IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/unumer/2014051.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does shelter assistance reduce poverty in Afghanistan?

Author

Listed:
  • Loschman, C.

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Siegel, M.

    (UNU-MERIT)

  • Parsons, C.

    (International Migration Institute, University of Oxford)

Abstract

Forced migration, often resulting from violent conflict, imposes large economic costs on both sending and receiving countries, on those agencies that coordinate humanitarian services and most importantly upon the forced migrants themselves. Programs encouraging the return of refugees are therefore potentially crucial interventions, which can result in all parties benefiting. In this paper, we assess the UNHCR post-return shelter assistance program in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011, the country most affected by refugee movements, where no less than one-third of the population is a returnee. We are motivated by the fact that the resolution of lost housing and property is commonly understood as a key ingredient in sustainable return and reintegration. Given the infeasibility of randomizing shelter assistance to those repatriated, we implement a variety of matching techniques to insulate our results from selection biases. Adopting a multidimensional approach, our results show that shelter assistance reduces multidimensional poverty by around six percent. This reduction in poverty is driven by particular indicators of deprivation including dietary diversity, food security and heating, all of which are shown to fall by five to six percent depending on the matching specification. The former results are particularly encouraging in the context of Afghanistan given the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Loschman, C. & Siegel, M. & Parsons, C., 2014. "Does shelter assistance reduce poverty in Afghanistan?," MERIT Working Papers 2014-051, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2014051
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2014/wp2014-051.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    2. Sabina Alkire & Maria Emma Santos, 2010. "Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2010-11, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    3. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1993. "Credit Market Constraints, Consumption Smoothing, and the Accumulation of Durable Production Assets in Low-Income Countries: Investment in Bullocks in India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 223-244, April.
    4. Jalan, Jyotsna & Ravallion, Martin, 2003. "Does piped water reduce diarrhea for children in rural India?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 153-173, January.
    5. Matias D. Cattaneo & Sebastian Galiani & Paul J. Gertler & Sebastian Martinez & Rocio Titiunik, 2009. "Housing, Health, and Happiness," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 75-105, February.
    6. Katsushi S. Imai & MD. Shafiul Azam, 2011. "Does Microfinance Reduce Poverty in Bangladesh? New Evidence from Household Panel Data," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 633-653, October.
    7. Govert E. Bijwaard & Christian Schluter & Jackline Wahba, 2014. "The Impact of Labor Market Dynamics on the Return Migration of Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(3), pages 483-494, July.
    8. Tom Bundervoet & Philip Verwimp & Richard Akresh, 2009. "Health and Civil War in Rural Burundi," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    9. repec:diw:diwwpp:dp659 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Marshall Burke & John Dykema & David Lobell & Edward Miguel & Shanker Satyanath, 2010. "Climate and Civil War: Is the Relationship Robust?," NBER Working Papers 16440, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. repec:diw:diwwpp:dp485 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Gassmann, Franziska & Siegel, Melissa & Vanore, Michaella & Waidler, Jennifer, 2012. "The impact of migration on elderly left behind in Moldova," MERIT Working Papers 2012-082, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    13. Blattman, Christopher & Miguel, Edward, 2009. "Civil War," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt90n356hs, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    14. Erica Field, 2007. "Entitled to Work: Urban Property Rights and Labor Supply in Peru," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1561-1602.
    15. Sascha O. Becker & Marco Caliendo, 2007. "Sensitivity analysis for average treatment effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 7(1), pages 71-83, February.
    16. Ibáñez, Ana María & Moya, Andrés, 2010. "Vulnerability of Victims of Civil Conflicts: Empirical Evidence for the Displaced Population in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 647-663, April.
    17. Hoddinott, John F. & Yohannes, Yisehac, 2002. "Dietary diversity as a food security indicator," FCND discussion papers 136, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Alkire, Sabina & Foster, James, 2011. "Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 476-487, August.
    19. repec:qeh:ophiwp:ophiwp038 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Becerril, Javier & Abdulai, Awudu, 2010. "The Impact of Improved Maize Varieties on Poverty in Mexico: A Propensity Score-Matching Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1024-1035, July.
    21. Alkire, Sabina & Santos, Maria Emma, 2014. "Measuring Acute Poverty in the Developing World: Robustness and Scope of the Multidimensional Poverty Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 251-274.
    22. Blattman, Christopher & Miguel, Edward, 2009. "Civil War," Center for International and Development Economics Research, Working Paper Series qt90n356hs, Center for International and Development Economics Research, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    23. Christopher Blattman & Edward Miguel, 2010. "Civil War," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 3-57, March.
    24. Kazianga, Harounan & Udry, Christopher, 2006. "Consumption smoothing? Livestock, insurance and drought in rural Burkina Faso," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 413-446, April.
    25. Dustmann, Christian, 1997. "Return migration, uncertainty and precautionary savings," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 295-316, April.
