Geographical Concentration of Rural Poverty in Ban

GeographicalConcentrationofRuralPovertyinBangladeshPaper38SuanPhengKam,ManikLalBose,TahminaLatif,MAHChowdhury,SGhulamHussain,MahbubAhmed,AnwarIqbal,LVillano,MahabubHossainPriceTk.50.00CentreforPolicyDialogueHouseNo40/C,RoadNo11(new),DhanmondiR/A,Dhaka-1209MailingAddress:GPOBox2129,Dhaka1000,BangladeshTel:(8802)8124770,9141703.9141734;Fax:[phone]E-mail:[e-mail];Website:(CPD),establishedin1993,isacivilsocietyinitiativetopromoteanongoingdialoguebetweentheprincipalpartnersinthedecision-makingandimplementingprocess.Thedialoguesaredesignedtoaddressimportantpolicyissuesandtoseekconstructivesolutionstotheseproblems.TheCentrehasalreadyorganisedaseriesofsuchdialoguesatlocal,regionalandnationallevels.TheCPDhasalsoorganisedanumberofSouthAsianbilateralandregionaldialoguesaswellassomeinternationaldialogues.Thesedialogueshavebroughttogetherministers,oppositionfrontbenchers,MPs,businessleaders,NGOs,donors,professionalsandotherfunctionalgroupsincivilsocietywithinanon-confrontationalenvironmenttopromotefocuseddiscussions.TheCPDseekstocreateanationalpolicyconsciousnesswheremembersofcivilsocietywillbemadeawareofcriticalpolicyissuesaffectingtheirlivesandwillcometogetherinsupportofparticularpolicyagendaswhichtheyfeelareconducivetothewellbeingofthecountry.InsupportofthedialogueprocesstheCentreisengagedinresearchprogrammeswhicharebothservicedbyandareintendedtoserveasinputsforparticulardialoguesorganisedbytheCentrethroughouttheyear.SomeofthemajorresearchprogrammesoftheCPDincludeTheIndependentReviewofBangladesh'sDevelopment(IRBD),TradePolicyAnalysisandMultilateralTradingSystem(TPA),GovernanceandPolicyReforms,RegionalCooperationandIntegration,InvestmentPromotionandEnterpriseDevelopment,AgricultureandRuralDevelopment,Ecosystems,EnvironmentalStudiesandSocialSectorsandYouthDevelopmentProgramme.TheCPDalsoconductsperiodicpublicperceptionsurveysonpolicyissuesandissuesofdevelopmentalconcerns.DisseminationofinformationandknowledgeoncriticaldevelopmentalissuescontinuestoremainanimportantcomponentofCPD’sactivities.PursuanttothisCPDmaintainsanactivepublicationprogramme,bothinBanglaandinEnglish.Aspartofitsdisseminationprogramme,CPDhasdecidedtobringoutCPDOccasionalPaperSeriesonaregularbasis.Dialoguebackgroundpapers,investigativereportsandresultsofperceptionsurveyswhichrelatetoissuesofhighpublicinterestwillbepublishedunderitscover.TheOccasionalPaperSerieswillalsoincludedraftresearchpapersandreports,whichmaybesubsequentlypublishedbytheCPD.ThepresentpapertitledGeographicalConcentrationofRuralPovertyinBangladeshhasbeenjointlypreparedbyDrSuanPhengKam,GISSpecialist,DrManikLalBose,ProjectScientist,Mr.LVillano,DrMahabubHossain,HeadSocialSciencesDivision,InternationalRiceResearchInstitute(IRRI),LosBanos,Laguna,PhilippinesMsTahminaLatif,GISSpecialist,LocalGovernmentEngineeringDepartment(LGED),Mr.AHChowdhury,SeniorSystemAnalyst,Mr.SGhulamHussain,ChiefScientificOfficer,Mr.MahbubAhmed,Director,ComputerUnit,MrAnwarIqbal,Director,NutritionUnit,BangladeshAgriculturalResearchCouncil(BARC).ThepaperwaspresentedattheCPDorganiseddialogueonMappingPovertyforRuralBangladesh:ImplicationsforPro-poorDevelopmentheldonMay26,2004atCIRDAPAuditorium,Dhaka.AssistantEditor:AnisatulFatemaYousuf,Head(Dialogue&Communication),CPDSeriesEditor:DebapriyaBhattacharya,ExecutiveDirector,CPDOccasionalPaperSeries38GeographicalConcentrationofRuralPovertyinBangladeshIntroductionDespitesubstantialimprovementsinoverallpovertyalleviationinBangladeshoverthepastfewdecades,largeinequitiesinlivingstandardsexistacrossgeographicalspaceaswellasamongsocio-economicgroups.AsstatedintheInterimPovertyReductionStrategyProject(IPRSP)report(MinistryofFinance,2003),akeychallengeinpovertyreductionistochannelnationalresourcestobenefitthosewhoaremostneedy,withminimumleakage.Mappingwherethepoorareconcentratedwouldhelpmeasurethegeographicalinequalityinwell-beingofthepeople.Themoredetailedthespatialscaleforidentifyingpocketsofpoverty,themoreprecisewouldbethetargetingofareasforprogramsforpovertyreduction.Thespatialdimensionofpovertyisanissueforpolicyanalysisparticularlyfortheruralsector,wherelivelihoodsaredependentonthenaturalresourcebase,whichinturnareinfluencedbygeographicalfactors.ResearchersfromtheSocialSciencesDivisionofIRRI,incollaborationwithTheBangladeshAgriculturalResearchCouncil(BARC),TheLocalGovernmentEngineeringDepartment(LGED)andTheBangladeshBureauofStatistics(BBS),implementedaprojecttoidentifyandmap,atdetailedspatialscales,wherethemostdisadvantagedamongtheruralpopulationsinBangladeshareconcentrated,andtoanalyzefactorscontributingtothespatialconcentration.WehopethefindingswouldhelpidentifytargetareasandprioritiesforagriculturalR&Dinterventionsandpovertyreductionprograms.MethodologyThemostdirect,economicmeasureofpovertyisbasedonincomeorexpenditure(ameasureofpermanentincome).Suchdataarecommonlycollectedthroughsamplesurveys,suchastheHouseholdIncomeandExpenditureSurveysconductedbytheBBS,orspecialpurposesurveysbyscholars.Becauseofthesmallsam