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A Situational Analysis of Poverty in Kenya

Access to credit and the effect of credit constraints on household welfare in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

In rural Kenyan households, property theft is a persistent problem. To explore how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) may be used to address this problem we designed and deployed "M-Kulinda"-a sensor-based technology probe. We used interview, observation, diary, and data logging methods to understand 20 households' experiences using the system. Our findings suggest that a probe's approach is useful in this context, more specifically we found that participants used our system in different ways to address their specific needs (e.g., monitoring poultry, electronics, and their family members). We also observed changes in our participants' understanding of sensors; M-Kulinda prompted them to reflect on other areas where sensors could be used in their households. We present design implications based on these findings, and offer new perspectives on the role of technology in deterring crime.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3173574.3173584

M-Kulinda: Using a Sensor-Based Technology Probe to Explore Domestic Security in Rural Kenya

Why is it some households fall into poverty at the same time others are escaping poverty? Evidence from Kenya

https://www.ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/20268/3/Kibugi_Robert_Machatha_2011_thesis.pdf

Governing Land Use in Kenya: From Sectoral Fragmentation to Sustainable Integration of Law and Policy

The severely poor are very poor since their consumption is far below the absolute poverty line, and the chronically poor are very poor since their consumption persists for long periods below the absolute poverty line. A combination of chronic poverty and severe poverty (CSP) must represent the very worst instance of poverty. Yet the exercise in this paper of asking simple questions about CSP shows large research gaps. Quantified statements on CSP at the country level can be made for just 14 countries, and at the household level in just six countries. This data suggests a positive correlation between severe poverty and chronic poverty, both at the country level and the household level. Understanding the CSP relationship  whether it is strong, where it arises, what causes it  may improve our explanation of observed cross-country variation in the elasticity between macroeconomic growth and poverty reduction, and why within countries, some households take better advantage of opportunities afforded by macroeconomic growth. Some limited data suggests similarity in socioeconomic characteristics of the severe poor and the chronic poor in terms of location, household size, gender, education and economic sector of work. Of concern is that microlongitudinal datasets drop large proportions of their base year samples, and how this affects our understanding of CSP is not well evaluated. On causal mechanisms, evidence suggests that CSP may be caused by parental CSP (i.e. an intergenerational CSP cycle) and in households not previously poor, CSP may be caused by a morbidity cycle.

/pdf/relating-severe-poverty-and-chronic-poverty-23vs10qm5q.pdf

A Situational Analysis of Poverty in Kenya

Citations

Access to credit and the effect of credit constraints on household welfare in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

M-Kulinda: Using a Sensor-Based Technology Probe to Explore Domestic Security in Rural Kenya

Why is it some households fall into poverty at the same time others are escaping poverty? Evidence from Kenya

Governing Land Use in Kenya: From Sectoral Fragmentation to Sustainable Integration of Law and Policy

Relating Severe Poverty and Chronic Poverty

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