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This paper is motivated by the observation that the type and the combination of assets are associated with the likelihood of poor households' experience of shock. Focusing on the case ofadivasihouseholds in the south Indian state of Kerala, we find that the type, number and combinations ofspecific assets(primarily social and physical capital) yield varied magnitudes of association with households' experience of shock, which is a measure of vulnerability. Thus, going beyond mere welfare considerations, social policies that prioritise and sequence the type and combination of asset building based on contextual factors help minimise the incidence of shocks and improve livelihood choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapidly growing number of households are suffering from energy impoverishment caused by escalating electricity prices, low income, and poor housing energy efficiency. Many households are experiencing considerable hardship in paying energy bills. This manifestation of inequality has followed the global restructuring of electricity sectors, and its incidence has become widespread across Europe, the UK, the US, New Zealand, and Australia. Current policy measures generally resemble "retrospective compensation" rather than addressing the root cause of the problem. This paper argues for a new policy approach that reconfigures electricity price formation in order to address this increasingly embedded social phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous research argued that interest payments on consumer debt should be subtracted from household income to measure poverty. We estimated 4 million additional poor Americans in 2007, calling them "debt poor." This paper finds that the debt poor are somewhat like the poor (they are unlikely to own a home or have private health insurance), somewhat like middle-class households (race), and in-between in other ways (education levels). Debt poor households were likely middle class once, having access to considerable consumer credit; but following a loss of income, their large debt burden put their living standard below their poverty threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence on the heterogeneous welfare implications of rural income portfolios in eastern Uganda. We use household survey data from two-panel rounds, and fixed and random effects estimation and quantile regressions to estimate average and heterogeneous effects. While the literature mostly focuses on either income diversification or participation in non-farm activities, we distinguish between income diversification, using the Simpson Index, and off-farm income generation. We use ex-post income and poverty measures as well as an ex-ante vulnerability measure to analyse welfare effects. We find that income diversification and non-farm income generation improve household income, and reduce poverty and vulnerability. We find that it is most beneficial for poorer households with less land assets to diversify their income portfolio, while moving out of agriculture is equally beneficial at all income levels and most beneficial for households with more human capital. We find that income diversification reduces vulnerability most strongly at high levels of diversification and low levels of income while non-farm income generation reduces vulnerability at lower levels of non-farm income and increases vulnerability at higher levels of non-farm income. Our results lead to nuanced findings that bring additional insights in the literature on structural transformation and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved soybean varieties and agronomic practices have been widely disseminated to smallholder farmers in Malawi over the last 15 years. However, there is no empirical evidence on the welfare impacts of adopting improved soybean technologies. This paper estimated the poverty impacts of adopting improved soybean technologies using data from 1,234 households in six soybean growing districts accounting for over 80% of the total soybean production in the country. The results from an endogenous switching regression model showed that 32% of the sample households adopted improved soybean varieties and agronomic practices. The adoption benefits were higher for female-headed households and increased with the household head's education and cultivated land areas. A comparison of the observed and counterfactual incomes for adopters based on the international poverty line of US$1.90 per capita per day showed a 4.16 percentage-point reduction in poverty among the sample households, translating to over 150,000 people lifted out of poverty. The household head's education level, household size, cultivated land area, livestock size, and asset ownership are associated with the daily per capita income. The results point to the need for scaling up of improved soybean varieties and agronomic practices for greater impacts on poverty reduction among smallholders in Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a methodology in which livelihood change is investigated through the livelihood strategies of individually traced households that have been studied at two separate points in time. The area studied is in the north of Ghana, where anthropological fieldwork was carried out in 1975 and again in 1989. The paper discusses significant changes in the macro-context between the two dates and then examines three linked case-study households. Some of the processes of household accumulation and impoverishment become evident in the detailed accounts of changes in household membership and in livelihoods. The case studies show individuals and household heads making strategic choices, in circumstances where the room for manoeuvre is very limited. Climate change, government economic policy centred on adjustment measures and changes in the local and national markets for labour and products created a highly constrained and unpredictable environment for individuals and households. However, to make these arguments, the paper also draws on the findings from the author's quantitative surveys from several nearby communities and from more macro-level research, so the use of the matched case studies is set within research of considerable complexity and duration. Some of the most significant processes are uncovered when case-study data collected in qualitative surveys are filled out with data collected in the course of ethnographic research. Equally important is the additional secondary and historical research that allows links to be made between microand macro-levels. The paper concludes that using panel case studies is a potentially very useful complementary method, but it is not a short cut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous resettlement in frontier regions of Zimbabwe has been a useful way of getting land on which to begin building a livelihood. Through this process, sparsely populated rural districts skirting the mid-Zambezi Valley have undergone long-term socio-economic