An empirical study of poverty in Calabar and its environs

Abstract

The aim of this study is to empirically identify and analyse the determinants of poverty in Calabar and its environs. Ordinary least squares linear regression technique was used to evaluate the extent of impact of variables such as income, educational status, age, occupational status of heads of households and household size on poverty in five different zones of Calabar and its environs. The study was carried out using structured questionnaires served on 500 heads of household to generate primary data. Based on the results, lack of or inadequate income and large household size were found to be responsible for the level of poverty being witnessed in Calabar and its environs. The low values of adjusted R2 as revealed by the results suggest that there are other macroeconomic variables that actually account for the poverty level in Calabar which were not included in the model. However, using two-thirds of
per-capita consumption expenditure as a basis for measuring poverty in all the zones, 60 per cent of households living in Calabar and its environs could be said to be suffering from poverty. Policy measures to enhance increase in income, promotion of income earning opportunities and reduction of household size are among the measures advocated.