Not All Determinants Are Equal: A Systematic Literature Review of Education, Employment Status, and Household Size in Household Extreme Poverty

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58421/misro.v5i3.1829

Authors

  • Yusuf Husain Universitas Brawijaya
  • Agus Suman Universitas Brawijaya
  • Dias Satria Universitas Brawijaya

Keywords:

Education, Employment status, Extreme poverty, Household size, Systematic literature review

Abstract

Extreme poverty remains an urgent global development challenge. Determinants such as education, employment status, and household size are often studied in isolation, fragmenting understanding of their interactions, while findings are inconsistent, particularly for household size and informal employment, motivating this review. This study synthesizes empirical evidence on how educational attainment, employment status, and household size affect the probability of household extreme poverty, identifying patterns of consistency and inconsistency across prior studies. Following PRISMA guidelines, this Systematic Literature Review searched Scopus using a Boolean string combining keywords for education, employment status, household size, and extreme poverty. Studies were selected via inclusion and exclusion criteria on year, language, type, and relevance; extraction was narrative, without formal quality assessment. Twelve studies support a negative education effect, though two report non-significant or reversed results. Eight studies link unstable employment to higher poverty risk, but only two directly test the formal-informal dichotomy. Nine studies agree that a larger household size raises poverty risk, though the magnitude varies up to sevenfold. Education and household size offer the most consistent evidence as determinants, while employment status needs further direct testing given reliance on non-equivalent proxies. Future research should integrate all three determinants into a single model and apply meta-analysis to test the identified magnitude gaps.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

J. Cuesta and M. Negre, Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2016: Taking on Inequality. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2016, pp. 1–193, doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0958-3.

M. Moatsos and A. Lazopoulos, "Stress-testing the international poverty line and the official global poverty statistics," Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun., vol. 11, 2024, doi: 10.1057/s41599-024-03260-6.

C. Lakner, D. Mahler, M. Negre, and E. Prydz, "How much does reducing inequality matter for global poverty?" J. Econ. Inequal., vol. 20, 2019, doi: 10.1007/s10888-021-09510-w.

A. Atamanov, A. Aguilar, S. K. T. Baah, D. Jolliffe, C. Lakner, D. Mahler, and M. Schoch, "Monitoring global poverty," in Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020: Reversals of Fortune. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2020, doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-1602-4_ch1.

D. Laborde, W. Martin, and R. Vos, "Impacts of COVID-19 on global poverty, food security, and diets: Insights from global model scenario analysis," Agric. Econ., vol. 52, pp. 375–390, 2021, doi: 10.1111/agec.12624.

J. Moyer, W. Verhagen, B. Mapes, D. Bohl, Y. Xiong, V. Yang, K. McNeil, J. Solórzano, M. Irfan, C. Carter, and B. Hughes, "How many people is the COVID-19 pandemic pushing into poverty? A long-term forecast to 2050 with alternative scenarios," PLoS ONE, vol. 17, 2022, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270846.

M. Z. B. C. Aat and F. Jaafar, "Addressing poverty through Sustainable Development Goal 1: Progress, challenges, and opportunities," Int. J. Res. Innov. Soc. Sci., 2025, doi: 10.47772/ijriss.2025.90400125.

F. Polidoro, "The impact of the global shocks on extreme poverty," Riv. Ital. Econ. Demogr. Stat., 2025, doi: 10.71014/sieds.v78i4.416.

E. Mahembe and N. Odhiambo, "The dynamics of extreme poverty in developing countries," Stud. Univ. Vasile Goldis Arad Econ. Ser., vol. 28, pp. 18–35, 2018, doi: 10.2478/sues-2018-0007.

R. Aguilar, D. Doan, D. Newhouse, M. Nguyen, H. Uematsu, and J. P. Azevedo, Who are the Poor in the Developing World. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2016, pp. 1–44, doi: 10.1596/1813-9450-7844.

A. Castañeda, D. Doan, D. Newhouse, M. C. Nguyen, H. Uematsu, and J. P. Azevedo, A New Profile of the Global Poor. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2018, pp. 250–267, doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.08.002.