change. In a case study of Rengwe in Hurungwe District, the paper shows that households that migrated and spontaneously resettled in Rengwe were able to double arable land-holding while gaining membership of a growing frontier community. In the absence of adequate institutional support from the state, however, resettled households were unable to secure key socio-economic services and infrastructure. The study shows that, once resettled, households pursued diversified livelihoods although the levels of diversity varied between households. Poor households showed the least diversity. Although more land provided immediate relief to livelihoods under stress and allowed some households to accumulate assets, a majority of households still had inadequate incomes to stay out of poverty. The study shows that spontaneous resettlement may provide land but, in the absence of public policy intervention to provide social services and infrastructure, it is not a viable alternative to planned settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use three years of household panel data to analyze the effects of ill-health on household economic outcomes in rural Ethiopia. We examine the immediate effects of various ill-health measures on health expenditure and labor supply, the subsequent coping responses, and finally the effect on income and consumption. We find evidence of substantial economic risk in terms of increased health expenditure and reduced agricultural productivity. Households are able to smooth consumption by resorting to intra-household labor substitution, borrowing and depleting assets. However, maintaining current consumption through borrowing and depletion of assets is unlikely to be sustainable and displays the need for health financing reforms and safety nets that reduce the financial consequences of ill-health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of climatic shock and women empowerment on multidimensional energy poverty using panel data from Uganda National Panel Surveys from 2013/14–2019/20, complemented by the World Bank African Rainfall Climatology version 2 (ARC2) database. We find that climatic shocks increase energy poverty. However, there is great potential in energy poverty alleviation when women are more empowered in relation to men, but it is even greater when both genders are empowered in the same household amidst climatic shocks. Combating the impacts of drought, floods, landslides, and irregular rainfall while enhancing women's economic empowerment avenues should be a priority on the policy agenda for multidimensional energy poverty alleviation in Uganda.Highlights Energy poverty is assessed using a multidimensional approach. Four waves of the Uganda National panel survey and weather data were used Climatic shocks increase energy poverty. Women empowerment reduces energy poverty amidst climatic shocks, more so when both genders are empowered in the same household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural and low-income urban households, energy is 'women's business': women are responsible for providing energy, and use it for domestic chores and productive activities. However, the poor quality fuels many women use contribute to their time poverty, ill health, and level of drudgery. Despite these negative impacts, energy policy remains gender-blind. This can be attributed to the invisibility of women's needs to energy planners, stemming from a lack of appropriate gender-analysis tools to meet the particular data requirements of the energy sector. This article analyses why standard gender tools do not provide appropriate gender-disaggregated energy data, and describes a set of tools that have been developed for that purpose. The paper concludes with an evaluation of recent experiences testing the tools in Pakistan, India, and Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monetary approach is not sufficient to understand the multiple dimension of poverty. The purpose of this research is therefore to measure and analyze multidimensional poverty reduced to a single non-monetary dimension and according to the characteristics of household heads. Based on the non-monetary variables provided by the most recent country survey (QUIBB 2006), we use Multidimensional Correspondence Analysis techniques to construct a Composite Poverty Indicator. The results of the non-poverty index suggest that the poorest are large families and households in rural areas. The deprivation is also more serious in households whose heads are male, aged between 51 and 99 and less educated. The findings are the same for the monetary approach at the poverty line, leading to the conclusion that both types of poverty are quite strongly and positively correlated. Finally, we propose some recommendations for socioeconomic policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nowadays, poverty is one of the most important issues that needs due attention in many developing countries like Ethiopia. Nonetheless, poverty in Ethiopia remains widespread in both rural and urban areas. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the determinants and status of poverty in Berehet Woreda. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey. To conduct the study, a sample of 384 households was selected using a stratified simple random sampling technique. Foster Greer Thorbecke's Poverty Index was used to examine the extent and severity of poverty in the Woreda. Accordingly, about 36% of households in Woreda live below the poverty line, with an average poverty gap of 12% and poverty severity of about 7%. The binary logit model showed that household education status, dependency ratio, residential area, and access to credit were statistically significant in determining household poverty status. Since the poverty situation in Woreda was worse than the national average, the regional government should prioritize this Woreda and develop a special type of projects especially in rural areas that can lift the majority of the poor out of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ending poverty in all its forms and in all places by 2030 is number one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in less than a decade to the time set for actualizing this goal, poverty is still pervasive in Nigeria and more endemic among farmers in rural areas. Entrepreneurship is seen as a veritable tool to alleviate poverty and stimulate economic growth in some developing countries including Nigeria. Howbeit, little is known about the relationship between farmers' entrepreneurial competencies and poverty. Thus, this study examined the effects of farmers' entrepreneurial competencies on household poverty status in rural areas of Kwara State, Nigeria. A three-stage sampling procedure was employed in selecting 272 farm households, with at least a member who was engaged in at least one other means of livelihood (enterprise). Data were collected between February and March 2019 and analysed with descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (FGT) weighted