This study assesses the impact of oil revenues on wellbeing in Chad using data from the two
last Chad Household Consumption and Informal Sector Surveys (ECOSIT 2 & 3), conducted in
2003 and 2011, respectively, by the National Institute of Statistics for Economics and
Demographic Studies (INSEED) and, from the College for Control and monitoring of Oil
Revenues (CCSRP). To achieve the research objective, we first estimate a synthetic index of
multidimensional wellbeing (MDW) based on a large set of welfare indicators. Then, the
Difference-in-Difference (DID) approach is used to assess the impact of oil revenues on the
average MDW at departmental level. We find evidence that departments receiving intense
oil transfers increased their MDW about 35% more than those disadvantaged by the oil
revenues redistribution policy. Moreover, the further a department is from the capital city
N’Djamena, the lower its average MDW. We conclude that to better promote economic
inclusion in Chad, the government should implement a specific policy to better direct the oil
revenue investment in the poorest departments.
