Botswana: Poverty amid plenty

Botswana has been one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world over the past three decades, and has avoided most of the economic problems faced by African countries. However, poverty continues to be a major economic and social issue. Data from national surveys carried out in 1985/86 and 1993/94 show that although there was a major reduction in poverty over this period, by the early 1990s over one-third of households still had incomes below the relevant poverty line. The article uses the 1993/94 household survey data to analyse the causes of poverty. It reports on the results of cross-section regressions relating household poverty to various demographic and economic characteristics. Poverty is measured by the standard binary (poor, non-poor) approach, as well as a poverty status index. The latter measures a variation on the depth of poverty, through a weighted ratio of household consumption to its poverty line. The results show that the probability of poverty is positively related to being located in a rural area and having a female head of household, and negatively related to years of schooling and being employed. Employment appears to have the greatest single impact on poverty, followed by rural location and female gender with roughly the same effects. The paper concludes with suggestions for changes in the focus of poverty alleviation strategies, which should move away from the traditional drought relief approach to more permanent welfare support for poor households, with a focus where possible on employment generation.