Cure-all or curse? A meta-regression on the effect of tourism development on poverty alleviation

The purpose of this study is to synthesize the overall effect size of tourism on poverty alleviation and to unveil underlying factors explaining the heterogeneity of this effect size across estimates. Using a rigorous meta-analysis based on 298 estimates extracted from 33 studies, we calibrate a combined effect size of −0.14 with a 95% confidence interval of [-0.23, −0.05], indicating that tourism moderately reduces poverty. A meta-regression demonstrates that the effect size of the tourism–poverty nexus is susceptible to several factors, such as poverty and tourism measures, focal countries’ development level, and endogeneity treatment. In particular, the results show that use of the Gini coefficient, a popular proxy for the poverty gap, can unexpectedly underestimate the negative effect size. Moreover, funnel plot and Galbraith plot demonstrate that researchers are apt to report a positive tourism–poverty nexus in the literature. Lastly, research and policy implications are provided.     

Decomposing the contribution of migration to poverty reduction: methodology and application to Tanzania

In an economy with migration, poverty changes are composed of a number of forces, including the income gains and losses realized by the various migration streams. We present a simple but powerful decomposition methodology that uses panel data to measure the contributions of different migration streams to overall poverty change. An application to Tanzania shows the new insights that are provided – in particular on the role of migration to secondary towns in poverty reduction.     

江西林药精准扶贫发展现状、存在问题和对策建议——以赣州9个贫困县区为例

对江西赣州集中连片的9个贫困县区的林药发展现状展开调研,在精准扶贫的背景下分析江西林药的生产要素、主要经营模式、产业结构特点及其存在问题,探讨支撑江西林药发展的精准扶贫对策建议。结果表明:赣州9个贫困县区系野生药材资源富集区,林药规模生产特征初现,但未见第一产业主导优势经济集群效应,产业结构和生产要素组成待优化完善,林药与精准扶贫的发展挑战与机遇并存。为此,赣州9个贫困县区应依托丰富的中药资源,发挥第二产业优势,通过加强对产业结构的调整,培育各具特色的优势主业,建立良好的产业体系,助推第一产业健康发展,以较好地支撑江西林药种植的精准扶贫。     

Rational But Poor? An Explanation for Rural Economic Livelihood Strategy

Using panel data for six rural sub‐Saharan Africa countries, this article tests two hypotheses: (i) household‐specific staple food price bands resulting from market failures in the presence of liquidity constraints and rainfed agriculture induces rural household specialisation in food crops as an economic livelihood strategy; (ii) specialisation in food crops yields inferior welfare than diversification, and keeps households trapped in poverty. The results lend strong support to both hypotheses, reinforcing the need for public investment in rural infrastructure in order to encourage household livelihood diversification for improved welfare.     

农村居民储蓄率与收入差距、贫困减缓之间的关系——基于VAR模型的实证研究

基于1990-2018年的各项数据,通过VAR模型,分析了农村居民的储蓄率与贫困减缓、收入差距之间的关系。结果表明:贫困减缓对农村居民的储蓄率的影响较大,收入差距对储蓄率的影响逐渐上升并保持平稳,此外,储蓄率的降低在一定程度会反作用于贫困减缓,而贫困减缓也会对收入差距产生较大的影响。最后,针对研究成果给出一定的建议。     

Poverty analysis in the lowlands of Papua New Guinea underscores climate vulnerability and need for income flexibility*

A severe El Niño event in 2015/16 decimated an important share of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) local crop production, leaving 10 per cent of the population with significant food shortages. Lack of recent socio‐economic data and analysis of the country's rural population impeded efforts to plan and mitigate the ensuing food crisis. This paper presents the most recent poverty analysis in Papua New Guinea in nearly a decade, and a renewed effort to inform rural production, consumption and livelihood patterns in some of the country's most remote, lowland areas. We designed a rural household survey that collected detailed consumption and expenditure data to explore poverty prevalence and correlates of per capita household expenditure. Results suggest that approximately half of the sampled individuals live in households with total per capita expenditures below the poverty line. Climate shocks have significant and possibly long‐term consequences for household welfare. Households that experienced a drought in the last 5 years are associated with significantly lower per capita expenditures. Labour diversification, via migration, is associated with greater welfare. Households with at least one migrant member are associated with 13 per cent greater per capita expenditure.     

