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Poor Households (poor + household)
Selected AbstractsAgeing in "Poor Household" or Ageing into Poverty?ASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Tackling the Policy Dilemma of Redistribution The policy issue of how to target poor households rather than provide universal coverage takes the primary place in the question of redistribution where resources are limited. The Government of India's social protection programs, particularly the old age pension for the informal sector of the economy, has taken a targeting approach. In this article we show that there is a case for universal coverage since ageing households experience greater exclusion from market-based protection as well as from informal (household-based) protection. We make the argument for universal coverage on two grounds: first, a targeted approach has resulted in leakage, indicating that non-poor elderly individuals in the unorganized sector also require some sort of support. Though they are valid, we do not resort to traditional arguments against targeting, such as that it creates institutional lock-in mechanisms and stigmatizes the recipients. Second, the loss of income on age-related matters (e.g. hospitalization) or the ability of elderly individuals to gain credit is not particularly class-specific, although the targeting policy implies it is. The article is based on the secondary data source of the National Sample Survey, primary data sources, particularly those conducted by the authors in Kerala and Maharashtra and specifically designed for the ageing population, and ethnographic observations from fieldwork. [source] Simple Transfers, Complex Outcomes: The Impacts of Pensions on Poor Households in BrazilDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2006Peter Lloyd-Sherlock ABSTRACT Drawing on quantitative survey data and in-depth interviews, this article seeks to map out the potential direct and indirect effects of simple cash transfers on households in impoverished rural and urban settings. Brazil is shown to have an extensive system of old age pensions, which affords almost universal coverage to households containing older people. These benefits have a significant impact on levels of poverty and vulnerability in recipient households. They also facilitate access to essential healthcare items, such as drugs, which are seldom freely available through the state health system. The in-depth interviews reveal that pensions can have important effects on intra-household relations, but these effects were not generalizable nor easily captured by quantitative survey tools. There was clear evidence that pensions reduced the propensity of older people to remain economically active, but this must be understood in a context of limited employment opportunities for all age groups and a high prevalence of disability. Overall, the article demonstrates the complex effects of a relatively simple cash transfer, which policy makers need to take into account. [source] Distributional Effects of FDI: How the Interaction of FDI and Economic Policy Affects Poor Households in BoliviaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2007Peter Nunnenkamp This article provides a CGE analysis of the medium to long-run impact of FDI inflows on poverty and income distribution in Bolivia. The simulation results suggest that FDI inflows enhance economic growth and reduce poverty. However, the income distribution typically becomes more unequal. In particular, FDI widens disparities between urban and rural areas. The Bolivian government may promote the growth-enhancing and poverty-alleviating effects by overcoming labour-market segmentation and providing complementary public investment in infrastructure. But simulated policy reforms or alternative productivity scenarios are hardly effective in reducing the economic divide. [source] Can Trade Help Poor People?DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2007Market Access in Tanzania, The Role of Trade, Trade Policy Many development economists prescribe trade as a poverty-reducing formula. But how is this elixir supposed to work? This article contributes to the lively debate on this topic with household evidence from Tanzania , a poor country even within sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region. About 81% of the poor work in agriculture, which accounts for 88% of the export bundle. The article describes existing poverty and then evaluates the poverty-reduction potential of trade, trade policy and market access. The article extends the analysis by simulating tariff changes and four switching scenarios that swap some poor households into trade-related sectors, such as cash cropping or tourism, to project national poverty reductions of up to 5.6% and household income increases of up to 21.5%. [source] Reducing Child Poverty with Cash Transfers: A Sure Thing?DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2006Armando Barrientos Children are disproportionately represented among the income-poor, many suffer from severe deprivation, and their poverty and vulnerability have cumulative and long-term consequences. This article provides a comparative examination of the poverty-reduction effectiveness of cash transfer programmes targeting children, focusing on three types of such programmes: the Child Support Grant in South Africa, family allowances in transition countries, and targeted conditional cash transfer programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean. It finds that, despite differences in design, cash transfer programmes targeting children in poor households are an effective way of reducing poverty. [source] Even the ,Rich' are Vulnerable: Multiple Shocks and Downward Mobility in Rural UgandaDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2005Kate Bird Poverty data rarely capture processes of change, limiting our ability to understand poverty trajectories at the individual or household levels. This article uses a household survey, village-level participatory studies and