poverty indices and probit regression at p = 0.05. At a daily poverty line of $1.90 (₦684.00) per capita, 55.15% of the households were poor. The findings indicate that poverty among farm households varied with their level of entrepreneurial competencies. Perseverance competence significantly increased household poverty, while social competence reduced it. The findings suggest poverty reduction strategies that come directly from farmers' own initiative and their resilience which is rural focused regardless of other challenges that may exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Households around the world as well as in Indonesia have become exposed to a wider variety of vulnerabilities and risks in recent years due to an increase in the intensity and scope of natural disasters. This study aims to comprehensively examine the impact of natural disasters on Indonesian household welfare (consumption and poverty) using the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) of Wave 3 and 4. This study finds that households in rural areas are the most vulnerable to natural disasters; the average asset losses and medical/funeral costs from natural disasters are roughly USD 2,190/household. Our econometric models confirm that earthquakes are the most destructive disaster to affect household welfare, whereas droughts, forest fires, floods, and other disasters appear to have only moderate effects. Earthquakes reduce households' probability of being non-poor by 5 percentage points. Disaster mitigation and preparedness play a significant role in reducing the devastating impacts of disasters and in lessening households' vulnerability to poverty. The policy recommendations resulting from this study include advancing the provision of life and health insurance, promoting food buffers, and increasing households' access to formal credit institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the effects of cereal commercialization on multidimensional poverty among farm households in teff-based mixed farming areas of Ethiopia. It applied instrumental Tobit regression and conditional mixed-process models to estimate the overall and dimensional effects of commercialization on household multidimensional poverty (MP) and vulnerability to multidimensional poverty (VMP). The result showed that the mean commercialization scale of the farm households was 38%. The headcount ratio (H) was found to be 58%, implying the poverty situation continues to pose major challenges upon the well-being of farm households. The average estimate of multidimensional poverty index (MPI) and household vulnerability to MP among sampled rural farm households was 0.31 and 0.52, respectively, with a statistically significant mean difference of commercialization status being at 1% level. Ceteris Paribus Assumption, a 10% increase in the degree of cereal commercialization is likely to reduce MPI deprivation, MPI poverty, and VMP by 5.4%, 16.3%, and 2.2%, respectively. Cereal commercialization also significantly reduces MPI dimensions that are measured exclusively through living standard and wealth dimensions. Thus, the commercial transformation of smallholders through a well-integrated market and improved infrastructure are key areas of policy intervention to improve the well-being of farm households in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government Departments in South Africa utilise a number of different data sets on income of rural households. These include the Population Census of 1996, the October Household Survey of 1995 and 2000, the Rural Household Survey of 1997 and the various agricultural censuses (1996 and 2003). All of these use different approaches in obtaining household income. The agricultural census, for example, only reports on farm income -- excluding the non-farm income. This paper reviews the different sources of household income data, their measurement techniques and the utilisation thereof. The difference in application of various surveys in the former homeland areas and the so-called commercial farming areas are also shown. In the case of the former homeland areas integrated rural household data are used for poverty measurement purposes. The context and methodologies of these surveys are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents an attempt to compare the incidence of relative deprivation and poverty in Sweden and Great Britain. The study goes beyond the limitations of traditional income-based comparisons and the method applied builds on Mack & Lansley's (1985) direct consensual definition of deprivation. The analyses show that deprivation is more prevalent and more unevenly distributed in Britain compared with Sweden. However, more detailed analyses reveal that the probability of being poor is distributed in a similar way in the two countries. Low income households, the unemployed, those dependent on means-tested benefits and lone parents are worse off in both countries. Thus, it is very much the same processes that generate deprivation and poverty. However, Swedes are less deprived because incomes have been distributed more equally, unemployment has been lower, means-tested benefits have been more generous, and the situation for lone parents has been better in Sweden than in Britain during the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women participation in economic activities plays a critical role in driving economic development throughout the world. This study aims to analyze the role and determinants of women's labor force participation for reducing household poverty in the case of Debre Birhan town. To carry out this, the study used a cross-sectional study design. The data was collected by distributing questionnaires to a total of 291 sample households using multi-stage sampling technique. Logistic regression model was employed to analyze the determinants of women labor force participation by the collected data. The binary logit regression result identified that training, exposed to mass media and access to credit and education status of woman were found to be positive and significantly related to the probability of being participate. Moreover, Logistic regression model was employed in order to analyze the effect of woman labor force participation to household poverty reduction, with the probability of a household being poor as a dependent variable and a set of demographic and socioeconomic variables as the explanatory parameters. Based on this, out of the 291 surveyed household heads, 183(62.89%) of them were found poor. The result of this study confirms that women's participation reduces the household poverty. Therefore, this study recommends that household uses family planning, promotes woman to attend higher education, exposed to mass media, creating public or private daycare centers for child and access to credit for woman. At this juncture both the households and the government should have the joint effort and responsibility to find possible panaceas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though poverty has