Household Structure and the Production of Urban Poverty: Findings from Outer Beirut

Marwan Khawaja, American University of Beirut
Mylene Tewtel-Salem, American University of Beirut
Mona Mowafi, American University of Beirut

This study examines the link between family structure and poverty, using recent survey data from 2799 households living in three ‘impoverished’ communities in the outskirts of Beirut. The paper provides a profile of poverty using various absolute and relative measures of poverty, and investigates the relative merit of household structure and demographics, human capital, and ethnicity on poverty incidence using a series of logistic regression models. The findings show that poverty is pervasive in outer Beirut. Clear differences by community are also evident, with the camp population being the most vulnerable. The findings show a strong link between poverty and human capital, but the picture concerning household structure and poverty is mixed. Loners tend to be better off while married couples with children 0-14 of age are especially vulnerable when controlling for other factors. Some policy implications of the findings for populations living in ‘uncertain’ urban environments are discussed.