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Poverty in Colonial Africa: An Exploratory Study

Aboagye, Prince Young LU ; Bolt, Jutta LU and Hillbom, Ellen LU orcid (2026)
Abstract
Recent studies have challenged earlier narratives of Africa as historically stagnant and impoverished, instead revealing patterns of booms and busts. While this has advanced understanding of long-term growth, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of historical poverty, especially among self-employed rural populations. This chapter uses published social tables to examine rural poverty in six African countries—Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda—between 1920 and 1960. Using the ‘cost of basic needs approach,’ we establish historical absolute national poverty lines and categorize poverty into three levels: absolute, modest, and vulnerable. We then compare subsistence production across rural livelihoods to these... (More)
Recent studies have challenged earlier narratives of Africa as historically stagnant and impoverished, instead revealing patterns of booms and busts. While this has advanced understanding of long-term growth, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of historical poverty, especially among self-employed rural populations. This chapter uses published social tables to examine rural poverty in six African countries—Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda—between 1920 and 1960. Using the ‘cost of basic needs approach,’ we establish historical absolute national poverty lines and categorize poverty into three levels: absolute, modest, and vulnerable. We then compare subsistence production across rural livelihoods to these benchmarks. This study is the first to use social tables to assess rural poverty across multiple African contexts in the colonial era. Our findings contribute to ongoing debates about poverty persistence and the role of colonial structures in shaping long-term welfare trajectories. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
in press
subject
host publication
Geography of Poverty
editor
Hall, Ola and Wahab, Ibrahim
publisher
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
484e2576-4812-4c63-8ae3-ae7d07582bea
date added to LUP
2025-11-25 09:38:45
date last changed
2025-11-26 16:29:37
@inbook{484e2576-4812-4c63-8ae3-ae7d07582bea,
  abstract     = {{Recent studies have challenged earlier narratives of Africa as historically stagnant and impoverished, instead revealing patterns of booms and busts. While this has advanced understanding of long-term growth, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of historical poverty, especially among self-employed rural populations. This chapter uses published social tables to examine rural poverty in six African countries—Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda—between 1920 and 1960. Using the ‘cost of basic needs approach,’ we establish historical absolute national poverty lines and categorize poverty into three levels: absolute, modest, and vulnerable. We then compare subsistence production across rural livelihoods to these benchmarks. This study is the first to use social tables to assess rural poverty across multiple African contexts in the colonial era. Our findings contribute to ongoing debates about poverty persistence and the role of colonial structures in shaping long-term welfare trajectories.}},
  author       = {{Aboagye, Prince Young and Bolt, Jutta and Hillbom, Ellen}},
  booktitle    = {{Geography of Poverty}},
  editor       = {{Hall, Ola and Wahab, Ibrahim}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.}},
  title        = {{Poverty in Colonial Africa: An Exploratory Study}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}