Further evidence of the longstanding substandard economic conditions of ex-Gazans in Jerash camp can be demonstrated through the application of a wealth index to the three populations. A wealth index is usually constructed from data on households’ durable goods or assets. Tiltnes and Zhang (2013), following Filmer and Pritchett (1998), constructed an index based on the 31 assets counted in Figure 5 as well as information about the standard of the dwelling 54, using principal component analysis. Figure 6 shows the distribution of camp households on five asset-index quintiles, giving a picture which mirrors — if even more starkly — Figure 4 (showing per capita income distribution), thus indicating consistency in data between longer-term and shorter-term indicators of economic standing and implying a consolidation of income differentials over time. As shown, nearly half (48%) of ex-Gaza households in Jerash fall within the lowest wealth quintile, compared to 21% of both ex-Gazans in other camps and other Palestinian refugees, while only 7% of Jerash ex-Gazans are in the top wealth quintile, as opposed to 18% of exGazans in other camps and 19% of other Palestinian refugees. Their low score on this index suggests that the economic difficulties faced by ex-Gazans in Jerash are significantly more long-term and intractable than those faced by ex-Gazans outside of Jerash. This heightens vulnerability to (even minor) economic shocks. Per cent Figure 6 Percentage of camp households in each quintile group on the asset index by ex-Gaza status (n=39,336). 60 Ex-Gazans, Jerash camp 50 Other ex-Gazans 40 Other Palestinian refugees 30 20 10 0 Lowest Low Middle High Highest Poverty Several income-based poverty lines have been calculated for the three groups of Palestinian camp refugees in accordance with Tiltnes and Zhang (2013). Two of these lines are the Jordanian equivalent of the often-used international poverty lines of 1.25 and 2 USD a day 55, while a third line relates to Jordan’s 2010 national poverty line based on expenditure on food and non-food items (DoS and MoPIC 2012). However, we should note that as expenditure data and income data are not comparable, neither are the income-based poverty rates presented here in any way comparable to the national expenditure-based poverty rate as used in government publications. The aforementioned three poverty lines are absolute poverty lines, while the two final poverty lines are relative and set at 50% and The following items were included in the construction of the index: type of dwelling; ownership of dwelling; type of kitchen; type of toilet facility; additional area to the dwelling such as garden plot/ kitchen garden, compound, balcony/ veranda, roof area, shop area and workshop; and possession of agricultural land, other type of land, and property or real estate. 55 A Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) factor of 0.60 for 2011 was used. For more on PPP, see http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPP?page=2 (accessed 20 February 2018). 54 ‘Just getting by’ Ex-Gazans in Jerash and other refugee camps in Jordan 39