Measuring youth poverty in Namibia: An application of a multidimensional, multilevel modelling approach
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Date
2022
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Abstract
Officially, poverty in Namibia is measured by means of monetary thresholds, using the World Bank’s Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) approach. Poverty cannot, however, be solely defined by the lack of monetary resources. Rather, it is a combination of a range of non monetary factors which act as constraints on individuals’ abilities to reach their capabilities. Adopting the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), an index that captures acute deprivations that a person faces simultaneously, this study assessed multidimensional poverty rates amongst the youth (15-34 years) in Namibia. It examined the incidence and intensity levels, as well as the determinants impelling the level of youth poverty at individual, household and regional levels.
The results from this study indicate that the prevalence of youth multidimensional poverty in Namibia stands at 31.4 percent. Across demographic groups, the results show that multidimensional poverty was high amongst females (32.2 percent), the younger youth aged 15-19 years (43.1 percent), those who resided in rural areas (42.8 percent), as well as those who lived in households that were headed by females (33.7 percent). The dis-aggregation of multidimensional poverty measures by regions indicates that the three regions with the highest rates were Kunene (56.1 percent), Kavango West (53.3 percent) and Kavango East (50.4 percent). The intensity levels further showed that the regions with the most deprived youth also had the most severe poverty. The study found significant determinants of the prevalence and intensity of youth multidimensional poverty not only at the individual level, but also at household and regional levels.
In addressing youth multidimensional poverty, the study recommends an integrated
approach that takes into account the hierarchical socio-economic effects on the livelihood of the youth, strengthening female’s integration into the labor market with equal access to social protection and equalizing rural and urban opportunities in the labor, health and education sectors.
Description
Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (Applied Statistics and Demography)
Keywords
Poverty in Namibia, Youth, socio-economic