Essays on Poverty Measurement and Trade

by Caroline Dotter
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2016-02-10
Date of issue:2016-03-10
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Stephan Klasen
Referee:Prof. Dr. Stephan Klasen
Referee:Prof. Dr. Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso
Referee:Prof. Dr. Thomas Kneib
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-5530

 

 

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Abstract

English

The thesis consists of four essays in the broad spectrum of development economics. While the first three essays are in the sphere of poverty measurement, the fourth essay is on the topic of trade and development. In recent years, the issue of international poverty measurement gained in importance in public perception as poverty reduction was the first and probably most prominent indicator of the MDGs and now SDGs. Since 1990, the World Bank has produced international poverty estimates. The first essay provides a critique of the World Bank's 1dollar-a-day poverty line. Although, the 1dollar-a-day poverty measure drew international attention to monetary poverty outcomes, few would contest the fact that poverty is in and of itself a multidimensional phenomenon. In 2010, the HDRO together with OPHI introduced the MPI as a household-level multidimensional poverty measure for over 100 developing countries. The second essay provides a detailed discussion of the achievements and issues of this poverty measure. The third essay discusses relative versions of multidimensional poverty measures. The use of relative poverty lines is well-documented in monetary poverty measurement. However, most multidimensional poverty measures are considered to be absolute measures (including the MPI) and apply identical thresholds across groups and time. I argue indicator cut-offs need to be adapted across space and time to appropriately reflect varying needs in the dimensions of living standards and education. The fourth essay in this thesis analyses the European Union's EBA preference scheme for African LDCs and assesses the cost structure faced by exporters from these countries. To benefit from this exporting scheme, exporters need to prove the origin of their product and comply with certain rules of origin (stating minimum process requirements). This process incurs a certain amount of paper work and may be costly. Using detailed data on imports into EU member states, the exporter's decision to use preferences facing country- and product-specific costs of compliance is explained. Moreover, I model the exporter's choice between using preferences and not using preferences.
Keywords: poverty measurement; multidimensional poverty; relative poverty; international poverty line; dollar-a-day; trade cost; compliance cost; rules of origin
 
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