Deidre Clarendon, Division Chief, Social Sector Division, Caribbean Development Bank shares the findings of a poverty study by the CDB during a seminar hosted by the Bank on 'The Changing Nature of Poverty and Inequality in the Caribbean: New Issues, New Solutions' at the 46th Annual Meeting in Montego Bay, Jamaica on May 18, 2016.

1. The Changing Nature of
Poverty and Inequality in the
Caribbean: New Issues, New
Solutions
Key Findings and Strategic
Imperatives
Presenter: Deidre Clarendon
Designation: Division Chief
Department: Social Sector Division
Date: May 17, 2016

2. Poverty/SDGs Nexus

3. Countries in the Quantitative
Analyses
• Consumption Poverty:
 Country Poverty Assessments: St. Lucia (1995
& 2006), St. Kitts and Nevis (1999 & 2006), and
Dominica (2002 & 2009).
 Surveys of Living Conditions: Jamaica (2002 &
2012).
• Asset Wellbeing Index:
 Census(2010-2012): Trinidad and Tobago, Saint
Lucia, Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St.
Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados,
and the Bahamas.

4. Key Findings:
Poverty
• Poverty remains high, despite some gains and a
reduction in the level of indigence:
– At least one in five persons in poverty.
– Indigence (food poor) declined in BMCs except
Belize (10.8% in 2002 and 15.8% in 2009).
• Post 2007 financial crisis reversals:
– Grenada (32% in 1998 to 38% in 2008)
– Jamaica (9.9% in 2007 to 19.9% in 2012)

5. Key Findings:
Inequality
• Gini Coefficients remain stable in BMCs:
– 9 of 19 BMCs are 0.4 and above.
• Inequality highest in:
– Haiti (0.61 in 2012)
• Inequality Lowest in:
– British Virgin Islands (0.23 in 2002)
– Guyana (0.35 in 2006)

6. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Jamaica 2012
St. Lucia 2006
Dominica 2009
Antigua and Barbuda 2005
Bahamas 2013
Quintile 5 Quintile 4 Quintile 3 Quintile 2 Quintile 1
Key Findings:
Consumption Distribution
• Q5 (wealthiest) consume approx. 10 times as much as Q1 (quintile).

7. Key Findings (Overall):
Likelihood of Being Poor
Increased likelihood:
• Education: Head of HH with primary or below.
• Household size and Household composition:
larger, composition by age, gender, disability.
• Dependency ratios (children and elderly).

8. Key Findings (Overall):
Likelihood of Being Poor
Increased likelihood:
• Others: overcrowding, no access to piped water in
dwelling, poor housing quality, disability.
Reduced likelihood:
• Remittances, pensions & health insurance access.
• Occupation and sector of employment of
Household Head – Manager, Professional,
Technician Associate Professionals, and Plant and
Machine Operator .

9. Key Findings (Overall):
Likelihood of Being Poor
The Case of Gender
• Only in Dominica are MHHs, not in a union, significantly
likely to be poor relative to their female counterparts.
• Union status of the HH emerged as critical.
• FHHs are heterogeneous.
• Educational vis occupational outcomes.

10. Key Findings:
MPI (Human Development Report 2015)
33.7
41.2 40
48.1
38.8
34.5
43.1
38
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Barbados
2012 M
Belize 2011 M Guyana 2009
D
Haiti 2012 D Jamaica 2010
N
St Lucia 2012
M
Suriname
2010 M
Trinidad and
Tobago 2006
M
Percent

11. Key Findings:
MPI (Jamaica Only)
• HDR MPI: 38.8%
• Study MPI:
– multidimensional poor 26%
– consumption poor 20%
– consumption & multidimensional poor 10.6%
– multidimensional poor & asset poor 8%
• HHs are more likely to be deprived in the
employment dimension & least in health dimension.

12. Key Findings:
MPI (Jamaica Only)
The Case of Disability
• Having a disabled HH member increases the
probability of being poor for all HHs that are:
• multidimensional poor (by 13.4%)
• consumption poor (by 9.7%)
• multidimensional & consumption poor (by 6.3%)
• There is need to mainstream inclusion of persons
with disabilities.
• Provide coherent regional and enforceable national
legislative/policy framework.

13. Challenges in Addressing Poverty
1. Multidimensionality of poverty
– HH composition, gender, disability, indigenous
groups, urban/rural location etc.
– Facing multiple overlapping vulnerabilities
– Treatment of the vulnerable (disaster, seasonality
of work, economic shocks etc.).
2. Technical capacity to assess and evolve from
the basic needs to multidimensional to poverty
deficits.

14. Challenges in Addressing Poverty
3. Gaps associated with a plethora of social assistance
programmes:
– Efficiency (harmonisation, institutional capacity, data
management).
– Efficacy (targeting).
– Effectiveness (design, coverage, adequacy).
4. Traditional incremental approach to poverty reduction
around SSNs without integration of PRSPs within national
development plans; & economic policies.
5. Lack of systematic M&E and MfDR processes/systems.

15. Strategic Imperatives
1. POVERTY-CENTRIC POLICY COHERENCE
• Infuse poverty impact analyses in development
projects appraisal recognising crosscutting support for
gender, disability mainstreaming and social inclusion.
• Integrate poverty reduction strategies with
regional/national development plans (long and
medium term), M&E frameworks, and SDG targets
• Expand private dimensions of poverty beyond public
poverty to emphasize livelihoods

16. Strategic Imperatives
2. DATA AND M&E STRENGTHENING
• Support to the BMCs to adopt a multi-dimensional
poverty measurement approach
• Regional partnerships with MDBs & BMCs to collect,
analyse and share poverty data, and facilitate lesson-
drawing from policy/programme.
• Mainstream M&E frequent processing and
dissemination of results of interventions and Poverty
Reduction Strategy results (impact assessments).

17. Strategic Imperatives
3. Evidence-driven Programming
• Programming/Institutional considerations for national
poverty reduction coordination through:
– Universal vis targeted/conditional interventions.
– Rights-based targeting of indigenous people,
disabled, urban/rural dwellers, gender, youth, children
etc..)
– Partners: public, private, civil society, international
development partners and the poor.
– Case management infrastructure to promote personal
responsibility; transformative values & attitudes; and
SRH (Barbados & Jamaica pilots).

18. Strategic Imperatives
3. Evidence-driven Programming
• Technical considerations to facilitate:
– Integrated beneficiary management information
systems and Graduation strategies.
– Labour market information system (LMIS).
– School-to-work transition and active labour market
programmes , entrepreneurial training; and access to
MSME start-up capital.
– Decent work- access to benefits and health
insurance

19. Conclusion
• Poverty and inequality reduction, including gender
inequality, is a sustainable development
imperative.
• GDP growth is necessary but insufficient.
• Tackling poverty requires recognition of the
multidimensionality of poverty.
• Multiple partners: public, private, civil society,
international development partners, and the poor
as transformational agents.