Air conditioning and electricity expenditure: The role of climate in temperate countries

This paper investigates how households adopt and use air conditioning to adapt to climate change and increasingly high temperatures, which pose a threat to the health of vulnerable populations. The analysis examines conditions in eight temperate, industrialized countries (Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). The identification strategy exploits cross-country and cross-household variations by matching geocoded households with climate data. Our findings suggest that households respond to excess heat by purchasing and using air conditioners, leading to increased electricity consumption. Households on average spend 35%–42% more on electricity when they adopt air conditioning. Through an illustrative analysis, we show that climate change and the growing demand for air conditioning are likely to exacerbate energy poverty. The number of energy poor who spend a high share of income on electricity increases, and households in the lowest income quantile are the most negatively affected.     

INCOME POVERTY AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL DEPRIVATION: LESSONS FROM CROSS‐REGIONAL ANALYSIS

The study of multidimensional deprivation has become one of the most relevant lines of research in the analysis of low‐income households. The search for significant relationships between multidimensional deprivation and income poverty has been a central issue and most empirical studies have found a very weak link. This paper aims at examining the possibility of an aggregation bias in national‐level studies, which could conceal disparities between regions. As regional differences and decentralization processes stand out in Spain as compared to other OECD countries, we focus the analysis on this country. Latent class models are used to define deprivation indices using the Spanish EU‐SILC. The results seem to show that the absence of significant relationships between both phenomena still holds at a regional level. The decomposition methods used in the paper show that it might be due to some regional singularities in some determining factors of income and multidimensional poverty.     

MEASURING POVERTY USING BOTH INCOME AND WEALTH: A CROSS‐COUNTRY COMPARISON BETWEEN THE U.S. AND SPAIN

We study the correspondence between a household's income and its vulnerability to income shocks in two developed countries: the U.S. and Spain. Vulnerability is measured by the availability of wealth to smooth consumption in a multidimensional approach to poverty, which allows us to identify three groups of households: the twice‐poor group, which includes income‐poor households who lack an adequate stock of wealth; the group of protected‐poor households, which are all those income‐poor families with a buffer stock of wealth they can rely on; and the vulnerable‐non‐poor group, including households above the income‐poverty line that do not hold any stock of wealth. Interestingly, the risk of belonging to these groups changes over the life‐cycle in both countries while the size of the groups differs significantly between Spain and the U.S., although this result is quite sensitive to whether the housing wealth component is included in the wealth measure or not.     

Poverty among ethnic minorities: the transition process,inequality and economic growth

This article investigates the process of reducing poverty in ethnic minority households. Using two recent Vietnam household surveys, we find that ethnic minority households are more likely to be persistently poor and less likely to be persistently non-poor than ethnic majority households. The within-group component generated by the variation in income within each ethnicity group explains more than 90% of the change in total inequality. Income redistribution plays an important role in decreasing the poverty gap and decreasing poverty severity. Different ethnic groups have different poverty patterns, which should be noted when designing policies to alleviate poverty and inequality.     

Public policy and rural poverty : A system dynamics analysis of a social change effort in Pakistan

This paper attempts to explain why public policies that were expected to alleviate rural poverty in Pakistan have not worked. The analysis is based on a system dynamics model that incorporates the income distribution processes of a typical developing country agrarian economy consisting of a capitalist and self-employed sector. Only the economic factors arising out of the rational decisions of the two sectors regarding production and disbursement of income have been taken into account. These factors are considered adequate for explaining the persistence of rural poverty, although the role of social and political factors is acknowledged.The study suggests that the absence of an economic force that should encourage land ownership by its cultivators is a key factor responsible for the poor economic condition of the working rural household that form the majority of the rural population. Land is easily separated from cultivators and is concentrated among the few capitalist households. This concentration significantly reduces income in self-employment and thus leaves the cultivators with very little bargaining power for negotiating compensation for thier labor. Thus development policies striving to increase productivity may only serve to increase the claim to income of the few capitalist households, leaving incomes of the majority of the households unchanged while also assuring continuation of low worker compensation.The study indicates that a development policy for alleviating poverty should simultaneously incorporate fiscal instruments to encourage transfer of land ownership to its cultivators and measures that help increase the productivity of land.     

“收入导向型”多维贫困的识别与流动性研究*——基于CFPS调查数据农村子样本的考察

本文结合收入及健康、教育、生活状况、卫生状况和食物支出五个非收入指标,构建了“收入导向型”多维贫困指数,采用中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）数据的农村子样本,考察多维贫困的识别、追踪和流动性问题。在比较了6维贫困指标和多维贫困指标对贫困识别的效果后研究发现,仅依据收入、教育和生活状况三个维度即可有效识别和追踪贫困家庭,并且在这三个维度下均处于贫困状态的农村家庭跳出贫困陷阱的概率显著低于一般收入贫困家庭。研究表明,扶贫政策应当在减少收入贫困基础上更多关注多重剥夺对贫困家庭整体福利的影响,并致力于提高贫困家庭的持续脱贫能力以增强其跳出贫困陷阱的可能性。     

