Publication: Moving upward from the bottom : headship, gender and household poverty in a western province of Thailand
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Issued Date
2011
Resource Type
Language
eng
ISSN
0857-717X
Rights
Mahidol University
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Population and Social Studies. Vol.20, No.1 (2011), 70-88
Suggested Citation
Malee Sunpuwan Moving upward from the bottom : headship, gender and household poverty in a western province of Thailand. Journal of Population and Social Studies. Vol.20, No.1 (2011), 70-88. Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/2907
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Title
Moving upward from the bottom : headship, gender and household poverty in a western province of Thailand
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Abstract
This paper seeks to explain the effect of the gender of household heads on the ability to escape from
economic poverty. It utilizes panel data from the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS)
in Thailand, which had been collected every year from 2000 to 2004. A sample of 1,373 households
with the same heads who were at the lowest quintile (poorest) in 2000 was followed throughout the study
period. To measure poverty levels, the household poverty index was constructed by using asset based
metric via a technique of Multiple Principle Component Analysis (MPCA). Logistic regression with
random effect analysis was then employed.
The results reveal that households with married heads are more likely to economically move upward than
those of non-married heads and there is no significant difference between households with married male
and female heads. However, households with non-married female heads are better off when compared
with their male counterparts. Other variables, namely, age and education of head, access to credit from
formal sources and geographical area of residence also help in explaining economic mobility.
These findings suggest that programs aimed at reducing household poverty should target not only single
female-headed households but also those with single male heads.