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Background: It is still unknown whether the mechanisms proposed by the Reserve Capacity Model (RCM) explaining socio-economic health and wellbeing inequities in high income countries can be applied to low-income countries. This study investigates whether different reserve capacities (intra-, inter-personal, and tangible) can explain the association between relative socio-economic position (SEP) and wellbeing outcome measures among Ethiopian women working in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)., Method: Using a cross-sectional design, we collected quantitative survey data among 2,515 women working in the apparel and floriculture sectors in Ethiopia, measuring GHQ-12 mental health problems, multi-dimensional wellbeing, relative SEP, psychological capital (PsyCap), social support (emotional and financial social support network), and tangible assets (e.g., owning mobile phone, having access to toilet facilities). We used cluster-adjusted structural equation modelling to test whether PsyCap, social support, and/or tangible assets mediate the association between relative SEP (IV) and GHQ-12 mental health problems and multi-dimensional wellbeing (DVs)., Results: PsyCap and the size of the financial support network significantly mediate the socio-economic gradient in both wellbeing outcomes. The size of the emotional social support network shows no association with multi-dimensional wellbeing and shows an unexpected negative association with GHQ-12 mental health problems scores, including a significant mediation effect. Tangible assets show no association with the wellbeing outcome measures and do not mediate socio-economic mental health problems and wellbeing inequities., Conclusions: The RCM can be applied in low-income countries, although in unexpected ways. Similar to findings from high-income countries, PsyCap and size of the financial social support network show significant mediation effects in explaining mental health problems and wellbeing inequities in Ethiopia. These reserves could therefore serve as a buffer for socio-economic inequities in mental health and wellbeing and can therefore assist in decreasing these inequities for women working in FDI sectors in Ethiopia., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

It is widely acknowledged that migration impacts men and women differently. Most prior research has looked at these effects on the migrants themselves, while those who remain in their places of origin have received less scholarly attention. This article investigates how male labor migration from the Dehradun district of India affects the wives who stay behind. It adopts a social resilience perspective by focusing on the opportunities and vulnerabilities that women face once their husbands migrate. Our findings identify four factors that shape these women's resilience as well as four domains of resilience. While women with strong support networks and higher social statuses tend to experience a greater sense of resilience when their husbands migrate, their personal circumstances nevertheless interact in nuanced and sometimes surprising ways. We argue that stay-behind wives are neither particularly vulnerable nor emancipated but can occupy myriad positions along this spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]