经济增长对贫困变动的影响及影响途径分析——以新疆农村为例

以农村居民人均纯收入的增长作为经济增长,运用1988～2010年新疆农村人均纯收入分组数据,研究新疆经济增长与农村贫困变动之间的关系,并且对经济增长影响贫困变动的途径进行分析。研究结果表明,经济增长对新疆农村贫困的减少起到了显著的作用,而农业的发展和非农就业的增长是提高农民收入从而减缓农村贫困的主要途径。因此,推动农村经济增长仍然是新疆今后扶贫工作的重点。     

URBAN POVERTY IN CHINA AND ITS CONTRIBUTING FACTORS, 1986–2000

Food price increases and the introduction of radical social welfare and enterprise reforms during the 1990s generated significant changes in the lives of urban households in China. During this period urban poverty increased considerably. This paper uses household level data from 1986 to 2000 to examine what determines whether households fall below the poverty line over this period and investigates how the impact of these determinants has changed through time. We find that large households and households with more nonworking members are more likely to be poor, suggesting that perhaps the change from the old implicit price subsidies, based on household size, to an explicit income subsidy, based on employment, has worsened the position of large families. Further investigation into regional poverty variation indicates that over the 1986–93 period food price increases were also a major contributing factor. Between 1994 and 2000 the worsening of the economic situation of state sector employees contributed to the poverty increase.     

Poverty Dynamics,Violent Conflict,and Convergence in Rwanda

This paper analyzes the poverty impact of the violent events that affected Rwanda in the 1990s. The main objective of the paper is to identify systematically potential mechanisms linking violent conflict with changes in poverty across provinces and households in Rwanda before and after a decade of violence. In accordance with emerging literature on the long‐term economic effects of violent conflict, we find empirical evidence for economic convergence between richer and poorer Rwandan provinces and households following the conflict shocks. Using a small but unique panel of households surveyed before and after the conflict period, we find that households whose house was destroyed or who lost land ran a higher risk of falling into poverty. We do not find much evidence for an economic effect of violent deaths at the household level due to substitution effects of labor within the household. Non‐violent deaths however seem to increase income per adult equivalent for the survivors. Results are shown to be robust to sample selection and IV models.     

Does urbanization reduce rural poverty? Evidence from Vietnam

This paper uses data from household surveys to contribute to the urbanization-poverty nexus literature by assessing the effect of urbanization on income, expenditure, and poverty in rural households in Vietnam. We find that the urbanization process stimulates the transition from farm to non-farm activities in rural areas. More specifically, urbanization tends to reduce farm income and increase wages and non-farm income in rural households. This suggests that total income and consumption expenditure of rural households are more likely to increase with urbanization. Finally, we find also that urbanization helps decrease the expenditure poverty rate of rural households, albeit by a small magnitude.     

Adding value through the mechanization of post-harvest cassava processing,and its impact on household poverty in north-eastern Zambia

This article investigates the impact of adopting a mechanized cassava processing system on household poverty levels in Zambia. An Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measure was used to compare poverty levels among households using a mechanized cassava processing system against those households using a nonmechanized process. Based on the FGT poverty measure’s specifications, a significantly lower poverty status of 49% was found among households using the mechanized process when compared to the 58% found among households using the nonmechanized process. The significant factors contributing to these differences in poverty levels include whether households are using a mechanized process or not, the number of years’ schooling among household members, the number of years’ farming experience, household income and membership of associations. The study concludes that the mechanization of cassava processing, particularly if done on the right scale, can transform primary production activities, in turn leading to higher incomes and reduced poverty levels in rural villages. Thus, policies should be introduced aimed at encouraging the promotion of mechanized post-harvest cassava processing technologies among rural households, so as to enhance crop productivity and household income levels, as well as reduce poverty among rural households.     

Gender roles,labour market participation and household income position

In empirical research on labour supply behaviour, variables like age, education or the household's financial situation as well as economic and demographic characteristics, social attitudes and gender role schemes are believed to influence the annual working hours. This paper starts from the assumption that these determinants work differently according to the poverty level of the household in which the individual lives. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), the paper empirically tests this hypothesis for women and men living in households with a disposable income above the poverty line and of those living in poor households. The results of multiple regression analysis show traditional gender role patterns in labour supply decisions, but only for persons in households with an income above the poverty line.     

Seasonality of income and poverty in Bangladesh

Seasonal food deprivation in Bangladesh, locally known as Monga, sometimes rises to the level of famine during the pre-harvest period of aman rice. An analysis of household income and expenditure survey data shows that income and consumption are lower during Monga than in other seasons, and that seasonal income greatly influences seasonal consumption. Econometric estimates reject the hypothesis of perfect consumption smoothing. In the northwestern region of greater Rangpur, rural households suffer disproportionately from Monga. Seasonal differences in poverty across regions are due mainly to differences in household-specific seasonality of income and consumption. Income diversification explains the lower incidence of income seasonality observed in non-Rangpur regions. To contain seasonal hunger in greater Rangpur, public policies should promote rural income diversification together with seasonal migration. A flexible microfinance scheme that provides both production and consumption loans on flexible repayment terms could help diversify income and reduce seasonality of income and poverty.     

