Paper short abstract:

Using household survey data collected in early 2013, this paper addresses the perceptions on social change and subjective poverty in Greater Cairo. The study has implications for socio-economic policies by understanding determinants of poverty and inequality.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the perception of social change and subjective poverty in Greater Cairo based on empirical research that utilizes rigorous and up-to-date methodologies. It further argues that a good data base is necessary in order to develop sound policies and poverty reduction programs.

The extent of poverty in urban areas in Greater Cairo is substantially underestimated. By investigating data from a large scale household survey of 2500 households, this study primarily will explore the issue of poverty and inequality in Greater Cairo. Anchoring vignettes was designed to specifically capture individual's subjective assessment of poverty and to improve the comparability of survey responses.

There is a two-tiered system of social services in Egypt, under which the better-off are able to afford private health and education while the poor have to access degraded public services. In light of this, the study explores households' perceptions on health, education and provision of public services. The study will have implications for poverty reduction policies such as "wesool al-da`mlemostaheqeeh".

This paper is particularly useful for the panel as it provides current and relevant statistics needed to carry out discussions on policies in the new era in Egypt.