The nexus between poverty and socio-economic characteristics of the household and household head: Evidence from Sierra Leone

Abstract

Household poverty is widespread in Sierra Leone, affecting about 6 out of every 10 persons, which calls for urgent policy action. This study used the 2018 Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey (2018 SLIHS) and a logistic model to analyze the influence of socio-economic characteristics of the household and household head on poverty. The analysis has shown that living in rural areas, having no formal education, or being unemployed, significantly increases the probability of a household being in extreme poverty. Other factors contributing to household extreme poverty status were: have a large household size with many children below 10 years, being separated from a spouse (widowed or divorced), being disabled, and working in the agriculture sector. On the other hand, the characteristics that decrease the probability of a household being poor include being a female household head, having at least secondary school education (notably tertiary education), residing in urban areas or cities, working in the services sector, and being single or married. Therefore, enhancing service delivery through a viable decentralization process, and supporting easily accessible quality education programmes, especially tertiary education, are critical for meaningful poverty reduction across all sections of the population.

Keywords: Poverty, household, socio-economic characteristics, logistics model.