decreased in recent years, it is still a challenge in Ethiopia especially in rural areas the rate of decrease is slower than the counterpart. Most rural livelihoods in the study area depend on rain-fed agriculture and their exposure to poverty and its risk factors not well documented. So, to fill this gap this study examined the extent and the major determinants of poverty at different levels of expenditure quantiles in the rural household of Bahir dar zuria district, Ethiopia. This study used the FGT index and quantile regression model. The determinants of rural household poverty were total family size, total land ownership, distance to market, non-off-farm income, and bad health status of the household head. It was found that the total family size and bad health status of the household head can increase the poverty of the rural household which is lower the standard of living of rural households. While the non-off-farm income can decrease the poverty of the rural household. Thus, to reduce the poverty of the rural household; government policies and programs should give more emphasis on family planning, the necessity of health insurance, and improving the service of health institutions to bring overall household welfare development. Moreover, it promotes rural households to participate in off-farm and non-farm livelihood activities beyond agriculture to diversify their employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the short-term impact and long-term sustainability of Kenya's Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP). Difference-in-difference and propensity score matching estimations are used to determine the impact of program participation on the household Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). We found that program participation reduced the MPI significantly, which is mainly driven by the food insecurity dimension, and that the reduction in poverty is due to the reduction in the incidence and intensity, the latter in particular, of poverty among the ultra-poor households. Our analysis of the political economy of Kenya suggests that, while the government is making progress in the institutionalization of social protection, weaknesses in the implementation and financing of the program, as well as the short-term focus of impact evaluation, may undermine the program's potential to help build a strong state that is accountable for the eradication of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting quality is important in child development. In the presence of HIV poverty and life stress, parenting may be challenged and child development affected. This study examines cross-sectional associations of situational factors such as poverty, mental health, HIV status, living with a biological parent, and stigma with good parenting and child outcomes (n = 989; age = 4–13 years) within the Child Community Care study (South Africa and Malawi). A parenting measure was created from 10 variables comprising 6 child and 4 parent ratings. These were highly correlated. Total parenting score was generated on a 10-point continuous scale, with a good parenting cut-off then defined as ≥8 out of a possible 10. Five factors were associated with good parenting. Positively associated with good parenting were being the biological parent of the child, parental mental health and dwelling in households with multiple adults. Poverty and stigma were negatively associated with good parenting. Using multiple mediation analysis, a positive direct effect of good parenting was found on child self-esteem, child behaviour and educational risks with a partial mediation via child depression and trauma. These data highlight possible intervention points. Influences on parenting could be seen through being the biological parent, parental mental health, poverty and stigma. In these challenging environments, health, nutrition, mental health, education and treatment to keep parents alive are all clearly identified as potential pathways to ensure child well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pro-poor decision making depends on an understanding of the complexities and inter-relationships between household livelihood, demographic, and economic factors. This article describes the design and implementation of the Poverty Assessor, a software programme to assist practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in visualising the direct impacts on poverty of specific livelihood factors and events among populations living in poverty. The software enables users to upload their own data and profile households in relation to the national poverty line, by selecting from a range of demographic and livelihood indicators. The authors present findings from the programme, using a dataset from Bolivia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An "institutional trap" is a sequence of misplaced regulatory steps that have increased the costs of institutional transformation to the level at which inefficient structures can remain stable, despite changes in the external economic environment. This is a common occurrence in Central and Eastern Europe because of the path-dependent nature of the postsocialist transformation process. This article examines the organizational and territorial transformations of housing, utility, and social welfare policies in the Czech Republic through a comparative analysis of institutional power geometries and household expenditures at the national scale. The results indicate that the Czech Republic is facing an institutional trap in the restructuring of its rent control and social welfare policies. The trap operates within three nested circuits: the power geometries of postsocialist reforms, the geographies of housing prices and social welfare, and the consumption patterns of disadvantaged households. The lock-in created by the trap can be resolved only through carefully targeted and synchronized social support and housing investment programs, parallel to rent liberalization. This article argues for comprehensive, rather than partial, solutions to the institutional trap and emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of the relationships among institutions, space, and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to clarify the incidence of poverty in the later seventeenth century in England by examining the bases of Gregory King's calculations and of exemption from the hearth tax and by exploring contemporary perceptions of poverty and the numbers who received poor relief. It was argued that there is a need for substantial revision to the orthodoxies if the definition of the word poverty is to be preserved, including the acceptance that it occurred at different levels. It is said that critical comments has already been given to Gregory King's "Scheme of the Income and Expense of the Several Families of England Calculated for the Year 1688." King's calculations states that the population in 1688 is divided into two groups, families who are increasing the wealth of the kingdom and families decreasing it.