Multidimensionality of Poverty in Nigeria: A Fuzzy Set Approach

ABSTRACT The study examines the multidimensional aspect of poverty and living condition in Nigeria. The aim is to fill the vacuum that has been left by traditional unidimensional measures of deprivation based on poverty lines, exclusively estimated on the basis of monetary variables such as income or consumption expenditure. It combines monetary and non monetary, qualitative and quantitative indicators, including housing conditions, the possession of durable goods, with a number of composite human welfare measures. The study employs the fuzzy-set theoretic framework to know other poverty correlates; weather poverty has regional characteristics and occupational characteristics using 2003/2004 Nigeria living standard survey. Three null hypotheses were formulated and tested. They were rejected based on the significant level of the variables coefficients, using Z statistics at 1 percent and 0.1 percent level of significance. The result of estimate shows that there are other major correlates of poverty, besides income/consumption expenditure in Nigeria; that poverty have both regional and occupational characteristics. Based on the recommendation, government should encourage education as a right not a privilege; and make agriculture a lucrative venture through mechanizing the sector, training and retraining of personnel’s in practice. Besides this, government should as a matter of importance, provide necessary infrastructure like electricity, good road network etc ; these are good paths to improving the wellbeing of Nigerians’ and targeted objective of MDG One.