indepth life-history interviews to examine people's poverty trajectories and to identify what drives and maintains chronic poverty. Composite shocks can propel previously non-poor households into severe and long-term poverty. Poverty is hard to escape, and people born into chronically poor households find few opportunities for accumulation and wealth creation. The analysis highlights the importance of poverty interrupters, including the end of conflict and the re-integration of internally displaced people, and suggests that state-led interventions would be needed to provide real opportunities to the chronically poor. [source] Participation and Impact of Poverty-oriented Public Works Projects in Rural MalawiDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 2 2002Ephraim W. Chirwa This article reports on factors influencing participation in the poverty-oriented public works programme in rural Malawi and analyses the determinants of the revealed positive socio-economic impact among the participants. The programme targets poor households through self-selection by offering a wage below the official minimum for rural areas. The empirical results show that most participants are poor and with little education. Probability of particpation is higher for members of female-headed households and households with longer periods of food insecurity, excess supply of labour, few assets and reservation wages below the wage offered in the programme. Taking account of selectivity bias, the impact of the programme increases with the gender (female) of participants and the numbers per household participating. [source] Are non-poor households always less vulnerable?DISASTERS, Issue 3 2008The case of households exposed to protracted civil war in Southern Sudan Civil wars in Africa are now the leading contributory cause of vulnerability of rural communities. Understanding vulnerability during civil war is critical for humanitarian response and post-conflict rehabilitation planning. The lack of understanding of vulnerability has led existing studies to make sweeping generalizations, either by equating the dynamics of vulnerability during civil wars with vulnerability in other risk events, or by projecting people in the ,war zones' as unable to cope and subsequently becoming vulnerable. This paper is an attempt to gain a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of vulnerability during protracted civil war. It shows that during civil war the non-poor are not necessarily less vulnerable than poor households. The idea that people caught up in civil war are all vulnerable is not supported by the findings of this paper. It shows that the ,standard' pattern of vulnerability to drought is similar to that during exogenous counter-insurgency warfare, while a different pattern of vulnerability to endogenous shocks is identified. [source] The Livelihoods Gap: Responding to the Economic Dynamics of Vulnerability in SomaliaDISASTERS, Issue 1 2002Andre Le Sage A ,livelihoods gap' has become evident in international aid delivery to Somalia. Existing aid interventions do not address the economic dynamics of vulnerability resulting from Somalia's long history of predatory development and asset stripping. To prevent poor households' regular return to sub-subsistence income levels after a brief period of plenty, this paper argues that aid agencies should reorient and expand existing interventions to assist poor households to capitalise on temporary improvements in environmental and security conditions. As a corollary to emergency relief and efforts to construct state institutions, it is necessary to devise country-wide interventions that will rebuild household asset bases by protecting savings during times of stress and ensuring that markets benefit poor producers. [source] The Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer Programme on Consumption in Colombia,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2006Orazio Attanasio Abstract This paper studies the impact of a conditional cash transfer programme in Colombia on the total consumption of very poor households and on its components. Our evaluation methodology involves comparing household expenditures in areas in which the programme was not implemented (control) and those in which it was (treated). We use a quasi-experimental approach, as the Familias en Acción programme was not randomly assigned across localities, for political reasons. We condition on a large range of household- and municipality-level characteristics, and also control for pre-programme differences in the outcomes of interest using a differences-indifferences methodology. We find that the programme has been effective at greatly increasing total consumption and its main component, food consumption, in both rural and urban areas. The programme has also contributed to improvements in the quality of food consumed, in particular of items rich in proteins (milk, meat and eggs) and of cereals. Furthermore, the programme has created redistributive effects in favour of children through expenditure on education and children's clothing, while it has not significantly affected consumption of adult goods such as alcohol and tobacco or adults'clothing. [source] A socio-economic perspective on gear-based management in an artisanal fishery in south-west MadagascarFISHERIES MANAGEMENT & ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2009T. E. DAVIES Abstract, Artisanal fisheries are important socially, nutritionally and economically. Poverty is common in communities dependent on such fisheries, making sustainable management difficult. Poverty based on material style of life (MSL) was assessed, livelihoods surveyed and the relationship between these factors and fishery data collected using a fish landing study were examined. Species richness, diversity, size and mean trophic level of catches were determined for six fishing gears in an artisanal fishery in south-west Madagascar. There was little livelihood diversification and respondents were highly dependent on the fishery. No relationship