Interdisciplinary Seminar:
Overcoming Hunger and Poverty as a Source of Insecurity and Conflict
Convener: Alice Kagoda, Uganda

Income Poverty Line and Wage Structure in the Sudan: An Empirical Investigation, 2006
Nagat A. Elmuluthum, International Member, Sudan

An absolute poverty line is most commonly defined by estimating the cost of a consumption bundle deemed sufficient for meeting basic needs: in developing countries, the most important component is expenditure on the amount of food necessary to attain a recommended energy intake. This is then augmented by a modest allowance for non-food items (Ravallion 1992). Applying Annand and Nur (1988) methodology, we estimated an income poverty line for the Sudan for the year 2006. It was based on the average cost of three alternatives – representing different consumption patterns in the Sudan – each able to provide the average minimum required calories. Multiplying the average cost of food by a conversion factor to cater for non-food items, we obtained the minimum per capita cash requirement for food and non-food consumption. This was further multiplied by the average family size to obtain the household income poverty line. Relating the estimated poverty line to the Sudanese wage structure, we found that only the two highest wage groups were above the poverty line, while the wage of the third group coincided exactly with the poverty line. Rates for the remaining fourteen groups of the wage structure were below the poverty line, i.e. most Sudanese working in the public sector are below the poverty line. Furthermore, the absence of coping mechanisms to make up for the difference between wages and the poverty line would lead to corruption. For this reason, the calculated poverty line could be used as the basis for the minimum wage level in Sudan.

Dr Nagat Ahmed Mustafa Elmuluthum holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Gezira, Sudan where she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics. Her research interests are in Food and Agricultural Policy, Poverty and Food Security, Agricultural Finance, and Agricultural Marketing.