2014年-世界发展银行全球_Seeing_is_Believing___Poverty_in_the_Palestinian_Territories_4页_718kb

MENA Knowledge and Learning: Poverty in the Palestinian Territories

Introduction

The Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank and Gaza, face unique geographical and mobility challenges that significantly affect poverty and economic development. These challenges include:

• Fragmented geography: Gaza is completely isolated from the rest of the world, while the West Bank is subject to internal barriers such as road closures and checkpoints.
• Mobility restrictions: These barriers have a direct impact on poverty outcomes, limiting access to markets, goods, and services, which in turn hampers economic growth and employment opportunities.
• Spatial disparities: Poverty can vary dramatically within a short distance, highlighting the need for detailed, localized analysis.

Key Findings

Poverty and Mobility

• Gaza: Severe external mobility restrictions have led to a virtual shutdown of the private sector, contributing to high unemployment, underemployment, and poverty rates.
• West Bank: Internal mobility restrictions, such as road closures and checkpoints, also create disadvantaged areas, especially in regions like Area C, which are under Israeli control and have limited access to services.

Spatial Variations in Poverty

• Hebron Governorate: The poorest region in the West Bank, with poverty rates ranging from 14% to 83% at the locality level.
• Disaggregation importance: Poverty estimates at a more granular level (e.g., locality, enumeration area) can reveal pockets of extreme poverty that are masked in aggregate analyses.

Poverty Mapping Methodology

Purpose and Tool

• Poverty maps are visual tools that provide detailed, locality-level estimates of poverty, helping policymakers allocate resources more effectively.
• They are based on a combination of household survey data (e.g., PECS) and census data, leveraging the strengths of both to produce reliable estimates.

Data and Methodology

• The most recent census used was the General Census of Population and Housing 2007.
• PECS 2009 was selected as the most recent survey close to the census year.
• The ADePT software and PovMap2 were used for poverty analysis and mapping.

Limitations and Considerations

• Poverty maps are estimates and come with standard errors, indicating a range of possible poverty rates.
• They are useful for spatial targeting but not a substitute for individual or household-level targeting.
• They only reflect consumption-based poverty and may not capture other dimensions of vulnerability or poverty.

Implications for Policy and Development

• Poverty maps are essential for identifying vulnerable areas and prioritizing development efforts.
• They can be combined with geo-referenced datasets (e.g., market accessibility, facility locations, water and sanitation availability) to support program planning and resource allocation.
• They help in phased roll-out of social programs and identifying gaps in coverage by integrating with existing beneficiary databases.

World Bank-PCBS Collaboration

• A comprehensive collaboration between the World Bank and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) has been established to improve poverty measurement.
• The collaboration includes:
  • Technical assistance for updating poverty measurement methodologies.
  • Capacity building for PCBS staff.
  • Training on using ADePT and PovMap2.
• The poverty mapping exercise is a result of this collaboration, aiming to provide highly disaggregated poverty data.

Conclusion

• The fragmented geography and mobility restrictions in the Palestinian Territories have significant implications for poverty and economic development.
• Poverty maps are a powerful tool for policy prioritization and targeted intervention, but they must be used in conjunction with other data and careful policy design.
• The World Bank and PCBS collaboration has enabled the creation of detailed poverty maps, but there are opportunities for improvement in survey and census methodologies to enhance future poverty assessments.

Map Highlights

• Map 1: Shows the density of poverty across the Palestinian Territories.
• Map 2: Highlights the correlation between irregular employment and poverty in the West Bank, not in Gaza.

Contact Information

• Gerard A. Byam, Director, Strategy and Operations, MENA Region, The World Bank.
• Preeti Ahuja, Manager, MNADE.
• Regional Quick Notes Team: Omer Karasapan, and Mark Volk.
• Tel#: (202) 473 8177

Note: The MNA Quick Notes are intended to summarize lessons learned from MNA and other Bank Knowledge and Learning activities. The Notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its Board, or its member countries.