Wellbeing dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa: a spatial perspective across territorial typologies

Luis G. Becerra-Valbuena, Nicholas J. Sitko, Ana Paula de la O. Campos, Benjamin Davis and Stefanija Veljanoska ()
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Luis G. Becerra-Valbuena: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [Rome, Italie]
Nicholas J. Sitko: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [Rome, Italie]
Ana Paula de la O. Campos: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [Rome, Italie]
Benjamin Davis: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [Rome, Italie]
Stefanija Veljanoska: CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: Efforts to track welfare trends and spatially target interventions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been constrained by a lack of recurrent and sufficiently granular data. To address this gap, we examine the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of welfare in the SSA using a new dataset of spatially-explicit welfare indicators (ATLAS AI) and explore how they have been influenced by different territorial typologies (market proximity and biophysical and climatic characteristics) over the last two decades. We find that while continent-wide per capita expenditure has improved between 2003 and 2021, these trends have been highly concentrated in urban areas and within populations already at the top of the per capita expenditure distribution in 2003. Welfare progress is observed in agroecological zones that cover small patches of SSA and concentrate only 18.1 % of the SSA population. Conversely, welfare improvement has been particularly constrained in the tropical lowlands of SSA, where 72.5 % of the rural population resides, and in desert and arid areas. These agroecological zones are already exposed to higher temperatures and will likely expand spatially as a result of climate change. Our findings reveal that rural populations residing in areas with limited access to markets, and where agricultural diversification potential is hindered by existing biophysical constraints, have experienced virtually no improvement in welfare over the last 20 years.

Keywords: Welfare inequality; Sub-Saharan Africa; Agroecological zones; Rural areas; Urban areas; Wellbeing dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Published in Journal of Rural Studies, 2025, 120, pp.103814. ⟨10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103814⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05317341

DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103814

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