Impact Of Public Services Programs On Poverty In Sudan

Abstract

The ultimate objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of public services programs on poverty and inequality in Gadarif State. To achieve the objectives of the study, the World Bank method of benefit incidence analysis (BIA) is used as techniques and tools to evaluate the impact of water, electricity, and health programs on income distribution of population or individual households to identify the current beneficiaries access (average benefit), and the beneficiaries of an increase in access (marginal benefit). Also, several poverty measures have been evaluated to design an effective policy for reducing inequality and poverty. The study adopted various methodological approaches to estimate poverty measures, such as the poverty line, poverty indices and relevant indicators of poverty; it estimated the poverty line based on the consumption pattern approach following the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method. Accordingly, the poverty line was estimated as the food poverty line, the non-food poverty line and the total poverty line. However, average and marginal benefit indicators are obtained for the various groups of Gadarif State geographic areas.

Given the time series data are not available in Gadarif State, a simple cross section data is used. Beside secondary data of the state expenditure on these programs, the primary data of Gadarif State from three sources; a household survey which we carried out in 2008, a community level survey data of the selected sample and consumer prices; where the field survey was used to collect data through informal interviews and group discussion bases, including community leaders. The study followed the method proposed by Sudan Household Health Survey (SHHS) 2006 for sample selection. Therefore, 40 clusters were allocated in the state, with the final sample size calculated at 1000 households (i.e., 40 clusters of Gadarif State X 25 households per cluster). In addition to these 40 clusters for community level data and 40 clusters for consumer prices are used; where the data was collected during the period of January 2008 up to December 2009.

The results indicate a widespread of poverty in Gadarif State where estimated of 60.4%, which is significantly high in rural areas where most of populations live and also estimated about 70%. i.e., small farmers are most vulnerable to poverty in rural areas in Gadarif State. This perhaps reflects the high weight of the poor who joined the rural areas as a result of the deterioration of agriculture sector elsewhere. On the other hand, a higher access rates of water and health programs than electricity program is indicated; this is due to low government expenditure to these programs and hence the limited population access in the latter two areas, and the need to pay to access these services instead of government program transfer. Water and health programs are most beneficial to the poor in Gadarif State, i.e., are most pro-poor and pro-urban areas, and displayed strong pro-poor effect and have a greater role in decreasing inequality and poverty; however participation rates raise as expenditure per person increases; and the average participation rate are actually highest for the poorest quintile. While electricity program has a lowest benefit incidence to the poor; and the average participation rate is only slightly higher for the richest quintile than the poorest. On the other hand, the rich population benefits most for all programs which are based in rural areas; this is consistent with pro-rich and pro-rural distributional weights in the social welfare function of local governments for these programs in Gadarif State. At the margin, an expansion of water and health programs would be decidedly pro-poor, while an expansion of electricity program would be pro-rich.

Gadarif government should adopt rural, pro-poor policies; and locally balanced development should increase allocation of resources in the field of water and health programs to reduce poverty and inequality, and may choose to take into account distributional weights (strong pro-poor policy) in their implicit social welfare function in the field of water and health programs in general and in electricity program in particular. For example, an increase of government expenditure for each program by (1%) will reduce the poverty gap ratio by (26%) for all programs, (32%) for water program, (2%) for health, and (1%) of electricity program. However, absence of any individual program, will increase the headcount ratio by (water 64%, health 63% and electricity 63%), respectively; and would increase Gini index by (water 97%, electricity 59% and health 92%). A discontinuing of all programs will have a greater impact of increasing poverty by 64% and inequality by 52%.

While the results indicate that, most of population in Gadarif State depends on agriculture sector for their employment, income and consumption, we suggests that the priority of pro-poor policies for poverty alleviating in Gadarif State should be towards agricultural development, rural development and industrial development. Hence, land reform is more effective policy in the context of poverty reduction in Gadarif State. However, the policy makers should increase growth and make it more pro-poor (meaning more poverty reducing). A continuous evaluation must be made, to know the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, the characteristics and the places of their residence; and it is important for those who make economic policies to distribute public services in a way which make the poor benefit most from these services. Knowing the effect of these public services programs on the poor, conduct to planning with precision and efficacy so as to achieve the objectives of the eradication of poverty through adoption of sectral pro-poor polices that accelerate the speed through which the poor benefit more and faster.