Characterizing poverty and vulnerability in rural Haiti: a multilevel decomposition approach

This paper aims at characterizing poverty and vulnerability in Haiti based on a unique survey conducted in 2007 in rural areas. Using two-level modelling of consumption/income, we assess the impact of both observable and unobservable idiosyncratic and covariate shocks on households’ economic well-being. Empirical findings show that idiosyncratic shocks, in particular health-related shocks, have larger impact on vulnerability to poverty than covariate shocks. These results are in line with the fact that many households reported idiosyncratic health shocks as being the worst shocks they experienced. Also, unobservable idiosyncratic shocks appear to have generally more influence on households’ vulnerability than unobservable covariate shocks. Geographic disparities exist and should be considered for policy and program implementation purposes