PRESENTATION ABSTRACT: "Parallel Realities in Rural Bangladesh: Exploring Poverty Dynamics Using Mixed Methods," by Peter Davis and Bob Baulch

In this paper we explore the implications of using two different methodological approaches to study poverty dynamics in rural Bangladesh. Using data from a unique mixed-methods longitudinal study of rural households, we focus on how different methods lead to very different assessments of socio-economic mobility, in particular movements into and out of poverty. We discuss the reasons why qualitative and quantitative assessments of poverty dynamics for the same households differ and suggest five ways of reconciling these differences: considering assets in addition to expenditures to measure welfare, the proximity of households to the poverty line, the impact of non-monetary aspects of well-being, household division resulting in diseconomies of scale, and qualitative recall errors. Using assets in addition to expenditures and taking account of proximity to the poverty line resolves two-thirds of the qualitative and quantitative mismatches we observe, with the other three explanations account for another seventh of the mismatches. Finally we discuss how the validity and reliability of the empirical findings from poverty dynamics research can be improved by using an integrated mixed-methods approach.