Consumption Poverty in the Republic of Kosovo in 2009 : Western Balkans Programmatic Poverty Assessment

World Bank ; Statistical Office of Kosovo

World Bank and Statistical Office of Kosovo, Prishtina

关键词: ABSOLUTE POVERTY;    ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE;    CALORIE INTAKE;    CONFLICT;    CONSUMPTION DATA;   

RP-ID  :  75436

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Since the end of armed conflict in 1999,progress on improving living standards in the Republic ofKosovo has been slow and uneven, despite solid macroeconomicperformance. Kosovo weathered the economic crisis in 2008-09better than most countries in South Eastern Europe (SEE).Even so, this growth was modest, constrained by a worseninginvestment climate, a drop in foreign direct investment,poor governance and rule of law, and growing rent seekingbehavior (World Bank 2010). Remittances from the sizeableout-migrant population also declined following the onset ofthe crisis. Thus Kosovo remains the poorest country in SouthEastern Europe. The approach reflects a broader shift in theWorld Bank's analytical work on poverty in the WesternBalkans, placing greater emphasis on shorter and morefrequent poverty updates as new data become available. Thispoverty update is based on the household budget survey (HBS)conducted in 2009. Even though Kosovo appears to havesuffered less from the economic crisis than most countriesin Europe, it remains one of the poorest countries inEurope. Kosovo's population is exceptionally young, andchildren and youths are disproportionately poor. Educationand employment are intimately related to poverty status. Inthe aggregate, Kosovo's extremely high unemploymentrate is another important driver of its high poverty levels.More rapid employment growth is needed not only to helptoday's adults, but also to accommodate the rapidlygrowing youth population that is entering the labor force,and will continue to do so for many years to come.