The Role of Education in Poverty Alleviation: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

Education provides a foundation for eradicating poverty and fostering economic development. The objective of this study is to investigate the influences of education and other demographic, economic, and social factors on poverty of household in Bangladesh through an analysis of data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010 conducted by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). A total of 12,240 households are considered for analyzing the status of household’s poverty. CBN method is employed for estimating poverty of household. After adjustment in a multivariate logistic regression model an increase in educational level of household’s head had a strong association with the probability of a household being non-poor. Increased the number of literate member or presence of a graduate or higher educated member in household, the probability of household being poor is decreased. Increasing investment in education can lead a household from being poor to non-poor. The study results also highlights  that rural households are poorer than urban households and household size; age, sex and employment status of household’s head;  construction materials of walls and roofs, source of drinking water all have significant impact on household’s poverty level.

Keywords: Education, Poverty, Household, CBN Method, Logistic regression analysis, Bangladesh.