Income Inequality, Terrorism, and Poverty: The Economic Perspective of the Terrorised

Bhattarai, Keshab and Ossai, Lucky (2024): Income Inequality, Terrorism, and Poverty: The Economic Perspective of the Terrorised.

Abstract

This study examines the economic conditions of households in terrorism-affected areas. It employs inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve and tests hypotheses using analysis of variance. The study also evaluates the poverty headcount, poverty gap, and poverty severity. Findings indicate that income inequality in Northeast and Northwest Nigeria is lower than the national average, as shown by the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve. Although the Gini coefficient (0.27) in these regions suggests a relatively equal society, the poverty headcount ratio is 73%, much higher than the national average of 33% in 2021. Therefore, it is recommended that Nigeria implement effective redistribution policies to reduce poverty, address gender income inequality, promote equitable educational policies, and tackle the challenges of terrorism in the northern region.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Income inequality, terrorism, poverty, Gini coefficient
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution > D31 - Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions; D - Microeconomics > D3 - Distribution > D33 - Factor Income Distribution

References

Ajide, K.B., Alimi, O.Y. (2021) Income inequality, human capital and terrorism in Africa: Beyond exploratory analytics. International Economics, 165, pp.218-240.

Afzal, M., Malik, M. E., Begum, I., Sarwar, K., & Fatima, H. (2012) Relationship among education, poverty and economic growth in Pakistan: An econometric analysis. Journal of Elementary Education, 22(1), 23-45.

Bhattarai, K. (2010) Analyses of Poverty and Income Redistribution: Some Lessons from Games and Multi-Household Multi-Sectoral Dynamic Equilibrium Models. Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting 13 (1), 137-150.

Carmo, R.M. (2021) Social inequalities: theories, concepts and problematics. SN Social Sciences, 1(5), p.116.

Castleman, T., Foster, J.E., & Smith, S.C. (2016) Person equivalent headcount measures of poverty (pp. 101-130). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Checchi, D. (2001) Education, inequality, and income inequality. LSE STICERD Research Paper, (52).

Chibuike, U.C., & Eme, O.I., (2019). Yes Terrorism & its Socio-Economic Effects in Nigeria. Journal of Contemporary Research in Social Sciences, 1(5), pp.97-113.

Coccia, M. (2018) A theory of general causes of terrorism - high population growth, income inequality and relative deprivation, Archives of Psychology, 2(4). Available online: https://doi.org/10.31296/aop.v2i4.32 [Accessed 02/01/2024].

Cowell, F. A. (2011). Measuring inequality. Oxford University Press.

Deaton, A. (2018) The Analysis of household surveys A - Microeconometric Approach to Development Policy. World Bank Group. Available online: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/593871468777303124/pdf/17140-PUB-revised-PUBLIC-9781464813313-Updated.pdf [Accessed 08/11/2023].

Evans, O., & Kelikume, I. (2019). The impact of poverty, unemployment, inequality, corruption and poor governance on Niger Delta militancy, Boko Haram terrorism and Fulani herdsmen attacks in Nigeria. International Journal of Management, Economics and Social Sciences (IJMESS), 8(2), pp.58-80.

Exchange Rates (2021) US Dollar to Nigerian Naira Spot Exchange Rates for 2021. Available online: https://www.exchangerates.org.uk/USD-NGN-spot-exchange-rates-history-2021.html#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20US%20Dollar,NGN%20on%2027%20Apr%202021 [Accessed 08/11/2023].

FAO (2022) Data in Emergencies Monitoring (DIEM-Monitoring) brief – round 1, Nigeria. Available online: https://www.fao.org/3/cb8329en/cb8329en.pdf [Accessed 03/11/2023].

Foster, J., Greer, J., Thorbecke, E. (1984) A class of decomposable poverty measures. Econometrica: Journal of the econometric society, pp.761-766.

Haughton, J. & Khandker, S. R (2009) Handbook on Poverty and Inequality. The World Bank. Available online: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/5b6e7bce-c7a0-525f-a781-265de317b152/content [Accessed 8/07/2024]

Iheonu, C.O., & Ichoku, H.E. (2021) Poverty and terrorism in Africa: Understanding the nexus based on existing levels of terrorism, Poverty and Public Policy, 13(3), pp. 254–272.

