Trade Liberalisation and Poverty in Nepal: A Computable General Equilibrium Micro Simulation Analysis

Abstract

Concern is growing regarding the poverty impacts of trade liberalization. The strong general equilibrium effects of trade liberalization can only be properly analysed in a CGE model. However, the aggregate nature of CGE models is not suited to detailed poverty analysis. We bridge this gap by constructing a CGE model that explicitly models all households from a nationally representative household survey. We find complex income and consumption effects that would be missed in standard CGE models. Urban poverty falls and rural poverty increases as initial tariffs were highest for agriculture. Impacts increase with income level, resulting in rising income inequality.