Confronting Poverty in Iraq

The World Bank

Description

This report provides the most comprehensive and rigorous analysis of Iraqi income and expenditure in several decades. The report makes extensive use of the Iraq Household Socio-Economic Survey, the first nationwide income and expenditure survey since 1988. IHSES data is complemented income and expenditure data from a wide range of other measures of living standards, allowing us to analyze living standards in a holistic way.
The analysis presented here was performed with two main goals-first, to inform the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy; and second, to serve as a baseline for future assessments of changes in living standards and the identification of critical issues for deeper examination.
Iraqi living standards have two unusual characteristics. First, they have fallen over the past generation. Second, they feature surprisingly little inequality. These characteristics are both rooted in Iraq's recent history of authoritarian government, war, military occupation, insurgency, and civil strife leading to infrastructure destruction and population displacement.
There have been few opportunities for individuals to prosper from professional or entrepreneurial activities. Decades of neglected investment have resulted in deterioration of social services and economic infrastructure. Consequently, individuals have lacked capabilities to prosper and an investment climate conducive to prosperity. School enrollment and life expectancy have declined. Extremely low returns to education reflect the combination of poor educational quality and lack of employment opportunities. In terms of economic infrastructure, access to reliable electricity and water, and even access to paved roads are low, are further reflections of decades of neglect.
While the upper end of the distribution has been pulled down by a lack of opportunities, the lower end has been supported by direct government provision of food. The Public Distribution System (PDS) provides 85 percent of food needs. While PDS has been useful as a safety net for the poor and the vulnerable, the system is expensive, inefficient, and fiscally risky. Indeed, PDS food rations account for a far greater share of public spending than does education or health.
Going forward, Iraq faces two main challenges. First, although Iraq does not have to develop from scratch, it faces a formidable challenge in re-development. Second, a shift by the Government is required-from direct provision of basic subsistence toward investment in human capacities. The Government can provide an enabling environment through investments in economic infrastructure and services to business and citizens, thus allowing the population to make productive use of education and their own labor. Both challenges are now being taken up by the Poverty Reduction Strategy, which articulates a detailed set of required actions and outlines priorities for government spending.

Sujets

• Poverty
• Economic development
• Iraq
• Poverty reduction

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 10 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 31
• EAN13: 9780821385623
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Confronting
Poverty in Iraq
Main FindingsConfronting
Poverty in Iraq Confronting
Poverty in Ira q
Main Findings
PERMANENT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
FOR POVERTY REDUCTION POLICIES,
THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQWASHINGTON, D.C.© 2011 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
Telephone: [phone]
Internet: www.worldbank.org
All rights reserved
1 2 3 4 13 12 11 10

This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /
The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they
represent.
The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The bounda-
ries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any
judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorse-
ment or acceptance of such boundaries.
Rights and Permissions
The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this
work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will
normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly.
For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete
information to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA;
telephone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; Internet: www.copyright.com.
All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the
Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax:
202-522-2422; e-mail: [e-mail].
ISBN: 978-0-8213-8562-3
eISBN: 978-0-8213-8563-0
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-8562-3
Cover images: COSIT, Iraq

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Confronting poverty in Iraq : main findings.
p. cm.
"Poverty Reduction Strategy High Committee Government of Iraq."
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8213-8562-3 -- ISBN 978-0-8213-8563-0 (electronic)
1. Poverty--Iraq. 2. Poor--Iraq. 3. Cost and standard of living--Iraq. 4. Iraq--Economic conditions.
I. World Bank. II. Iraq. Poverty Reduction Strategy High Committee.
HC415.4.Z9P637 2010
339.4'609567--dc22
2010032695Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xiii
Contributors and Acknowledgments xv
Abbreviations xix
Executive Summary xxi

Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 2: Collecting Data and Measuring Poverty 5
The Need for Information 5
Collecting Data: The Iraq Household Socio-Economic Survey 6
Measuring Poverty 10
Chapter 3: Living Standards, Inequality, and Poverty 15
Summary of Basic Indicators 15
Understanding Living Standards, Inequality , and Poverty 17
Chapter 4: Geographic Variation in Poverty 23
The Geographic Distribution of Poverty in Iraq 23
Differences between the Kurdistan Region and Other Areas 28
Population Displacement 29
Chapter 5: Work, Income, and Agriculture 35
Income from Work and Other Sources 35
Employment 38
Productivity and Types of Work Performed 43
Agriculture 45
An Economy That Produces Jobs, Not Just Oil 46
Role of the Private Sector 48
Chapter 6: Education 49
Deterioration in Education 49
Insufficient Public Spending, Low Quality 52Chapter 7: Health and Fertility 55
Deterioration in Health 55
Insufficient Public Spending, Low Quality 58
Fertility, Dependency Ratios, and Poverty 59

