Poverty, income distribution, and agriculture in developing countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate the determinants of rural and national poverty, of income distribution, and of agricultural growth in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach – Data for all variables are from the 2008 World Development Report. The author applies the least-squares estimation technique in a multivariate linear regression. Findings – It is found, from different size samples, that: the percentage of the rural population living below the national rural poverty line in a developing country is dependent upon the logarithm of per capita purchasing power parity gross national income and the region in which it is located; it linearly depends on its per capita agriculture value added and its geographic location; agriculture value added growth linearly depends on the share of women in the agricultural labor force, whether the developing country is agriculture-based, and whether it is located in Europe or Central Asia; and agricultural productivity linearly depends on the amount of arable and permanent cropland per agricultural person, the share of women in the agricultural labor force, and the share of agricultural employment in total employment. Originality/value – Statistical results in this paper will assist governments in developing countries assess the magnitude of agricultural policy variables in an effort to use agriculture as an engine for economic development.