Determinant of Multidimensional Poverty Index of Niger State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Employing Alkire and Foster’s multidimensional framework, this paper aims to investigate the monetary and the multidimensional poverty measures of households in Niger State, Nigeria. Interestingly, the results show about 13 per cent of the non-poor in terms of monetary measure are found to be multidimensional poor. Hence, this paper suggests that the multidimensional measure of poverty should be complemented with monetary measure. Next, the results of the logit and ordered logit models mainly indicate higher education results in a better well-being of the households with respect to monetary and non-monetary measures of poverty. In the context of the multidimensional index, the results imply poverty is apparent in essential living standard and health among the households as spelled out by inadequate access to portable drinking water, poor sanitary facilities, electricity supply, primitive cooking fuel as well as limited access to improved health facilities.