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Evolution in living standards in eight Congolese cities between 1975 and 2005

Evolution in living standards in eight Congolese cities between 1975 and 2005 In this article, we shed light on the changing living conditions between 1975 and 2005 in eight major cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To this end, household data from two sets of surveys have been combined and analyzed in terms of budget and asset ownership. Although this exercise is seriously constrained by methodological difficulties, some salient facts do emerge. To begin with, the urban sector does not seem to be much affected by the formal crisis the country went through. Apart from in Bukavu and regardless of a substitution effect between technological and nontechnological consumer goods, no general decrease in consumption or assets occurred over these past three decades. An explanation for this remarkable result could be found in a more efficient use of the food budget as well as a further dependence on informal income strategies. Linked to the former explanation, this study pointed to a general replacement of starchy staples by cereals, and, to a lesser extent, (palm) oil. Additionally, a marked increase in the budget share spent on education also seemed to be a common phenomenon for all eight cities. And finally, changes in economic geography seem to have structured the evolution of (mainly technological) assets owned by households quite well. Apart from these general tendencies, this study above all revealed that each city has its own particularities, which deserve to be further researched. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Urban Forum Springer Journals

Evolution in living standards in eight Congolese cities between 1975 and 2005

Urban Forum , Volume 26 (1) – Mar 21, 2014

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References (31)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Subject
Social Sciences, general; Human Geography; Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning; Population Economics; Political Science, general; Sociology, general
ISSN
1015-3802
eISSN
1874-6330
DOI
10.1007/s12132-014-9230-8
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In this article, we shed light on the changing living conditions between 1975 and 2005 in eight major cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To this end, household data from two sets of surveys have been combined and analyzed in terms of budget and asset ownership. Although this exercise is seriously constrained by methodological difficulties, some salient facts do emerge. To begin with, the urban sector does not seem to be much affected by the formal crisis the country went through. Apart from in Bukavu and regardless of a substitution effect between technological and nontechnological consumer goods, no general decrease in consumption or assets occurred over these past three decades. An explanation for this remarkable result could be found in a more efficient use of the food budget as well as a further dependence on informal income strategies. Linked to the former explanation, this study pointed to a general replacement of starchy staples by cereals, and, to a lesser extent, (palm) oil. Additionally, a marked increase in the budget share spent on education also seemed to be a common phenomenon for all eight cities. And finally, changes in economic geography seem to have structured the evolution of (mainly technological) assets owned by households quite well. Apart from these general tendencies, this study above all revealed that each city has its own particularities, which deserve to be further researched.

Journal

Urban ForumSpringer Journals

Published: Mar 21, 2014

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