A Counterfactual Analysis of the Poverty Impact of Economic Growth in Cameroon

Essama-Nssah, B.; Bassole, Leandre

dc.creator	Essama-Nssah, B.
dc.creator	Bassole, Leandre
dc.date	2012-03-19T18:38:53Z
dc.date	2012-03-19T18:38:53Z
dc.date	2010-03-01
dc.date.accessioned	2023-02-17T21:02:37Z
dc.date.available	2023-02-17T21:02:37Z
dc.identifier	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20100325082829
dc.identifier	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3736
dc.identifier.uri	http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/244700
dc.description	The Government of Cameroon has declared poverty reduction through strong and sustainable economic growth the central objective of its socioeconomic policy. This paper uses available household survey data to assess the performance of the economy with respect to this objective over the period 1996-2007. The authors use counterfactual decompositions based on both the Shapley method and the generalized Oaxaca-Blinder framework to identify proximate factors that might explain differences in observed outcomes over time, across regions and households. The concept of pro-poorness provides a basis for a normative evaluation of these outcomes. The analysis of changes in the size distribution of economic welfare reveals that formal sector employment, access to credit, education, and urban residence are characteristics that bring significantly high returns to households. Employment in smallholder agriculture has a negative impact on welfare across quantiles. Economic growth was accompanied by significant poverty reduction between 1996 and 2001. But poverty barely decreased between 2001 and 2007 due to very weak growth. Over the same period, household investment in human capital took a serious hit. Given the additional finding that the pattern of growth is characterized by urban bias and regional disparity, the overall assessment is that economic growth has been weakly pro-poor in Cameroon. There is therefore a need to re-examine and possibly reform the mechanisms governing the allocation of public resources designed to support individuals' efforts to improve their standard of living.
dc.language	English
dc.relation	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5249
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.rights	World Bank
dc.subject	ABSOLUTE REDUCTION
dc.subject	ABSOLUTE SENSE
dc.subject	ABSOLUTE TERMS
dc.subject	ABSOLUTE VALUE
dc.subject	ADVERSE EFFECTS
dc.subject	AGGREGATE POVERTY
dc.subject	AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject	AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
dc.subject	AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
dc.subject	ANNUAL GROWTH
dc.subject	ANNUAL GROWTH RATE
dc.subject	AVERAGE ANNUAL
dc.subject	AVERAGE GROWTH
dc.subject	AVERAGE GROWTH RATE
dc.subject	AVERAGE RATE
dc.subject	BETWEEN-GROUP INEQUALITY
dc.subject	CHANGES IN POVERTY
dc.subject	CHILD MORTALITY
dc.subject	COMMUNITY ASSETS
dc.subject	COUNTERFACTUAL
dc.subject	CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION
dc.subject	CUMULATIVE DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION
dc.subject	CUMULATIVE POPULATION
dc.subject	CURRENT POVERTY
dc.subject	DATA ISSUES
dc.subject	DEBT RELIEF
dc.subject	DECOMPOSABLE POVERTY
dc.subject	DECOMPOSABLE POVERTY MEASURES
dc.subject	DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS
dc.subject	DECREASING FUNCTION
dc.subject	DENSITY FUNCTION
dc.subject	DEPENDENT VARIABLE
dc.subject	DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY
dc.subject	DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT GOALS
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT POLICY
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT REPORT
dc.subject	DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION
dc.subject	DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGES
dc.subject	DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS
dc.subject	ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
dc.subject	ECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subject	ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
dc.subject	ECONOMIC POLICY
dc.subject	EMPIRICAL RESULTS
dc.subject	EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE
dc.subject	EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
dc.subject	ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
dc.subject	EXCHANGE RATE
dc.subject	EXPORT MARKETS
dc.subject	EXPORT PRICE INDEX
dc.subject	EXTREME POVERTY
dc.subject	FOOD COMPONENTS
dc.subject	FOOD CROPS
dc.subject	FOOD EXPENDITURE
dc.subject	GENDER EQUITY