J. Garza-Rodríguez, G. Ayala-Diaz, G. Coronado-Saucedo, E. Garza-Garza, and O. Ovando-Martinez, "Determinants of poverty in Mexico: A quantile regression analysis," Economies, vol. 9, p. 60, 2021, doi: 10.3390/economies9020060.

H. L. Cherif, A. Badreddine, and A. Sabri, "Determinants of household poverty: Identification using logistic regression," SocioEcon. Chall., 2024, doi: 10.61093/sec.8(1).78-89.2024.

Q. Wodon, C. Montenegro, H. Nguyen, and A. Onagoruwa, Missed Opportunities. Washington, DC, USA: World Bank, 2018, pp. 1–64, doi: 10.1596/29956.

F. Siddiqui, R. Salam, Z. Lassi, and J. Das, "The intertwined relationship between malnutrition and poverty," Front. Public Health, vol. 8, 2020, doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00453.

C. Victora et al., "Effects of early-life poverty on health and human capital in children and adolescents: Analyses of national surveys and birth cohort studies in LMICs," Lancet, 2022, doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02716-1.

M. Cerf, "The social-education-economy-health nexus, development and sustainability: Perspectives from low- and middle-income and African countries," Discov. Sustain., vol. 4, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s43621-023-00153-7.

F. Ruhana, M. S. Nasution, Sutiapermana, A. Pemerintahan, and D. Negeri, "Combating poverty and social inequality in 2023: A global imperative for equitable development and social justice," Int. J. Sci. Soc., 2024, doi: 10.54783/ijsoc.v6i1.1081.

V. Giziene, Z. Simanaviciene, and O. Palekiene, "Evaluation of investment in human capital economical effectiveness," vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 106–116, 2012.

M. Maitah and E. Urbankova, "The effect of educational level on the productivity in the Czech Republic," vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 226–233, 2015, doi: 10.5539/mas.v9n6p226.

J. Hsiao and D. Lin, "Effects of education-job match and employee competency on labor market newcomers' salary: A multilevel analysis," vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 227–255, 2023.

O. Morozova, Z. Aylarova, and M. Baysaeva, "The impact of human capital on economic growth in the face of global challenges," vol. 19, pp. 1623–1628, Dec. 2024.

O. Charlot, F. Malherbet, and M. Ulus, "Efficiency in a search and matching economy with a competitive informal sector," Econ. Lett., vol. 118, no. 1, pp. 192–194, 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.econlet.2012.10.017.

G. Ulyssea, "Regulation of entry, labor market institutions and the informal sector," J. Dev. Econ., vol. 91, no. 1, pp. 87–99, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2009.07.001.

I. Günther and A. Launov, "Informal employment in developing countries: Opportunity or last resort?" J. Dev. Econ., vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 88–98, 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2011.01.001.

T. A. Arentze, D. Ettema, and H. J. P. Timmermans, "Incorporating time and income constraints in dynamic agent-based models of activity generation and time use: Approach and illustration," Transp. Res. Part C, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 71–83, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.trc.2009.04.016.

P. Chiappori, "Rational household labor supply," Econometrica, vol. 56, pp. 63–90, 1988, doi: 10.2307/1911842.

R. Calvi, J. Penglase, D. Tommasi, and A. Wolf, "The more the poorer? Resource sharing and scale economies in large households," J. Dev. Econ., vol. 160, p. 102986, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.102986.

T. Hofmarcher, "The effect of education on poverty: A European perspective," Econ. Educ. Rev., vol. 83, p. 102124, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102124.

A. Spada, M. Fiore, and A. Galati, "The impact of education and culture on poverty reduction: Evidence from panel data of European countries," Soc. Indic. Res., pp. 1–14, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s11205-023-03155-0.

Z. Sain, A. R. Amalia, M. Furqan, and R. Q. A'yun, "Impact of quality education on poverty reduction across different economic contexts," Jurnal Al-Ijtimaiyyah, 2024, doi: 10.22373/al-ijtimaiyyah.v10i2.26108.

N. N. Duc and L. Tin, "The impact of head working characteristics and labour statuses on household poverty: Evidence in Vietnam," J. East. Eur. Cent. Asian Res., 2022, doi: 10.15549/jeecar.v9i3.838.