was found between poverty and gear use. This suggests that poverty does not have a major impact on the nature of the fishery; however, this study was dominated by poor households, so it remains possible that communities with more variation in wealth might show differences in fishing methods according to this parameter. The fishery was heavily exploited with a predominance of small fish in the catches. Beach seines caught some of the smallest fish, overlapped in selectivity with gill nets and also had the highest catch per fishers. Thus, a reduction in the number of beach seines could help reduce the catch of small fish and the overlap in selectivity among gears. [source] A Random Utility Model of Environmental EquityGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2000Diane Hite Past attempts to uncover evidence that economically disadvantaged groups are unjustly exposed to environmental disamenities have failed to take into account self-selection behavior of individuals or groups of individuals. For instance, when choosing a place to live, households may be trading environmental quality for other housing, neighborhood, and location characteristics they care about. Previous literature on environmental justice has investigated location choice of polluting industries, but fails to account for consumer self-selection in housing markets. This paper thus focuses on location choice of individuals based on observed housing transactions. From the results of a random utility model, a test is proposed that incorporates the no-envy concept of economic equity. The results support a finding for environmental discrimination with respect to African American households, but do not support the hypothesis that poor households in general are unfairly exposed to environmental disamenities. [source] RETIREMENT WEALTH AND LIFETIME EARNINGS,INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Lutz Hendricks This article argues that a satisfactory theory of wealth inequality should account not only for the marginal distribution of wealth, but also for the joint distribution of wealth and earnings. The article describes the joint distribution of retirement wealth and lifetime earnings in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. It then evaluates the ability of a stochastic life-cycle model to account for key features of this distribution. The life-cycle model fails to account for three key features of the data. (1) The correlation between lifetime earnings and retirement wealth is too high. (2) The wealth gaps between earnings rich and earnings poor households are too large. (3) Wealth inequality among households with similar lifetime earnings is too small. Models in which households differ in rates of return or time preferences account much better for the joint distribution of retirement wealth and lifetime earnings. [source] Tourism and income distribution in East AfricaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 6 2008Adam Blake Professor Abstract Research has highlighted the possibility that tourism expenditure in developing countries not only provides income for poor households, but also leads to contraction of other exporting industries. By highlighting the linkages between tourism-related industries and the rest of the economy, and through the distributional effects of their income flows, this paper examines the effects of tourism-related industries and other export industries on households in East Africa. Tourism-related industries are found to provide substantially less income for poorer households than other export activities, leading to concern that tourism expansion may be detrimental for poverty alleviation in these countries. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tentative evaluation of the impact of public transfers on the dynamics of poverty: The case of RussiaINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Matthieu Clément The aim of this article is to offer a dynamic impact analysis of the system of transfers in Russia, based on a comparison of indicators of well-being measured before and after state intervention. We shall begin by assessing the impact of public transfers on different forms of poverty and demonstrate that, while the system is seeing a fall in chronic and transitional poverty, there is very little movement between categories. We shall then evaluate the capacity of the system to keep non-poor households from falling into poverty (protection) and to help poor households escape poverty (promotion). Several studies suggest that the Russian system of transfers is well suited to protection but has proved incapable of attaining the goal of promotion. In other words, in its current form it cannot claim to be an effective tool to combat long-term poverty. [source] When multi-problem poor individuals' values meet practitioners' values!JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Liliana Sousa Abstract Every intervention process can be thought of as a journey of partnership between people, as well as an intellectual journey of ideas and an emotional journey of relationships. This exploratory study aims at reaching a better understanding of three questions: (i) What values do individual heads of multi-problem poor households and practitioners show regarding their relationship? (ii) How might those values inform the interaction between them, in positive and/or negative ways? (iii) What might the value system which organizes the interaction between the participants be? This study was carried out using a critical incidents technique and was based on a sample comprising two sub-groups: 100 heads of multi-problem poor families and 97 professionals. Findings reveal the following individual values: heads of multi-problem poor families value instrumental support, relationships and effectiveness; while professionals' appreciate relationships, obedience to their own instructions and (in)effectiveness. These value systems seem to frame the interaction in games of responsibility avoidance that lead to the individuals' disempowerment, disguised in an aura of ,adequate impotence'. