Poverty Dynamics in African Communities: A Mixed Methods Study

This dissertation studies household mobility and poverty dynamics in 56 communities of Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda over the period 1995-2005. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, it examines the impacts of rural livelihoods, community infrastructure, local governance and social support mechanisms on moving out of poverty and falling into poverty at the household and community level. It gives close attention to community contexts, an intermediate level of analysis that is overlooked in much of the poverty dynamics literature. In addition, it examines mobility outcomes by household sex composition and identifies a number of channels through which proxy measures for gender equality impact mobility outcomes. The findings illustrate the strengths and limitations of a mixed methods approach in poverty research, as well as provide evidence on a sample of African communities with implications on the nature and targeting of future poverty interventions.