Diagnose to Prescribe: Uncovering the Truth about Spatial Disparities
77
FIGURE 3.5
High Poverty Rates Did Not Mean High Poverty Numbers in Iraq, 2007
% of population that is poor (poverty rate)
60 Muthanna
50
Sala’addin
Babil
40
Basra
30 20
Baghdad
Kirkuk
10 0 0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
number of poor people Source: Shlash 2009.
TABLE 3.4
Human Development Indicators in Slums % of malnourished children under five years (children underweight) Country
% of births attended by skilled health personnel
% of children under five years with diarrhea
Female literacy rate (%)
Urban
Rural
Slum
Urban
Rural
Slum
Urban
Rural
Slum
Urban
Rural
Slum
6.8 6.5 24.5
9.6 13.9 30.7
10.7 13.9 29.5
86.7 85.3 45.8
59.0 39.5 10.0
76.6 39.1 35.1
16.8 11.5 25.7
20.2 12.4 35.8
23.7 13.4 32.6
73.7 67.5 37.4
42.9 24.6 6.2
60.2 53.4 24.0
Egypt, Arab Rep. Morocco Yemen, Rep. Source: UN Habitat 2006.
In 8 of 10 MENA13 countries, the data show that the ratio of the slum population to the rural population is on the increase (table 3.5). The exceptions are Tunisia, which has implemented a successful program of slum improvement, and Egypt, where the slum population data need some other explanation. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Libya, the slum population already matches or exceeds the rural population. In short, the problem of poor people in rich areas is catching up with the problem of poor people in poor areas. Break Down Household Welfare into Its Spatial and Nonspatial Components: Check That Spatial Disparities Are Really a Big Part of the Inequality Story If we are to know for certain how important spatial disparities are as a part of overall inequality, it is necessary to have some objective, statistical