A Multidimensional Analysis of Poverty in Rural Regions of Urmia, Iran
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University of Huddersfield Repository Ramezani, Masoumeh A Multidimensional Analysis of Poverty in Rural Regions of Urmia, Iran Original Citation Ramezani, Masoumeh (2020) A Multidimensional Analysis of Poverty in Rural Regions of Urmia, Iran. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/35463/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. 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For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF POVERTY IN RURAL REGIONS OF URMIA, IRAN MASOUMEH RAMEZANI A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Huddersfield October 2020 i ABSTRACT The definition of poverty has developed into a multidimensional concept focusing more on socio-economic dimensions than being a mere measure of monetary deprivation. In 2017, this study applied Amartya Sen’s capability approach to analysis of multidimensional poverty in rural districts of Urmia, West Azerbaijan in Iran. The study conducted discussion of poverty theories related to the unidimensional and multidimensional poverty approaches in general and the Alkire-Foster method in particular as this was utilised in the study’s quantitative data analysis. This study adopted a mixed method sequential explanatory approach. First, the survey questionnaire was designed to collect the required data for the present study. Quantitative data were collected from 378 households selected using a multi-stage sampling process from five rural regions in Urmia, West Azerbaijan province in Iran and then analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Second, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 21 participants. The qualitative data were analysed, and the findings then compared with those from quantitative analysis. The poverty was measured and analysed in six identified dimensions, including education, access to basic infrastructure services, housing quality, ownership of assets, health and food security. These six dimensions were constructed from the 13 indicators used to identify deprivation in the households in the study area. The findings show that approximately 83% of the households are deprived in 48.4% of the total dimensions. Also, health is the highest contributor to the breadth of poverty (30.90%), followed by food security (22.65%). The poverty level was positively related to the size of the household. Results indicated that Somay region recorded the highest estimates in terms of the adjusted multidimensional measures (M0=0.461, M1=0.324, M2=0.261) and Anzal the lowest (M0 =0.398, M1=0.263, M2=0.218). Key words: multidimensional poverty, Urmia in West Azerbaijan, Iran, Alkire and Foster methodology ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ix Definitions and Abbreviations ............................................................................................ x Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Problem ................................................................................................................ 6 1.3 Aims and objectives ............................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Research questions ............................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Significance of the research .................................................................................................. 8 1.6 Research methodology ......................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Overview of Iran’s economy .............................................................................................. 10 1.7.1 Iran/Iraq war ............................................................................................................... 11 1.7.2 Sanctions ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.7.3 Subsidy reforms .......................................................................................................... 12 1.7.4 Economic Growth ....................................................................................................... 12 1.7.5 Unemployment and inflation ....................................................................................... 13 1.8 Iran’s development plans and poverty reduction policies .................................................... 15 1.8.1 First five-year development plan (1989–94) ................................................................. 16 1.8.2 Second five-year development plan (1995–2000) ......................................................... 16 1.8.3 Third five-year development plan (2000–4) ................................................................. 17 1.8.4 Fourth five-year development plan (2005 – 2010) ........................................................ 17 1.8.5 Fifth five-year development plan (2010–15) ................................................................ 17 1.8.6 Sixth five-year development plan (2016–21) ................................................................ 18 1.9 The economy of West Azerbaijan, Urmia ........................................................................... 18 1. 10 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 21 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................... 24 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 24 2.2 The history of poverty research .......................................................................................... 24 iii 2.2.1 From growth to basic needs ......................................................................................... 29 2.3 Concepts of poverty .......................................................................................................... 32 2.3.1 Unidimensional poverty .............................................................................................. 32 2.3.2 Theoretical concepts of multidimensional poverty ....................................................... 35 2.3.3 Counting approach ...................................................................................................... 37 2.3.5 Multidimensional poverty measurements ..................................................................... 45 2.4 Alkire-Foster method ......................................................................................................... 49 2.4.1 Identification of the poor ............................................................................................. 50 2.4.2 Poverty aggregation ..................................................................................................... 53 2.4.3 Poverty decomposition by subgroups ........................................................................... 55 2.4.4 Allocating weights to the dimensions ........................................................................... 56 2. 5 Summary .......................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3: Literature Review ................................................................................. 58 3. 1 Multidimensional Poverty in Developing Countries ............................................................ 58 3.2 Studies on measurement and analysis of poverty in Iran ..................................................... 62 Chapter 4: Research methodology ................................................................................... 65 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................