A multilevel structural equation modelling approach to study segregation of deprivation: an application to Bolivia

Filippo Temporin ()
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Filippo Temporin: London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2019, vol. 53, issue 3, No 27, 1657-1674

Abstract: Abstract The study of segregation of deprivation can provide a tool to determine the economic, social and institutional factors associated with spatial unevenness in the distribution of wealth. Segregation is linked to social exclusion, diminished opportunities for human capital development and lower access to public services. In comparison to descriptive measures of poverty segregation, a multilevel structural equation modelling approach allows us to make statistical inferences about segregation, and to assess the extent to which segregation can be explained by contextual variables. Previous research using multilevel models to analyse segregation is extended to handle a continuous latent variable, measured by multiple binary indicators. The proposed approach is used to quantify the extent to which household deprivation is clustered within communities in Bolivia and to explore contextual factors associated with between-community differences in deprivation. Bolivia had one of the worst performances in poverty headcount ratio and chronic malnutrition in Latin America in the first decade of the twenty-first century, according to World Bank data. Bolivia is found to have a high level of segregation, since the main source of variation in deprivation arises from differences across communities, rather than within communities. Ethnicity, education, administrative region, distance to urban centres, and drought-induced migration significantly predict differences in the mean level of deprivation across Bolivian villages. This analysis helps to identify clusters of deprivation and highlights crucial sectors to be developed in order to reduce unevenness in the distribution of deprivation.

Keywords: Segregation of deprivation; Bolivia; Multilevel model; Structural equation model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-018-00832-y

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