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What about the Women? Female Headship, Poverty and Vulnerability in Thailand and Vietnam

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  • Klasen, Stephan
  • Lechtenfeld, Tobias
  • Povel, Felix

Abstract

This paper investigates whether different types of female?headed households in Thailand and Vietnam are disadvantaged in terms of current consumption, exposure to shocks, consumption smoothing capacities, as well as vulnerability to poverty and downside risk. Using a unique panel data set of over 4000 rural households in both countries, we find that female headed households with an absent husband appear to be better off in terms of current consumption in both countries (suggesting a positive impact of remittances). However, de jure female headed households in Thailand and Vietnam are more exposed to shocks and are less able to insure their consumption against income shocks than other households. In line with this finding de jure female headed households are also more vulnerable to perceived downside risk. Instead, de facto female headed households are less vulnerable to poverty and not worse off in terms of vulnerability to perceived downside risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Klasen, Stephan & Lechtenfeld, Tobias & Povel, Felix, 2010. "What about the Women? Female Headship, Poverty and Vulnerability in Thailand and Vietnam," Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Hannover 2010 43, Verein für Socialpolitik, Research Committee Development Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:gdec10:43
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Naude, Wim & Santos-Paulino, Amelia U. & McGillivray, Mark, 2009. "Vulnerability in Developing Countries," WIDER Working Papers rb02-08, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. World Bank, "undated". "East Asia and Pacific Update, April 2009 : Battling the Forces of Global Recession," World Bank Publications - Reports 14684, The World Bank Group.
    3. World Bank, 2007. "Global Monitoring Report 2007 : Millennium Development Goals, Confronting the Challenges of Gender Equality and Fragile States," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6637.
    4. Dreze, Jean & Srinivasan, P. V., 1997. "Widowhood and poverty in rural India: Some inferences from household survey data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 217-234, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Rogan, 2013. "Alternative Definitions of Headship and the 'Feminisation' of Income Poverty in Post-Apartheid South Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(10), pages 1344-1357, October.
    2. Harttgen, Kenneth & Klasen, Stephan, 2012. "A Household-Based Human Development Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 878-899.
    3. Michael Rogan, 2013. "Poverty and Headship in Post-apartheid South Africa, 1997–2006," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 491-511, August.
    4. Mahnaz Solhi & Marziyeh Hamedan & Masood Salehi, 2016. "Relationship between Quality of Life of Women-Headed Households and Some Related Factors in Iran," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(10), pages 250-250, October.
    5. Misganaw Teshager Abeje & Atsushi Tsunekawa & Nigussie Haregeweyn & Zemen Ayalew & Zerihun Nigussie & Daregot Berihun & Enyew Adgo & Asres Elias, 2020. "Multidimensional Poverty and Inequality: Insights from the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 585-611, June.
    6. Juan Armando Torres Munguía, 2018. "What is behind homicide gender gaps in Mexico? A spatial semiparametric approach," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 236, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Michael Rogan, 2012. "Poverty and headship in post-apartheid South Africa, 1997-2008," Working Papers 288, Economic Research Southern Africa.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Poverty; Gender Analysis; Vulnerability to Poverty; Inter?generational Poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • I39 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Other
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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