Escaping Poverty and Becoming Poor in 20 Kenyan Villages

Three hundred and sixteen households in 20 western Kenyan villages — 19% of all households in these villages — managed successfully to escape from poverty in the past 25 years. However, another 325 households (i.e. 19% of all households of these villages) fell into abiding poverty in the same period. Different causes are associated with households falling into poverty and those overcoming poverty. Separate policies will be required consequently to prevent descent and to promote escape in future. Results from these 20 Kenyan villages are compared with results obtained earlier from a similar inquiry conducted in 35 villages of Rajasthan, India. Some remarkable similarities are found, but also several important differences.