Changing the Tide on Poverty Vulnerability in Cross River State, Nigeria: Does Risk Matter?
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Abstract
This paper builds on the framework of vulnerability as expected poverty to analyse vulnerability, risk, and their effect on poverty. The Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) method was employed in a three-stage regression approach. Results show that factors that influence household poverty vulnerability in Cross River State include demographic factors, infrastructure, and employment conditions, and the rural-urban welfare gap is found to be wide. Additionally, household welfare and the household head’s age are not linearly related, while female-headed households are significantly less vulnerable to poverty and have higher consumption than male-headed households. Furthermore, the results show that geographical location is a key factor in determining the welfare and vulnerability of households, thereby highlighting the importance of residence in determining how economic and environmental shocks affect households. The study concludes that integrating rural infrastructure, agricultural modernization, education, gender empowerment, and employment diversification can reduce vulnerability in the state.
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