Poverty and Human Development Report 2009 - UNDP in Tanzania

Additional data from the tanzania hiV/Aids indicator survey (this) and tdhs 2005/05
indicates that ownership of consumer durables has increased steadily between 2000/01
and 2007 (table 40).
Table 40: Percentage of Households Owning Various Assets, 2000/01 to 2007
Asset
HBS
2000/01
THIS 2003/04 TDHS 2004/05
radio 51.9 55.5 57.8 66.2
telephone 1.2 7.6 8.9 25.0
television 2.6 5.3 5.7 8.2
iron 25.3 25.3 22.8 26.4
refrigerator 2.5 3.7 3.5 4.9
Watch 36.9 n.a. n.a. 44.3
Bicycle 36.0 37.9 37.9 40.5
Mosquito nets 37.1 n.a. 46.3 68.9
sources: hBs 2000/01 and 2007, tdhs 2004/05, this 2003/04
Chapter 2
one explanation for the increase in asset ownership while overall consumption was unchanged
is that households purchased consumer durables which had become less expensive. evidence
in support of this explanation is provided by figure 57 which shows the changes in quantities
and prices of assets reported between hBs 2000/01 and 2007. Asset prices fell in real terms for
those assets which show large increases in ownership occurred, including radios, mosquito nets
and watches. Whereas, for consumer durables that became relatively more expensive, such as
books, cupboards, donkeys, land, houses and livestock, ownership levels declined.
the consequence of these shifts between asset categories is that the overall value of assets
owned by households did not change much between 2000/01 and 2007. indeed, the total value
of all assets owned declined slightly, whether expressed in 2000/01 prices or 2007 prices.
HBS
2007
161