Determinants of Poverty in ASEAN Countries

Abstract

Poverty reduction is a significant concern of all governments in the world, including in Southeast Asia. The research objective is to analyze the determinant of poverty in eight countries of ASEAN using panel data analysis, with an analysis period of 2015-2019. The results show that economic openness and inflation variables can influence the poverty level in eight ASEAN countries. In contrast, the financial sector and economic growth variables do not affect the poverty level. The implication of the results of this study is that the financial sector only facilitates the upper-middle class, and the economic growth has not been inclusive to the poor.