Trapped in poverty: persistent poverty in the context of global crises

This dissertation examines how global crises shape the persistence of poverty and explores strategies for sustainable poverty reduction through the lens of poverty traps. Drawing on case studies from Sub-Saharan Africa, Paraguay, and Jordan, it investigates how urbanisation, climate shocks, and social protection design interact with chronic and transitory poverty. The first chapter analyses urban poverty in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. It shows that poverty in cities is marked less by fixed structural traps than by volatility, leaving the poorest behind and the near-poor at risk of slipping back. The second and third chapters focus on Paraguay and reveal a shift from chronic to transient poverty which is concentrated among rural and agricultural households, while weather shocks are shown to increase and deepen poverty, particularly in rural areas. The final chapter evaluates the impact of Jordan’s Unified Cash Transfer programme on household well-being. While it improves schooling and employment outcomes, it has limited effects on income or asset accumulation, illustrating how programme design can mitigate—or reinforce—poverty traps. Overall, the dissertation highlights the interplay of structural constraints, shocks, and social protection in poverty persistence, offering cross-country evidence and policy insights into how poverty traps emerge and how they may be overcome.