Jaiyeola, E.O. (2020) Patriarchy and colonization: The" brooder house" for gender inequality in Nigeria. Available online: https://digital.library.txst.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/aab90e9d-7dca-402a-85ac-d532d463a690/content [Accessed 12/11/2023].

Jaiyeola, A.O., & Bayat, A. (2020) Assessment of trends in income poverty in Nigeria from 2010–2013: An analysis based on the Nigeria General Household Survey. Journal of Poverty, 24(3), pp.185-202.

Jaiyeola, A.O., & Choga, I. (2021) Assessment of poverty incidence in Northern Nigeria. Journal of Poverty, 25(2), pp.155-172.

Krah, R.Y., Aveh, F.K. & Addo, R. (2014) An exploratory study of financial management practices among Ghanaian households. International Journal of Management and Sustainability, 3(7), pp.393-414.

Krieger, T., & Meierrieks, D. (2019) Income inequality, redistribution and domestic terrorism. World Development, 116, pp.125-136.

Leibbrandt, M., & Woolard, I. (1999). A comparison of poverty in South Africa's nine provinces. Development Southern Africa, 16(1), 37-54.

McKnight A, Loureiro, P. M., & Vizard, P. (2017) Multidimensional Inequality Framework MIF. International Inequalities Institute. Available online: https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/inequality/the-framework/media/mif-framework.pdf [Accessed 15/01/2024].

Muller, E.N., & Weede, E. (1994) Theories of rebellion: Relative deprivation and power contention. Rationality and Society, 6(1), pp.40-57.

Negara, B.M. (2018) Impact of higher education on income and economic growth: A cross country evidence. Journal Ekonomi Malaysia, 52(2), pp.189-198.

Okongwu, O.C. (2021) Are laws the appropriate solution: The need to adopt non-policy measures in aid of the implementation of sex discrimination laws in Nigeria. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 21(1), pp.26-46.

Onuoha, F.C., & Oyewole, S. (2018) Reports Anatomy of Boko Haram: The Rise and Decline of a Violent Group in Nigeria. Available online: https://studies.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/articles/reports/documents/4f179351e3244e1882a6033e0bf43d89_100.pdf [Accessed 15/01/2024].

Oxfam, (2017) Understanding and Measuring Inequalities. Oxfam Inequality Guide. Available online: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/oxfam-inequality-guide-620253/ [Accessed 23/07/2024]

Park, H. M. (2009) Comparing group means: t-tests and one-way ANOVA using Stata, SAS, R, and SPSS.

Piazza, J.A. (2006) ‘Rooted in poverty?: Terrorism, poor economic development, and social cleavages’, Terrorism and Political Violence, 18(1), pp. 159–177. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/095465590944578 [Accessed 15/01/2024].

Sandler, T., & Enders, W. (2007) An economic perspective on transnational terrorism. In The economic analysis of terrorism (pp. 29-44). Routledge.

Thomas, V.,Wang, Y., & Fan, X. (2000) Measuring Education Inequality: Gini Coefficients of Education, Policy Research Working Paper No.2525, World Bank, Washington, DC.

UN, (2015) THE 17 GOALS. Available online https://sdgs.un.org/goals [Accessed 01/03/2024]

UN (2022) Poverty deepens for women and girls, according to latest projections. Available online: https://data.unwomen.org/features/poverty-deepens-women-and-girls-according-latest-projections [Accessed 13/03/2024].

UNDP (2023) Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023. Available from https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/NGA.pdf [Accessed 02/03/2024].

Ukwueze, E. R., & Nwosu, E. O (2014). Does higher education reduce poverty among youths in Nigeria? Asian economic and financial review, 4(1), 1-19.

Vu, H. (2020) The impact of education on household income in rural Vietnam. International Journal of Financial Studies, 8(1), p.11.Review. VOL. 84 NO. 3., 600-621

WDI (2020) Gini index - Nigeria. Available online: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=NG [Accessed 02/03/2024].

Whitehouse, E. (1995) Measures of inequality in Stata. Stata Technical Bulletin, 4(23).

World Bank, (2005) Introduction to Poverty. Available online https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/775871468331250546/pdf/902880WP0Box380okPovertyAnalysisEng.pdf [Accessed 08/07/2024]

World Bank (2022) Fact Sheet: An Adjustment to Global Poverty Lines. Available online: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-an-adjustment-to-global-poverty-lines#3 [Accessed 20/02/2024].