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Does increase in women's income relative to men's income increase food calorie intake in poor households?AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3-4 2010Evidence from Nigeria Nigeria; Intrahousehold redistribution of income; Women's income share elasticity; Calorie consumption Abstract This article addresses the important but not widely investigated question of how calorie consumption in African low-income households would respond to intrahousehold redistribution of income from men to women. Specifically, I use survey data on a sample of 480 households from semirural areas of south-western Nigeria to analyze the response of per capita calorie intake to changes in women's share of household income, after controlling for per capita income and demographic characteristics at individual, household, and community levels. I also examine the effect of marginal increases in household income on per capita calorie intake conditional on the income distribution factor: women's share of income. My results suggest that redistributing household income from men to women would neither raise per capita food energy intake nor increase the quality of food calorie source of households in rural south-western Nigeria. I also find that while the income elasticity of quantity of calorie intake is close to zero, income elasticity for quality of calorie intake is substantially positive. I conclude that neither gender-neutral household income increases nor redistribution of household income in favor of women would substantially motivate increased amounts of food energy intake within households in the population under study. However, gender neutral increase in household income is likely to substantially increase the household demand for high-quality food calorie sources. [source] Introduction to the special issue on the role of nonfarm income in poverty reduction: evidence from Asia and East AfricaAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2006Keijiro Otsuka Abstract In this special issue, we present seven studies that collectively attempt to investigate the role of non-farm income in long-term and short-term poverty reduction in Asia and Africa. The first four studies out of the seven use long-term panel data over two decades in the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. These studies show drastic increases in non-farm income shares and corresponding declines in poverty levels over time, especially in the Philippines and Thailand. Education levels of household members and returns to education also increased significantly in these countries. The remaining three studies use cross-sectional and short-term panel data from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. These African studies show high proportions of poor households and low shares of non-farm income that are somewhat comparable to the situation in the 1980s described in the Asian studies. Without the Green Revolution that provided stable farm income and potential financial resources to invest in children' education in Asia, it is not clear if African farm households can follow the Asian examples. [source] Has private participation in water and sewerage improved coverage?JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2009Empirical evidence from Latin America Abstract Introducing private sector participation (PSP) into the water and sewerage sectors is difficult and controversial. Empirical studies on its effects are scant and generally inconclusive. Case studies tend to find improvements following privatisation, but they suffer from selection bias and it is difficult to generalise their results. To explore empirically the effects of private sector participation on coverage, we assemble a new dataset of connections to water and sewerage services at the city and province level based on household surveys in Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. The household surveys, conducted over a number of years, allow us to compile data before and after the introduction of private sector participation as well as from similar (control) regions did not privatise. Our analysis reveals that, in general, the share of households connected to piped water and sewerage improved following the introduction of private sector participation, consistent with the case study literature. We also find, however, that the share of households connected similarly improved in the control regions, suggesting that private sector participation, per se, may not have been responsible for those improvements. Results are similar when looking only at the poorest households. The share of poor households connected to piped water and sewerage increased similarly in areas both with and without private sector participation, suggesting that,in terms of connections at least,private sector participation did not harm the poor. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Liquidity constraints, access to credit and pro-poor growth in rural TanzaniaJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 7 2005Alex Winter-Nelson Small-scale farmers in developing countries may become trapped in poverty by lack of the liquidity needed to make profitable investments. Increased access to credit could generate pro-poor economic growth if poor households are otherwise liquidity-constrained and if liquidity-constrained households benefit from the new financial services. Using household data from rural Tanzania, this paper presents evidence that increased finance for liquidity-constrained households could generate pro-poor agricultural growth, but that general expansion of financial services to households that have no access to credit would not effectively target lower income households or households whose farm activities are liquidity-constrained. