Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Poverty in Ghana Using Fuzzy Sets Theory

PMMA Working Paper No. 2007-21

36 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2007

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 2007

Abstract

The paper studies the multidimensional aspects of poverty and living conditions in Ghana. The aim is to fill the vacuum that has been left by traditional uni-dimensional measures of deprivation based on poverty lines, exclusively estimated on the basis of monetary variables such as income or consumption expenditure. It combines monetary and non-monetary, and qualitative and quantitative indicators, including housing conditions, the possession of durable goods, equivalent disposable income, and equivalent expenditure, with a number of composite human welfare measures. The study employs the fuzzy-set theoretic framework to compare levels of deprivation in Ghana over time using micro data from the last two rounds of the Ghana Living Standard Surveys (1991/1992 and 1998/1999). The estimation results of the membership functions, depicting the levels of deprivation for the various categories of deprivation indicators, show a composite deprivation degree of 0.2137 for the whole country in 1998/99 as compared to 0.2123 in 1991/92. This deprivation trend reveals that poverty levels had scarcely changed in Ghana. In fact, it even rose slightly during the nineties, contrary to the uni-dimensional analytical GLSS 4 report of an overall broadly favourable trend in poverty in Ghana during the 1990s.

Keywords: Ghana, fuzzy set, multi-dimensional poverty, composite deprivation poverty index

JEL Classification: A1, A2, A23, A29, I3, I32, I38, I39, R2, R20, R21

Suggested Citation

Appiah-Kubi, Kojo and Amanning-Ampomah, Edward and Ahortor, Christian, Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Poverty in Ghana Using Fuzzy Sets Theory (July 2007). PMMA Working Paper No. 2007-21, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1000184 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1000184

Kojo Appiah-Kubi (Contact Author)

University of Ghana ( email )

PO Box 25
Legon, Accra LG
Ghana

Edward Amanning-Ampomah

University of Ghana ( email )

PO Box 25
Legon, Accra LG
Ghana

Christian Ahortor

University of Ghana ( email )

PO Box 25
Legon, Accra LG
Ghana

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
308
Abstract Views
2,602
Rank
141,135
PlumX Metrics