Abstract:
This paper investigates the
link between poverty incidence
and geographical conditions
within rural Locations (administrative areas that usually contain several communities) in
Kenya. Evidence from poverty maps for Keny
a and other developi
ng countries suggests
that poverty and income dist
ribution are not homogenous, with
wide spatial variability. We
use spatial regression techniques
to explore the effects of ge
ographic factors on poverty.
The results show mixed effects of geographic va
riables at national vers
us provincial levels.
Slope, soil type, distance/travel time to public
resources, elevation, type of land use,
demographic and income inequality variables
prove to be significant
in explaining spatial
patterns of poverty. However, di
fferential influence of thes
e and other factors at the
Location-level shows that Provinces in Kenya
are highly heteroge
neous; hence different
spatial factors are important in explaining
welfare levels in different areas within
Provinces, suggested targeted pro-poor pol
icies are needed. Policy simulations are
conducted to explore the impact of various in
terventions on Location-level poverty levels.
Investments in roads and improvements in soil fertility both are shown to potentially
reduce poverty rates, with differential im
pacts in different regions of Kenya.