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Risks and responses among the urban poor in IndiaJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 8 2003Paula Kantor This paper describes the events faced by urban poor households in Lucknow, India and household responses in the face of these events. Using household and individual data collected in 2002 from 12 slum settlements, the authors found that certain events, such as illness and social and religious spending, are more frequent than others and that some groups, characterized by gender of head of household, community and economic status, experience certain event types more than others. It also found that some less frequent events may be very burdensome due to their high severity. Responses to common event types exhibited a pattern. Households reduced consumption, used savings and took loans much more frequently than other options, across event types. Variations in responses were identified by event type and severity and economic status. The results illustrate the need for both protective and promotive interventions to improve livelihood security among the urban poor. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Dietary Diversity, Food Security and Undernourishment: The Vietnamese Evidence,ASIAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009Vinod Mishra C23; O15; O53; R23 As is widely known, Vietnam experienced a rise in living standards and a decline in expenditure poverty during the first half of the 1990s. This paper extends this knowledge by providing evidence on the Vietnamese experience of food security, undernourishment and poverty from the late 1990s to the early part of the new millennium. The results suggest that poor households did not experience increases in food consumption, calorie intake and dietary diversity of the same magnitude as non-poor households. Nevertheless, Vietnam experienced impressive reductions in both calorie deprivation and expenditure poverty at the turn of the century. Non-poor households, in particular, experienced spectacular increases in calorie intake and dietary diversity during the period 1997/1998,2004. This paper also reports regression results which point to the role of urbanization and improvement in education levels in promoting dietary diversity and nutrient intake. The present study finds evidence of sharp regional differences in calorie intake and calorie costs, which suggests that the authorities should set provincial poverty lines, contrary to the current practice adopted by Vietnam's General Statistical Office. [source] Ageing in "Poor Household" or Ageing into Poverty?ASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Tackling the Policy Dilemma of Redistribution The policy issue of how to target poor households rather than provide universal coverage takes the primary place in the question of redistribution where resources are limited. The Government of India's social protection programs, particularly the old age pension for the informal sector of the economy, has taken a targeting approach. In this article we show that there is a case for universal coverage since ageing households experience greater exclusion from market-based protection as well as from informal (household-based) protection. We make the argument for universal coverage on two grounds: first, a targeted approach has resulted in leakage, indicating that non-poor elderly individuals in the unorganized sector also require some sort of support. Though they are valid, we do not resort to traditional arguments against targeting, such as that it creates institutional lock-in mechanisms and stigmatizes the recipients. Second, the loss of income on age-related matters (e.g. hospitalization) or the ability of elderly individuals to gain credit is not particularly class-specific, although the targeting policy implies it is. The article is based on the secondary data source of the National Sample Survey, primary data sources, particularly those conducted by the authors in Kerala and Maharashtra and specifically designed for the ageing population, and ethnographic observations from fieldwork. [source] Mothers without Companionship During Childbirth: An Analysis within the Millennium Cohort StudyBIRTH, Issue 4 2008Holly N. Essex MSc ABSTRACT: Background: Studies have highlighted the benefits of social support during labor but no studies focused on women who choose to be unaccompanied or who have no companion available at birth. Our goals were, first, to identify characteristics of women who are unaccompanied at birth and compare these to those who had support and, second, to establish whether or not being unaccompanied at birth is a risk marker for adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. Methods: The sample comprised 16,610 natural mother-infant pairs, excluding women with planned cesarean sections in the Millennium Cohort Study. Multivariable regression models were used to examine, first, sociodemographic, cultural, socioeconomic, and pregnancy characteristics in relation to being unaccompanied and, second, being unaccompanied at birth in relation to labor and delivery outcomes, maternal health and health-related behaviors, parenting, and infant health and development. Results: Mothers who were single (vs not single), multiparous (vs primiparous), of black or Pakistani ethnicity (vs white), from poor households (vs nonpoor), with low levels of education (vs high levels), and who did not attend antenatal classes (vs attenders) were at significantly higher risk of being unaccompanied at birth. Mothers unaccompanied at birth were more likely to have a preterm birth (vs term), an emergency cesarean section (vs spontaneous vaginal delivery) and spinal pain relief or a general anesthetic (vs no pain relief), a shorter labor, and lower satisfaction with life (vs high satisfaction) at 9 months postpartum. Their infants had significantly lower birthweight and were at higher risk of delayed gross motor development (vs normal development). Conclusions: Being unaccompanied at birth may be a useful marker of high-risk mothers and infants in need of additional support in the postpartum period and beyond. (BIRTH 35:4 December 2008) [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||