diff --git a/_drivers-of-inequality-djibouti.qmd b/_drivers-of-inequality-djibouti.qmd index 40fc0c4..9ae21c2 100644 --- a/_drivers-of-inequality-djibouti.qmd +++ b/_drivers-of-inequality-djibouti.qmd @@ -14,24 +14,26 @@ Djibouti occupies a somewhat singular position, being a tiny country with an economy focused primarily around its deep-water port, trying to establish itself as a regional hub for trade and commerce. The country's GDP has averaged roughly 6% per year before the Covid-19 pandemic greatly reduced those growth rates [@WorldBank2022c]. -However, the country's inequality levels are some of the highest in the world and its poverty rates are extreme. -Additionally in many cases there is a lack of data or the data itself are lacking in several dimensions which hinders creating a cohesive picture or plan. +However, the country's inequality levels are high (Gini coefficient 41.6) and its poverty rates are extreme [21.1%, @WorldBank2022c]. +Additionally in many cases there is a lack of data or the data itself are lacking in several socio-economic dimensions which hinders analysis and policy design. ```{python} #| label: fig-dji #| fig-cap: "Gini index of consumption per capita for Djibouti. Source: Author's elaboration based on UNU-WIDER WIID (2022)." -plot_consumption_gini_percapita(dji) +gni_cnsmpt = dji[dji['resource'].str.contains("Consumption")] +gni_cnsmpt_percapita = gni_cnsmpt[gni_cnsmpt['scale'].str.contains("Per capita")] +gini_plot(gni_cnsmpt_percapita) ``` -Poverty in Djibouti is both very high and marked by high deprivation. +Poverty in Djibouti is high and marked by high deprivation: Using the national poverty line of around 2.18USD (2011 PPP) the poverty rate for the overall country by consumption is estimated at 21.1% in 2017, while 17% live in extreme poverty under the international poverty line of 1.90USD (2011 PPP) and 32% of the population are still under the international lower middle income poverty line of 3.20USD (2011 PPP) [@Mendiratta2019; @WorldBank2022c]. -Furthermore, there is an enormous spatial disparity between poverty rates. +Furthermore, there is a significant spatial disparity between poverty rates. @Ibarra2020 estimate only 15% of Djibouti's overall population living in rural areas, with 45% of the country's poor residing in rural areas while 37% reside in the Balbala[^balbala] area [@Ibarra2020]. -The report goes on to describe the high levels of deprivation for the rural poor, with the country's highest dependency ratios, lowest participation in the labor force, very low levels of employment in the households' heads and very low school enrollment, +The study goes on to describe the high levels of deprivation for the rural poor, with the country's highest dependency ratios, lowest participation in the labor force, very low levels of employment in the households' heads and very low school enrollment, and while urban poor face similar restrictions they have better access to public services and higher school attendance rates. Over half the working-age population does not participate in the labor force with employment being estimated at 45% in 2017, lower than the 46.3% estimated for 1996, despite the country's economic growth [@Mendiratta2019]. @Emara2020 look at the overall impact of financial inclusion on poverty levels but find that, @@ -42,7 +44,7 @@ but not even on track to achieve this target by 2030 solely through improvements [^balbala]: The Balbala area comprises the 4th and 5th district out of the five districts of Djibouti city. -Inequality in Djibouti is high, with the lowest decile only making up 1.9% of total consumption while the richest decile enjoy 32% of the total consumption, 16 times as much [@Mendiratta2019]. +Inequality in Djibouti is high, with the lowest decile only making up 1.9% of total consumption while the richest decile enjoy 32% of the total consumption, 16 times as much as those at the lowest decile [@Mendiratta2019]. The country has an estimated Gini coefficient for consumption per capita of 41.6 in 2017, making it one of the most unequal countries in the region [@WorldBank2022c, see also @fig-dji]. More of its inequality hides in a large spatial and gendered heterogeneity. Urban poor face high deprivation but higher access to public services and schooling compared to the rural poor, @@ -58,9 +60,9 @@ Nearly 41% of working-age women find themselves in positions of vulnerable emplo Djibouti's economy is primarily, and within its formal sector almost exclusively, driven by its strategic location and possession of a deep-water port so it can act as a regional refueling, trading and transport shipment center [@WorldBank2022c]. At the same time, this interconnected economic nature and the country's heavy reliance on food and energy imports marks a key vulnerability and makes it immediately dependent on the stability of global trade and export markets, -a stability which was recently [@WorldBank2022c]. -Likewise, Djibouti depends on more regional stability, since its economic growth is tightly coupled with the Ethiopian economy, sourcing around 70% of its port trade from this landlocked neighbor [@Mendiratta2019]. -A series of droughts in the country threatened the livelihood of its nomadic and pastoralist populate, +a stability which was recently disrupted through a global pandemic [@WorldBank2022c]. +Likewise, Djibouti depends on regional stability, since its economic growth is tightly coupled with the Ethiopian economy, sourcing around 70% of its port trade from this landlocked neighbor [@Mendiratta2019]. +A series of droughts in the country threatened the livelihood of its nomadic and pastoralist population, with many fleeing to neighboring countries, some becoming sedentary in village or city outskirts, and the overall nomadic population decreasing by nearly three quarters from 2009 to 2017 [@Ibarra2020; @Mendiratta2019]. Additionally, during the early waves of Covid-19 Djibouti had one of the highest infection rates in the region, @@ -71,6 +73,8 @@ leaving a budget of 5% for health and 3% for social expenditures, spendings which looks diminutive compared to its over 30% expenditures on public infrastructure [@WorldBank2022c]. Only 10% of rural poor inhabitants live close (under 1km) to a health facility [@Ibarra2020]. +### Gender inequalities in livelihood opportunities + While still facing reduced rates of labor market participation, the country has expended effort on increasing women's opportunity for education: Having overall lower literacy rates for women still, the overall literacy rates in younger cohorts (10-24 years old) is significantly higher compared to older ones, @@ -79,7 +83,7 @@ Women's lower secondary completion rate grew from 28.6% in 2009 (compared to 35. However, for 2017, women's upward educational mobility was still significantly worse than men's, with non-poor men having an upward mobility of 53%, non-poor women 29%, poor men 19% and poor women only 10% against the national average of 36% [@Mendiratta2019]. -Such differences reflect themselves in firm team and ownership structures and on the labor market, +Such differences reflect themselves in firm ownership structures and on the labor market, where 22.3% of all firms have female participation in ownership and only 14.2% a female top manager, and both salaried employment and agricultural employment are male-dominated (though agricultural work only with a slight and shrinking difference of 4%) [@WorldBank2022d].