S. Biryukova, O. Sinyavskaya, and D. Kareva, "Long-term dynamics of informal employment and its relationship with the poverty of the Russian population against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic," Popul. Econ., 2022, doi: 10.3897/popecon.6.e78235.

M. Araujo, R. Erbisti, and C. Botelho, "Informal labor and poverty in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil," Observ. Econ. Latinoam., 2024, doi: 10.55905/oelv22n1-035.

P. Lanjouw and M. Ravallion, "Poverty and household size," Econ. J., vol. 105, p. 1, 1994, doi: 10.2307/2235108.

A. M. Eyasu, "Determinants of poverty in rural households: Evidence from North-Western Ethiopia," Cogent Food Agric., vol. 6, 2020, doi: 10.1080/23311932.2020.1823652.

D. Jolliffe and S. K. T. Baah, "Identifying the poor—Accounting for household economies of scale in global poverty estimates," World Bank, Policy Res. Working Paper, 2022, doi: 10.1596/1813-9450-10209.

M. Page, D. Moher, and J. McKenzie, "Introduction to PRISMA 2020 and implications for research synthesis methodologists," Res. Synth. Methods, vol. 13, pp. 156–163, 2021, doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1535.

G. Torres et al., "Adherence to PRISMA 2020 reporting guidelines and scope of systematic reviews published in nursing: A cross-sectional analysis," J. Nurs. Scholarsh., 2024, doi: 10.1111/jnu.12969.

A. Abaidoo, "The nexus between education and poverty reduction in Ghana from 2013 to 2017," Cogent Soc. Sci., vol. 7, 2021, doi: 10.1080/23311886.2021.1986933.

K. P. Kannan, "India's elusive quest for inclusive development: An employment perspective," Indian J. Labour Econ., vol. 65, no. 3, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s41027-022-00393-7.

S. Aminah et al., "Uncovering multidimensional determinants of household extreme poverty in Southwest Papua, Indonesia," Poverty Public Policy, vol. 17, pp. 1–12, 2025, doi: 10.1002/pop4.70041.

J. A. T. Munguía and I. Martínez-Zarzoso, "Examining gender inequalities in factors associated with income poverty in Mexican rural households," PLoS ONE, vol. 16, 2021, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259187.

H. H. Dang, D. Raju, and T. Tanaka, "Poverty dynamics for Ghana during 2005/06–2016/17: An investigation using synthetic panels," Sci. Afr., vol. 25, p. e02282, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2024.e02282.

F. Moges, T. Leza, and Y. Gecho, "Targeting rural poverty: A generalized ordered logit model analysis of multidimensional deprivation in Ethiopia's Bilate River Basin," 2025.

O. O. Olaoye, "Extreme poverty in Africa south of the Sahara: Do geographical proximity and corruption spillovers matter?" 2021, doi: 10.1108/JES-07-2021-0322.

B. Zhao, P. K. Cheah, and P. Moses, "Study on the effect of education on poverty reduction from the perspective of multidimensional urban poverty," Educ. Adm. Theory Pract., vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 74–90, 2022.

D. T. Nguyen, L. Thi, H. Sen, H. G. Hoang, T. N. Tran, N. Anh, and T. Tran, "Insight into the multidimensional poverty of the mountainous ethnic minorities in Central Vietnam," 2023.

S. Herrero-Olarte and M. Loaiza, "Structural or conjunctural changes to reduce poverty in Ecuador?" vol. 21, pp. 19–36, 2021.

M. Amara and H. Jemmali, "Household and contextual indicators of poverty in Tunisia: A multilevel analysis," 2015.

F. Docquier, T. Müller, and J. Naval, "Informality and long-run growth," Scand. J. Econ., 2017, doi: 10.1111/sjoe.12185.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2026-07-27

How to Cite

[1]
Y. Husain, A. Suman, and D. Satria, “Not All Determinants Are Equal: A Systematic Literature Review of Education, Employment Status, and Household Size in Household Extreme Poverty”, J.Math.Instr.Soc.Res.Opin., vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 2187–2198, Jul. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 3 (2026): September

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Mathematics Instruction, Social Research and Opinion

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.