Inequality, Poverty and Inclusive Growth in TOGO: An Assessment of the Survey Data

Abstract

Our research carries out three tasks. The first is to examine the trends of poverty and inequality across the rural and urban areas in Togo between 2006 and 2011. The second task is to look for the drivers of these changes. The last is to inspect the evidence of inclusive growth. Using data from Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire Survey (QUIBB) for 2006 and 2011 and the ADePT Poverty and Inequality Module, we explore poverty and inequality indices. We found that: 1) fifty percent of the Togolese population in the urban area, lives with per capita consumption expenditure greater than the poverty line. 2) The decrease of the headcount ratio poverty from 2006 to 2011 was much faster in the urban areas than the rural areas. 3) In five years, inequality has risen in both rural and urban areas.  4) Even though the prevalence of poverty has declined between 2006 and 2011, the depth and severity of poverty has intensified in Togo. 5) The economic growth in Togo was not pro-poor.

Keywords: poverty, inequality, pro-poor, inclusive growth.