-Squared approach we illustrate that when definitions of poverty based on the perceptions raised in the qualitative assessments are used on the quantitative data then the results tend to converge. One particularly interesting finding is that those identified as poor using the official poverty measure, established explicitly to capture deprivation in consumption expenditure, have higher average levels of consumption expenditure than a combined Q-Squared measure based exclusively on non-monetary criteria.
We generally find that while there might have been a real improvement in consumption-based measures of poverty over time, given the emphasis on issues related to assets, access to and quality of delivery of basic services, and issues related to vulnerabilities (especially food insecurity and the AIDS epidemic) in the participatory poverty assessments, it is not surprising that the qualitative data point to deteriorating living conditions.
Keywords
Namibia, mixed methods, participatory poverty assessment, household surveys
Article Text
In this paper we review the results from two recent research projects that were initiated to investigate the levels, causes and trends in poverty and inequality in Namibia as a basis for setting priorities in a medium term development strategy and for designing interventions to reduce poverty. The two bodies of research, one based on a quantitative household survey and the other on a series of qualitative participatory assessments, have yielded results that have been interpreted as incompatible and contradictory both mutually and with respect to other recent findings. There are growing concerns that the process of national development planning is becoming less evidence-based instead of more because of a lack of reliable information. We do not share this view. On the contrary, we find that the emergence of research on poverty based on a range of methodologies and applications can serve as a basis for the young nation to develop home-grown measures and definitions of what constitutes welfare and deprivation, and with time guide public policy more effectively. To facilitate such an outcome we see a need for reconciling non-rival differences between public and official perceptions and definitions of poverty.
Our analysis shows that much more is gained by combining research approaches, different as they may be, than pitting them against each other and we illustrate how this can be achieved notably by comparing the official poverty measure with measures based on qualitative information. We also discuss methodological limitations and draw lessons for future research. The paper is organised as follows. Following this introduction, we present an overview of the methodologies and results from the qualitative and quantitative research processes. Then in two separate sections we explore a series of data and methodological interpretations that enable us to us draw some preliminary and compatible conclusions about the levels and trends of poverty in Namibia. We go on to summarise a number of challenges to the Q-Squared research agenda before finally concluding. A full investigation of the multiple dimensions of poverty in Namibia is beyond the scope of a short paper of this nature and since only parts of the quantitative and qualitative data has been released our analysis should be considered preliminary and illustrative.
Micro-Studies and Mixed Messages
The reduction of poverty and inequality through economic growth and employment generation has been at the top of the national policy agenda in Namibia since Independence in 1990 (GRN 1995; GRN 2001). In the course of formulating plans to actively combat poverty, its definition has been broadened to go beyond just monetary measures and include concerns related to capabilities, vulnerability and exclusion (GRN 1998; GRN 2005). In preparation for the third National Development Plan (NDP), which is to set priorities for national development policies and guide public expenditure programmes over a five year-period beginning 2009, the National Planning Commission, which coordinates Plan preparation and implementation, launched a new round of the income and expenditure survey as well as a series of participatory poverty assessments. The aim was for these processes to converge in a series of regional poverty profiles, which would in turn determine community-based development strategies under the NDP and thus enable a decentralised and "bottom-up" approach to the national planning process. The two poverty research projects shared a high level of complexity and ambition but could hardly be more different in terms of approach and methodology. Table 1 summarises some key features of the research methodologies. In this section we further describe the two research processes and highlight key results and methodological issues. ...continues...
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