Open AccessThe impact of tariff reduction on poverty in Zimbabwe, A CGE top-down approach
Author(s) -
Margaret Chitiga,
Ramos Mabugu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir ekonomiese en bestuurswetenskappe/south african journal of economic and management sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.277
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 2222-3436
pISSN - 1015-8812
DOI - 10.4102/sajems.v8i1.1287
Subject(s) - computable general equilibrium , social accounting matrix , tariff , economics , poverty , poverty reduction , international economics , liberalization , order (exchange) , macroeconomics , economic growth , finance , market economy
This paper uses a relatively new approach to quantify the effects of trade liberalisation on poverty. It relies on the combination of a standard, social accounting, matrix-based, computable general equilibrium model and household micro-data. These two tools are used sequentially in order to simulate the impact of trade policy reform. This framework enables the decomposition of the effects of trade liberalisation, which in turn allows for an analysis of alternative social policy packages. The methodology is applied to Zimbabwe for illustration. The results show that poverty is reduced by tariff reduction, although the poor households get the least benefits