dc.subject	GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL
dc.subject	GINI COEFFICIENT
dc.subject	GINI INDEX
dc.subject	GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
dc.subject	GROUP MEANS
dc.subject	GROWTH COMPONENT
dc.subject	GROWTH EFFECT
dc.subject	GROWTH ELASTICITY
dc.subject	GROWTH EPISODE
dc.subject	GROWTH PATTERN
dc.subject	GROWTH PRO-POOR
dc.subject	GROWTH PROCESS
dc.subject	GROWTH PROSPECTS
dc.subject	HEADCOUNT POVERTY
dc.subject	HEADCOUNT RATIO
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD HEAD
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD INCOME
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD INCOMES
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD LEVEL DATA
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD WELFARE
dc.subject	HUMAN CAPITAL
dc.subject	INCIDENCE OF POVERTY
dc.subject	INCOME
dc.subject	INCOME DISTRIBUTION
dc.subject	INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
dc.subject	INCOME EFFECT
dc.subject	INCOME ELASTICITY
dc.subject	INCOME INEQUALITY
dc.subject	INCOME SHARE
dc.subject	INCREASING INEQUALITY
dc.subject	INEQUALITY
dc.subject	INEQUALITY AVERSION
dc.subject	INEQUALITY COMPONENT
dc.subject	INEQUALITY EFFECT
dc.subject	JOB CREATION
dc.subject	LABOR FORCE
dc.subject	LAND OWNERSHIP
dc.subject	LINEAR RELATIONSHIP
dc.subject	LIVING STANDARDS
dc.subject	MACROECONOMIC STABILITY
dc.subject	MARGINAL EFFECT
dc.subject	MATERNAL HEALTH
dc.subject	MEAN INCOME
dc.subject	MEAN LOG DEVIATION
dc.subject	NATIONAL POVERTY
dc.subject	NEGATIVE EFFECT
dc.subject	NEGATIVE IMPACT
dc.subject	NEGATIVE SIGN
dc.subject	OBSERVED CHANGE
dc.subject	OBSERVED CHANGES
dc.subject	PATH DEPENDENCE
dc.subject	PER CAPITA EXPENDITURE
dc.subject	PER CAPITA INCOME
dc.subject	POLICY ENVIRONMENT
dc.subject	POLICY REFORMS
dc.subject	POLICY RESEARCH
dc.subject	POLITICAL ECONOMY
dc.subject	POLITICAL STABILITY
dc.subject	POOR
dc.subject	POOR COUNTRIES
dc.subject	POOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subject	POOR HOUSEHOLDS
dc.subject	POOR INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subject	POPULATION SHARE
dc.subject	POSITIVE EFFECT
dc.subject	POSITIVE GROWTH
dc.subject	POSITIVE IMPACT
dc.subject	POVERTY ANALYSIS
dc.subject	POVERTY CHANGES
dc.subject	POVERTY GAP
dc.subject	POVERTY IMPACT
dc.subject	POVERTY INCIDENCE
dc.subject	POVERTY INDEX
dc.subject	POVERTY INDICES
dc.subject	POVERTY LEVELS
dc.subject	POVERTY LINE
dc.subject	POVERTY MEASURE
dc.subject	POVERTY MEASURES
dc.subject	POVERTY OUTCOMES
dc.subject	POVERTY RATES
dc.subject	POVERTY REDUCTION
dc.subject	POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY
dc.subject	POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPER
dc.subject	POVERTY-REDUCING GROWTH
dc.subject	PRIMARY EDUCATION
dc.subject	PRIVATE SECTOR
dc.subject	PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject	PRO-POOR
dc.subject	PRO-POOR GROWTH
dc.subject	PUBLIC INVESTMENT
dc.subject	PUBLIC SECTOR
dc.subject	PUBLIC SPENDING
dc.subject	PURE GROWTH
dc.subject	PURE GROWTH EFFECT
dc.subject	QUANTILE REGRESSIONS
dc.subject	RAPID GROWTH
dc.subject	REAL GROWTH
dc.subject	REAL INCOME
dc.subject	REDUCTION IN POVERTY
dc.subject	REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
dc.subject	REGIONAL DISPARITY
dc.subject	REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION
dc.subject	REGIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS
dc.subject	REGIONAL INEQUALITY
dc.subject	REGIONAL LEVEL
dc.subject	REGIONAL POVERTY
dc.subject	REGRESSION ANALYSIS
dc.subject	REGRESSION RESULTS
dc.subject	RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION
dc.subject	RELATIVE INEQUALITY
dc.subject	RELATIVE POVERTY
dc.subject	RURAL
dc.subject	RURAL AREA
dc.subject	RURAL AREAS
dc.subject	RURAL COUNTERPARTS
dc.subject	RURAL DIFFERENCES
dc.subject	RURAL GAP
dc.subject	RURAL INEQUALITY
dc.subject	RURAL POVERTY
dc.subject	RURAL SECTOR
dc.subject	SCHOOLING
dc.subject	SECTOR EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject	SHARP REDUCTION
dc.subject	SIGNIFICANT EFFECT
dc.subject	SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
dc.subject	SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE
dc.subject	SQUARED POVERTY GAP
dc.subject	STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
dc.subject	TRADE SHOCKS
dc.subject	URBAN AREAS
dc.subject	URBAN POVERTY
dc.subject	WELFARE INDICATOR
dc.title	A Counterfactual Analysis of the Poverty Impact of Economic Growth in Cameroon
dc.type	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
dc.coverage	Africa
dc.coverage	Africa
dc.coverage	West Africa
dc.coverage	Sub-Saharan Africa
dc.coverage	Cameroon