Livelihoods, poverty and targeting in the Indo-Gangetic Plain: a spatial mapping approach
Erenstein, O., Hellin, Jon, Chandna, Parvesh
56 pages
Published 9/2007

This study develops a spatial mapping methodology as a tool to guide priority-setting and targeting of poverty-alleviation activities. It applies this tool to the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, the target domain of the Rice-Wheat Consortium (RWC). It draws on secondary data for 18 quantitative, spatially-explicit variables at the district level, which serve as indicators of poverty levels based on the five livelihood capitals of the sustainable livelihoods approach: natural, social, human, physical, and financial. The study details the methodology used and generates spatial poverty maps for composite indicators for each of the five categories of livelihood assets, as well as an overall livelihood asset index. The overall livelihood asset index showed a significant and strong negative correlation (R = -0.65) with the more conventional monetary method for assessing poverty. Research and development implications are then explored.

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