THE DETERMINANTS OF REGIONAL POVERTY IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study aimed at investigating regional differentials in Nigeria, and therefore achieved this through two objectives; First to determine the poverty levels of regions and then to ascertain the determinants of regional poverty. This study was motivated by the regional inequalities that exist in Nigeria, wherein one of the major macro-economic objectives is to ensure equitable distribution of National resources. The study employed the 2009 National House hold survey with the use of the FGT index and multinomial logit regression to attain these objectives. The results suggest that poverty is significantly varying across regions in Nigeria with the Northern Region (North-Central, North-East and North-West) being poorer than the Southern region (South-South, South-East, and South-West). This therefore shows that there exists huge inequality of regions as some geo-political zones are poorer than others. Furthermore the multinomial logit results suggest that the significant determinants of poverty in the various regions are; literacy rate, sector (urban/rural), occupational group, and per-capita expenditure on health.