Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Methods for Understanding Poverty

Principles and Country Case Study

Initial ignorance: what did we know about poverty without

data?• Impressions; press reports; sectoral data

• Macroeconomic data

• Very often - some surveys do existsoften produce contradictory beliefsdo not contain any comparisonsdo not measure the size of the problemdo not tell why some people are poor

Introducing the Case Study: Armenia

• What did we know?• Little - 1993/4 survey give little information on

number of poor (daily recalls); population numbers• How did we collect more data?

• Built sampling frame - special surveys/ lists; HH LSMS-type survey, UNDP health and education survey on the same sample

Quantitative Methods

Advantages Generalizing to the

population.; results representative.

• Standardized approaches permit replication and validity checks.

Can be used to obtain estimates of the costs or benefits of policies.

Disadvantages- Information on sensitive

subjects difficult to obtain; Some groups difficult to

reach No context available for

interpreting responses Expensive, and long gap

between data collection and results.

• Difficult to modify the instrument once the study begins

Poverty Profile for Armenia: What Have We Learned

• Poverty is widespread (54% of the population using the minimum basket) and deep

• Poverty is linked to lack of opportunities: collapse of formal urban labor market, isolation and low agricultural productivity

• Main coping strategies are remittances from working abroad, family networks and subsistence agriculture

Poverty Profile: An Example

Armenia 1996: Poverty Risks by Location

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Urban Rural

Per

cen

tage

of

pop

ula

tion

Extremely Poor Very Poor Poor Non-poor

Consumption per capita is a welfare indicator. The "food line" is the local cost of a "food basket" providing 2,100 Cal with adequate nutritional composition. The higher "poverty line" adds to the food line the actual expenditure of the poor on non-food items. The extreme poverty line is a cost of providing a daily requirement of 2,100 calories from bread and oil only.

Poverty Profile for Armenia: The Gaps

• Such a high poverty figure has been challenged by Armenian Government and experts, “we are not that poor”

• Findings that some rural poor lack land and are extremely poor cast doubt on land reform success

• Prevalence of informal activities and seasonal work abroad raised doubts about accuracy of poverty incidence (under reporting)

• Comparisons with previous surveys not possible - no information on factors explaining change.

Qualitative MethodsQualitative methods ask how, why and so what

questions, while quantitative methods focus on what and how much

Advantages•Address impact of context and motivation•Faster and cheaper to conduct and analyze•Easier to reach isolated groups or populations.•Methods do not impose responses• Methods allow respondents to introduce new issues.•Have a time dimension

DisadvantagesIt is difficult to validate and replicate findings. Purposive sampling does not facilitate reliable generalization Quality of data very dependent on quality of interviewerDifficult to analyze and interpret large numbers of case studies

Armenia: Findings of the Qualitative Assessment

• Extreme poverty exists, and the poorest are not able to meet their basic needs

• The poorest are unable to cope because:– their low educational level limits ability to find

remunerative work – they lack land, or cannot farm their land – they are excluded from informal support networks– they don’t receive social assistance, or assistance is

inadequate

Armenia: Findings of the Qualitative Assessment

• New issue: “undeserving poor”• social support networks may exclude certain

categories; government assistance policies reflect social values about “undeserving poor,” thereby compounding exclusion of those judged “undeserving”

• New issue: isolation of the poor• physical isolation - remoteness of rural poor from

social services, markets; social isolation - contracting social contacts, mainly with other poor. poor were often sick

Armenia: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

• Starting with survey data: sampling– areas selected based on survey poorest sites

• Validation and consistency checks:– responded did report hunger and isolation

• Interpretation of findings:– quality of employment matters, not just the fact of doing

something (gather cans, gather greens...)

• New perspectives/issues:– social exclusion.

Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Best Practices

• Integration at different phases – When formulating research instrument (questions) – During data collection– During the analysis and interpretation

• Integration at different levels of analysis – Households or project beneficiaries – Communities – Analysis of the project or program implementation process