Poverty amongst Female-headed Households in Bosnia and Herzegovina: an empirical analysis

This paper conducts an empirical investigation of whether female-headed households (FHHs) are over-represented amongst the poor compared to male-headed households in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), measured through the consumption dimension of poverty. Apart from self-reported and demographic definitions of headship, which do not make reference to the economic support provided for a household, households whose headship is assigned according to economic definition are included in the analysis. Moreover, the heterogeneity of FHHs is recognised in our study. In this way, the study avoids the main pitfalls associated with similar studies. Since the relationship between poverty and headship has regional and ethnic characteristics, the specific characteristics of BiH in this context are taken into account. Finally, given that our analysis did not find evidence of FHHs being disadvantaged in terms of household consumption, it cannot be argued that policy measures targeting FHHs would be a useful approach to reducing poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina.