Female headship and poverty in the Arab region: analysis of trends and dynamics based on a new taxonomy

Shireen Alazzawi, Hai-Anh Dang, Vladimir Hlasny, Kseniya Abanokova and Jere Behrman

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Various challenges are thought to render female-headed households (FHHs) in the Arab region vulnerable to poverty. Yet, previous studies show mixed results regarding the extent of FHH poverty and the absence of household-panel-survey data hinders analysis of poverty dynamics. We address these challenges by proposing a novel classification of FHHs and analyze synthetic panels constructed from 20 rounds of repeated-cross-sectional surveys from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, the West Bank and Gaza, and Tunisia spanning the past two decades. We find that the definition of FHHs matters for measuring poverty levels and dynamics. Most types of FHHs are less poor than non–FHHs on average, but FHHs with females as a majority of adults are generally poorer. FHHs are more likely to escape poverty than households on average, but FHHs without children are the most likely to do so. While more children are generally associated with more poverty for FHHs, there is heterogeneity across countries in addition to heterogeneity across definitions of FHHs. The findings provide useful inputs for the design and targeting of social-protection programs aimed at reducing gender inequalities and poverty in the Arab region.

Keywords: Arab region; female-headedness classification; feminization; household surveys; poverty; synthetic panels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I30 J16 N35 O10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 136 pages
Date: 2025-09-26
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Social Indicators Research, 26, September, 2025. ISSN: 0303-8300

Downloads: (external link)
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/129692/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:129692

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().