Vicious Circle of Poverty in Nepal: A Case Study of Kapallekhi VDC of Doti District of Nepal

Abstract

Poverty is multidimensional and deeply rooted in rural areas in case of Nepal. Small size of landholding, low productivity, lack of market facilities, lack of firm jobs, unemployment, illiteracy, lack of credit, lack of agriculture training and other basic infrastructures are the major causes of poverty in Nepal. Present study is conducted to find out the situations and problems of poverty in Nepal through a case study of Kapallekhi VDC of Doti District. It is found that the poor people of the study area have low landholding and its uneven distribution, unequal distribution of income,and particularly among lower castes. It is found that 44.4 percent of people are absolute poor and 14.6 percent of people are relative poor, i.e.,59 percent of people are total poor and 41 percent of populations are non-poor. Gini coefficient of the study area showed the high degree of inequality in the distribution of income while Sen’s poverty index showed the high-extent of poverty. The value of range, variance, mean deviation,and coefficient of variance also showed the high degree of inequality in the distribution of income. Similarly, marginal propensity to consume and correlation showeda positive relationship between income and consumption. Earning capacity is positively related with level of education, employment and landholding size. In the other hand, income level is negatively related with family size and agricultural-oriented job. It is also found a close relationship between ethnicity and poverty. It is also observed that there are a large number of problems which are directly affecting in the increment of poverty. The basic objectives behind the study are to measure absolute and relative poverty as well as nature and extent of poverty in the study area to find out the various factors affecting poverty. The research design used in the study is analytical and descriptive in nature and stratified random sampling is used for the collection of primary data. Both primary and secondary data are used in the study and for data analysis purpose, various econometric tools are used. So, to reduce the poverty in the study area, it is recommended that agricultural productivity should be increased, employment opportunities,created, informal education and vocational training provided, various facilities created, awareness and poverty alleviation programmes generated, cottage and small industries promoted, labour intensive technologies implemented, unnecessary expenses reduced and strong commitment of people towards reducing poverty accelerated.