Multidimensional Poverty In Ghana – A Gender Analysis

ABSTRACT Most multidimensional poverty measures in many countries use the household as the unit of analysis. This means that the multidimensional poverty status of the household is attributed to each member of the household. With this, these measures do not capture the intra-household differences neither are they sensitive to gender. Taking into account Goal 1 - End all forms of poverty everywhere, and Goal 5 – Achieving gender equality, of the SDGs, of which Ghana is committed to fulfilling her part, measuring poverty at the individual level remains indispensable to monitor progress in reaching these goals. Drawing on data from the 2016/2017 Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS VII), this study empirically explores the incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty among men and women in Ghana, using the Alkire-Foster Method. It also examines the individual and household characteristics that influence the individual multidimensional poverty in the country using the multilevel logistic regression technique. The analysis reveals that in Ghana, poverty incidence is higher when measured at the individual level than when it is measured at the household level by 8 percentage points. Overall, it is found that the gender gaps in the incidence and intensity of multidimensional poverty are less than 3 percentage points, which is not pronounced. Again, the study discloses that individuals suffer poverty not only based on their personal behaviours and qualities but also the kind of households they belong to significantly influences their chances of being multidimensionally poor. This study contributes to the literature on poverty. To be precise, it adds to knowledge in the area of multidimensional poverty analysed at the individual level.