The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics

This study employs a synthetic panel approach based on nationally representative micro-level data to track poverty and income mobility in Malaysia in 2004–16. On aggregate, there were large reductions in chronic poverty and increases in persistent...

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Main Authors:	Rongen, Gerton, Ali Ahmad, Zainab, Lanjouw, Peter, Simler, Kenneth
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2022
Subjects:	POVERTY DYNAMICS ETHNIC INEQUALITY REGIONAL INEQUALITY SYNTHETIC PANEL INCOME MOBILITY POVERTY REDUCTION
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/626721641828785529/The-Interplay-of-Regional-and-Ethnic-Inequalities-in-Malaysian-Poverty-Dynamics http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36820

id	okr-10986-36820
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-368202022-01-14T05:10:36Z The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics Rongen, Gerton Ali Ahmad, Zainab Lanjouw, Peter Simler, Kenneth POVERTY DYNAMICS ETHNIC INEQUALITY REGIONAL INEQUALITY SYNTHETIC PANEL INCOME MOBILITY POVERTY REDUCTION This study employs a synthetic panel approach based on nationally representative micro-level data to track poverty and income mobility in Malaysia in 2004–16. On aggregate, there were large reductions in chronic poverty and increases in persistent economic security, but those who remained poor in 2016 were increasingly likely to be poor in a structural sense. Further, the poverty and income dynamics differ notably across geographic dimensions. Such disparities are most striking when comparing affluent urban Peninsular Malaysia with poorer rural East Malaysia. Although there are important differences in welfare levels between the main ethnic groups in Malaysia, the mobility trends generally point in the same direction. While the findings show that there is still scope for poverty reduction through the reduction of interethnic inequalities, the study underscores the importance of taking regional inequalities into account to ensure a fairer distribution of socioeconomic opportunities for poor and vulnerable Malaysians. Hence, addressing chronic poverty is likely to require additional attention to less developed geographic areas, as a complement to the current policies that are largely ethnicity-based. 2022-01-13T15:48:23Z 2022-01-13T15:48:23Z 2022-01 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/626721641828785529/The-Interplay-of-Regional-and-Ethnic-Inequalities-in-Malaysian-Poverty-Dynamics http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36820 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9898 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper East Asia and Pacific Malaysia
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	POVERTY DYNAMICS ETHNIC INEQUALITY REGIONAL INEQUALITY SYNTHETIC PANEL INCOME MOBILITY POVERTY REDUCTION
spellingShingle	POVERTY DYNAMICS ETHNIC INEQUALITY REGIONAL INEQUALITY SYNTHETIC PANEL INCOME MOBILITY POVERTY REDUCTION Rongen, Gerton Ali Ahmad, Zainab Lanjouw, Peter Simler, Kenneth The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
geographic_facet	East Asia and Pacific Malaysia
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9898
description	This study employs a synthetic panel approach based on nationally representative micro-level data to track poverty and income mobility in Malaysia in 2004–16. On aggregate, there were large reductions in chronic poverty and increases in persistent economic security, but those who remained poor in 2016 were increasingly likely to be poor in a structural sense. Further, the poverty and income dynamics differ notably across geographic dimensions. Such disparities are most striking when comparing affluent urban Peninsular Malaysia with poorer rural East Malaysia. Although there are important differences in welfare levels between the main ethnic groups in Malaysia, the mobility trends generally point in the same direction. While the findings show that there is still scope for poverty reduction through the reduction of interethnic inequalities, the study underscores the importance of taking regional inequalities into account to ensure a fairer distribution of socioeconomic opportunities for poor and vulnerable Malaysians. Hence, addressing chronic poverty is likely to require additional attention to less developed geographic areas, as a complement to the current policies that are largely ethnicity-based.
format	Working Paper
author	Rongen, Gerton Ali Ahmad, Zainab Lanjouw, Peter Simler, Kenneth
author_facet	Rongen, Gerton Ali Ahmad, Zainab Lanjouw, Peter Simler, Kenneth
author_sort	Rongen, Gerton
title	The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
title_short	The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
title_full	The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
title_fullStr	The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
title_full_unstemmed	The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics
title_sort	interplay of regional and ethnic inequalities in malaysian poverty dynamics
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2022
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/626721641828785529/The-Interplay-of-Regional-and-Ethnic-Inequalities-in-Malaysian-Poverty-Dynamics http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36820
_version_	1764485961656303616

The Interplay of Regional and Ethnic Inequalities in Malaysian Poverty Dynamics

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