Assessment of the effects of targeted poverty alleviation policy on differently poverty-stricken households: A multi-propensity score weighting model

Eliminating poverty is a multifaceted global challenge and a focal point of global development governance. With the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation (TPA), China's poverty alleviation efforts have had significant achievements. This study provides a new perspective by classifying poverty-stricken households based on poverty root causes at the household level, a multi-propensity score weighting model based on counterfactual inference is employed to examine the poverty reduction effect and policy precision on six non-equivalent poverty-stricken household groups in a Chinese county. The results reveal that the poverty reduction effects differed among poverty-stricken households with different root causes of poverty. Specifically, households impoverished due to disability have the lowest income of the six groups. The assistance policy effects also vary significantly and are found to be poorly suited to poverty-stricken households a lack of labor force and funds. A robustness test confirms this conclusion and a more nuanced analysis reveals that these differences are reflected in the wage and transfer incomes. Therefore, to ensure the stability of poverty reduction and the sustainability of income for poverty-stricken households, relevant associated aid policies need to place different emphases based on their household characteristics.     

A Consistent Poverty Approach to Assessing the Sensitivity of Income Poverty Measures and Trends

This paper examines the sensitivity of estimates of income poverty rates and trends to variations in the poverty line and to whether or not certain households are included or excluded from the sample used to estimate poverty. The approach draws on the concept of consistent poverty, which has been used to identify those with incomes below the poverty line who also experience deprivation. Our approach involves excluding households with incomes below the poverty line if they report zero or negative income or are self‐employed, have expenditure well in excess of their income, have substantial wealth holdings, or if they do not report having experienced financial stress over the past year. The combined impact of all four exclusions is to reduce the half‐median income poverty rate from 9.9 per cent to 5.4 per cent, but also suggests that poverty increased by more over the decade to 2003–04 than the original estimates indicate.     

FINDING THE POOR

As a basis for judging how public policy affects the poor, this article explores how "poor" families may be defined and how well such families can be distinguished from other families in the less developed countries. This is done by seeking proxies for poverty which are relatively easy to measure, accurate in discriminating between the poor and the non-poor, and relevant to public policy. To this end, a highly parsimonious model is developed, based on truncation and regression procedures, using only family size and number of wage earners in addition to either income or an education-age combination. Application of this model to data from household surveys in three major cities of Latin America shows that the model is highly effective in pinpointing poverty households, although the pattern of errors is not random, the most frequent type of error being to classify poverty households as non-poor.
Especially significant is that the model is nearly as effective for discriminating poverty households from others when financial variables are excluded as when they are included. This would suggest that a good deal of flexibility exists in deciding what variables to include in future studies of this type. The results also suggest that even better results should be possible if more complete information is obtained on the employment status of the different members of the household and on the contribution of each to household income. Ideally, the data collection and model development should proceed in an iterative manner since there are numerous possible variables as well as alternative model formulations.     

Caste, Inequality, and Poverty in India

This paper analyses inequality and poverty in India within the context of caste‐based discrimination. It does so by decomposing the difference between (caste) Hindu and Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) households in: their average household incomes; their probabilities of being in different income percentiles; their probabilities of being at different levels of poverty into: a “discrimination effect”, which stems from the fact that a household's income level, into which its (income‐generating) profile translates, depends on whether it is SC/ST; an “attributes (or residual) effect” which stems from the fact that there are systematic differences between SC/ST and Hindu households in their (income‐generating) profiles. The results, based on unit record data for 28,922 households, showed that at least one‐third of the average income/probability differences between Hindu and SC/ST households was due to the “unequal treatment” of the latter.     

Household poverty and inequality: the implication of migrants’ remittances in Nigeria

This article examines the nature of migrant remittances and the amount by which income poverty and inequality will be reduced given migrants’ remittances. We used the living standard survey (NLSS) data set produced by the government of Nigeria to help track poverty reduction progress. The unit of analysis was the household, upon which information on remittances was analysed. From the results, 94% of households received remittances through internal channels while less than 5% received them through international channels. Remittances alleviated poverty head count by 20% and helped to equalize household income inequality by 25%.     

The Persistence of Income Shocks: Evidence from Rural Indonesia

This paper estimates the persistence of transient income shocks to farm households in rural Indonesia. Persistence is defined as the elasticity of a household's 1997 household per capita income with respect to its 1993 per capita income, controlling for time‐invariant characteristics of the household. Local rainfall levels are used as an exogenous source of transitory variation in 1993 income. Four main conclusions emerge. First, roughly 30% of household income shocks remain after four years. Second, the persistence of negative and positive shocks is approximately equal; if anything, positive shocks last longer. Third, neither positive nor negative income shocks disproportionately affect poor households. Finally, measurement error in income and unobserved household heterogeneity are important sources of bias. These findings cast doubt on common arguments advocating public intervention to stabilize or redistribute income, and suggest that anti‐poverty policy should address more permanent causes of household poverty.