Poverty and disability: A vicious circle? Evidence from Afghanistan and Zambia

Abstract Disability and poverty have a complex and interdependent relationship. It is commonly understood that persons with disabilities are more likely to be poor and that poverty may contribute to sustaining disability. This interdependency is revealed not only through an examination of poverty in terms of income but also on a broader scale through other poverty related dimensions. Just how robust is this link? This paper compares data collected from household surveys in Afghanistan and Zambia, and explores the potential link between multidimensional poverty and disability. We find evidence of lower access to health care, education and labour market for people with disabilities, whatever is the disability status, but poverty measured by an asset index is not statistically different between people with and without disabilities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.