Chapter 8: Housing, Infrastructure,
and Living Conditions 63
Housing 63
Domestic Water and Household Sanitation Services 65
Household Energy 67
Chapter 9: Transfers 69
The Size of Iraq’s Safety Nets 69
Public Transfers 72
Private T 78
Chapter 10: National Strategy for Poverty Reduction 81

Sources and Background Papers 85
Contents of Reference Materials Volume 87
vi List of Tables
Table 3.1 Summary of Key Poverty Indicators 16
Table 4.1 Poverty by Geographic Area, Ranked by Headcount 24
Table 5.1 Key Labor Market Indicators 35
Table 5.2 Sources of Income by Poverty Status 36
Table 5.3 Male and Female Employment 39
Table 6.1 Key Educational Indicators 50
Table 7.1 Changing Life Expectancy in MENA, 1980–2006 55
Table 7.2 Key Health and Fertility Indicators 56
Table 7.3 Per Capita Expenditure Deciles and Dependency Rates 61
Table 8.1 Key Housing and Infrastructure Indicators 64
Table 9.1 Transfer Income by Poverty Status: Amount and Share 69
Table 9.2 Summary of Transfer Mechanisms 70
Table 9.3 Medium-Term Impacts of Eliminating or Targeting the PDS 74
Table 9.4 Poverty Rates by Social Protection Net Eligibility Categories 76
Table 9.5 Private Transfers: Share Received, Amount Received, and Origin,
by Poverty Status 79
Table 9.6 Private Transfers by Gender of Head of Household 79
Table 10.1 Main Findings and Areas of PRS Action 82
List of Figures
Figure 3.1 GDP per Capita in MENA Countries, 1980–2006 18
Figure 3.2 Primary School Enrollment in MENA Countries, 1980–2006 18
Figure 3.3 Inequality (Gini Index) and GDP per Capita for 127 Countries 19
Figure 3.4 Population Distribution by per Capita Expenditure 21
Figure 4.1 Iraq: Governorates and Governorate Centers 23
Figure 4.2 Poverty Headcount by Governorate, 2007 25
Figure 4.3 Distribution of PCE in Urban and Rural Areas 26
Figure 4.4 Population Density Map, 2003 27
Figure 4.5 Number of Internally Displaced Persons, by Governorate 30
Figure 4.6 Displacement of Iraqis to Neighboring Countries 31
Figure 4.7 Educational Attainment of Iraqis Living in Jordan, Syria, and Iraq 32
Figure 5.1 Share of Adults (15+ Years) Who Are Working, MENA 38
Figure 5.2 Male and Female Labor Force Participation in Iraq and
Comparator Countries 40
vii Figure 5.3 Years of Education and Probability of Labor Force
Participation among Rural and Urban Women 42
Figure 5.4 Work Performed by Poor and Nonpoor Workers 43
Figure 5.5 Share of Employment and Share of GDP, by Sector 47
Figure 6.1 Net Primary School Enrollment in MENA, 2006 49
Figure 6.2 Net Secondary School Enrollment in MENA, 2006 51
Figure 6.3 Intermediate School Enrollment Rates, by Gender
and Urban/Rural Location 51
Figure 6.4 Median Hourly Wage, by Education Level 54
Figure 7.1 Fertility Rates: MENA and Lower-Middle-Income Countries 60
Figure 7.2 Social Dynamics of Fertility and Living Standards 61
Figure 8.1 Child Malnutrition: Improved versus Unimproved Water 66
Figure 8.2 Child Malnutrition: Improved versus Unimproved
Sanitation 66
Figure 8.3 Fuels Used by the Poor and Nonpoor 67
Figure 9.1 Public Spending on Safety Nets as a Share of GDP 71

List of Boxes
Box 5.1 The Terminology of Labor Market Analysis 37
Box 5.2 Alternative Explanations for Low Employment 41
viii