A common narrative on Africa’s development
process is that specific country policies of income
growth and redistribution are necessary for poverty
reduction. This study investigated the relative
contribution of economic growth and redistribution
on poverty changes over time in Nigeria. We used
the national household survey data sets collected by
the National Bureau of statistics. Three poverty
indices (FGT) and the Shapley decomposition
methodologies were applied. For robustness,
complementary analysis such as the stochastic
dominance test and growth incidence analysis were
applied. Results revealed a higher poverty incidence
in in 1996 than in 2004. It was robust across various
levels of poverty lines for the whole country and
across sectors. The gains from growth and
redistribution for the whole country are respectively
16% and 5%. Although poverty reduced, the
incidence level for the whole country, rural and
urban sectors are respectively 60%, 65% and 50%.
A deeper reduction in poverty depends on how
effectively and efficiently markets and the
distributional systems are working. The analysis
suggests better targeting services for the poor