    26. Marco Caliendo & Reinhard Hujer & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2008. "The employment effects of job-creation schemes in Germany: A microeconometric evaluation," Advances in Econometrics, in: Modelling and Evaluating Treatment Effects in Econometrics, pages 381-428, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    27. Jonathan Morduch, 1995. "Income Smoothing and Consumption Smoothing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 103-114, Summer.
    28. Robano, Virginia & Smith, Stephen C., 2013. "Multidimensional Targeting and Evaluation: A General Framework with an Application to a Poverty Program in Bangladesh," IZA Discussion Papers 7593, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    29. Caliendo, Marco & Hujer, Reinhard & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2005. "Individual employment effects of job creation schemes in Germany with respect to sectoral heterogeneity," IAB-Discussion Paper 200513, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    30. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    31. Oded Stark, 1991. "The Migration of Labor," Blackwell Books, Wiley Blackwell, number 1557860300, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna L., 2017. "To Specialize or Diversify: Agricultural Diversity and Poverty Dynamics in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 214-226.
    2. Ann Mitchell and Jimena Macció, 2018. "Evaluating the Effects of Housing Interventions on Multidimensional Poverty: The Case of TECHO-Argentina," OPHI Working Papers ophiwp120.pdf, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    3. Robson, Matthew & Vollmer, Frank & Doğan, Basak Berçin & Grede, Nils, 2024. "Distributional impacts of cash transfers on the multidimensional poverty of refugees: The Emergency Social Safety Net in Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    4. Yanzhe Zhang & Xiao Yu & Jian Zhang & Bowen Zou, 2020. "Evaluation of the Obstacles to Developing the Aynak Copper Mine in Afghanistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    5. Masset, Edoardo & García-Hombrados, Jorge, 2021. "Sensitivity matters. Comparing the use of multiple indicators and of a multidimensional poverty index in the evaluation of a poverty eradication program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    6. Suman Seth & Melba Verra Tutor, 2021. "Evaluation of Anti‐Poverty Programs’ Impact on Joint Disadvantages: Insights From the Philippine Experience," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(4), pages 977-1004, December.
    7. Sabrine Dhahri & Anis Omri, 2020. "Are international capital flows really matter for achieving SDGs 1 and 2: ending poverty and hunger?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(4), pages 731-767, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana María Ibá-ez, 2014. "Growth in forced displacement: cross-country, sub-national and household evidence on potential determinants," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 13, pages 350-387, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Martin-Shields, Charles P. & Stojetz, Wolfgang, 2019. "Food security and conflict: Empirical challenges and future opportunities for research and policy making on food security and conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 150-164.
    3. Achyuta Adhvaryu & James Fenske, 2023. "Conflict and the Formation of Political Beliefs in Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(2), pages 403-442.
    4. Dupas, Pascaline & Robinson, Jonathan, 2012. "The (hidden) costs of political instability: Evidence from Kenya's 2007 election crisis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 314-329.
    5. Weldeegzie, Samuel G., 2017. "Growing-up Unfortunate: War and Human Capital in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 474-489.
    6. Dupas, Pascaline & Robinson, Jon, 2012. "The (Hidden) Costs of Political Instability: Evidence from Kenya's 2007 Election Crisis," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt3pg793qs, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    7. Pieter Serneels & Marijke Verpoorten, 2012. "The impact of armed conflict on economic performance. Evidence from Rwanda," NEPS Working Papers 5/2012, Network of European Peace Scientists.
    8. Mohamed, Issam A.W., 2011. "Challenges of formal social security systems in Sudan," MPRA Paper 31611, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Singh, Prakarsh, 2011. "Impact of terrorism on investment decisions of farmers: evidence from the Punjab insurgency," MPRA Paper 33328, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Minoiu, Camelia & Shemyakina, Olga N., 2014. "Armed conflict, household victimization, and child health in Côte d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 237-255.
    11. Sergio Parra Cely & Clotilde Mahé, 2020. "Does Internal Displacement Affect Educational Achievement in Host Communities?," DEM Discussion Paper Series 20-05, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    12. Mercier, Marion & Ngenzebuke, Rama Lionel & Verwimp, Philip, 2020. "Violence exposure and poverty: Evidence from the Burundi civil war," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 822-840.
    13. Hönig, Tillman, 2017. "The Impact of Peace: Evidence from Nigeria," MPRA Paper 83302, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Christine Valente, 2011. "Children of the Revolution: Fetal and Child Health amidst Violent Civil Conflict," Working Papers 2011018, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    15. Tilman Brück & Patricia Justino & Philip Verwimp & Alexandra Avdeenko, 2010. "Identifying Conflict and Violence in Micro-Level Surveys," Economics of Security Working Paper Series 38, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Pivovarova, Margarita & Swee, Eik Leong, 2015. "Quantifying the Microeconomic Effects of War Using Panel Data: Evidence From Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 308-321.
    17. Gignoux, Jérémie & Menéndez, Marta, 2016. "Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 26-44.
    18. Tilman Br�ck & Patricia Justino & Philip Verwimp & Andrew Tedesco & Alexandra Avdeenko, 2013. "Measuring Conflict Exposure in Micro-Level Surveys," HiCN Working Papers 153, Households in Conflict Network.
    19. d'Errico, Marco & Di Giuseppe, Stefania, 2018. "Resilience mobility in Uganda: A dynamic analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 78-96.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2014051. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ad Notten The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Ad Notten to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/meritnl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.