Do crop purchase programs improve smallholder welfare? The case of Zambia's Food Reserve Agency

Government and parastatal crop purchase programs have regained popularity in sub-Saharan Africa, with many citing improving smallholder farmers’ welfare as a key goal. Yet there is limited empirical evidence on the topic. This paper analyzes the effects of the Zambian Food Reserve Agency's (FRA's) maize purchase activities on smallholder welfare. The FRA buys maize at a pan-territorial price that often exceeds market prices in surplus production areas. Using two household panel survey datasets spanning 15 years and exploiting variation in the scale of FRA activities over time, we employ fixed effects and control function approaches to estimate the effects of a smallholder household's maize sales to the FRA on its welfare, as well as the effects of more intense FRA maize purchase activity in a given district on the welfare of smallholder households in the district. Results suggest positive direct welfare effects on the minority of smallholders that sell to the FRA. We also find that, in the early years of the program, more intense FRA maize purchase activity in a district was associated with reductions in smallholder welfare, particularly among maize autarkic and net buying households. In later years, we find no evidence of such negative effects and some evidence of positive district-level effects on maize net buyers.     

农地流转、非农就业与易地扶贫搬迁脱贫效益

土地是农户重要的生计资本，土地问题是易地扶贫搬迁后续扶持工作中的关键，关乎脱贫成效。基于理性选择理论和“推-拉”理论，本文采用重庆酉阳11个易地扶贫搬迁安置点的数据，从搬迁户的视角出发探讨农地流转对易地扶贫搬迁户脱贫的促进作用。研究发现，农地流转能够通过为搬迁户带来土地租金收入、促进家庭生产要素优化和劳动力合力配置正向促进搬迁户脱贫，非农就业这个逻辑中发挥中介作用，村干部政策执行则在农地流转和非农就业之间起调节作用。在易地扶贫搬迁后续帮扶过程中，要激活农村土地市场，促进土地要素合理流动，加大村干部主动执行政策的力度，不断带动搬迁户非农就业，夯实永续脱贫之本。     

陕北地区乡村旅游精准扶贫效应评价

［目的］贫困问题是当今世界最尖锐的问题之一，我国政府极其重视扶贫。通过乡村旅游实现精准扶贫，对于打赢扶贫攻坚战具有非常重要的作用。对乡村旅游精准扶贫效进行评价，对把握脱贫工作的不足和方向、提高陕北地区乡村旅游的扶贫效益具有重要意义。［方法］文章选择2011—2016年为时间结点，将熵值法与加权评分法两种定量研究方法相结合，以榆林市和延安市21个“国家乡村旅游精准扶贫重点县”为研究对象，研究陕北地区大力发展乡村旅游以来其精准扶贫效应，并对其做出评价。［结果］陕北地区乡村旅游精准扶贫经济效应总体为显著，且延安市区域间发展很不平衡； 在改善贫困地区贫困人口受教育及生活水平方面，乡村旅游产生的效应不显著； 在改善贫困地区贫困居民健康水平方面，乡村旅游扶贫效应比较显著。［结论］陕北地区乡村旅游精准扶贫效应总体处于显著和较显著两个水平，还有很长的路要走。     

边疆民族地区牧户贫困脆弱性及其影响因素研究

[目的]为清晰识别边疆民族地区牧户贫困程度,为后续精准扶贫政策及牧户的可持续发展提供科学的决策依据。[方法]文章以边疆民族地区牧户为研究对象,分别以1.25美元、2美元和2300元为贫困线标准,运用VEP估计方法对牧户贫困脆弱性进行测度,并以户主特征、家庭特征、畜牧业生产行为与草原生态政策选择行为4个层面综合构建牧户贫困脆弱性影响的Logit计量模型。[结果]牧户贫困发生率与贫困脆弱性发生率为4.07%和63.47%,其中贫困和非贫困牧户的贫困脆弱性分别为96.88%和62.06%。户主年龄、家庭规模以及绵羊、牛、奶牛、马和山羊的出栏数量与家庭贫困脆弱性呈现反向显著关系,而教育程度、家庭劳动力数量、出栏羊单位与家庭贫困脆弱性呈现显著正向关系,选择禁牧与草畜平衡牧户的贫困脆弱性更低。[结论]降低以中青年为主的牧户的畜牧业风险,构建中小牧户链接到现代农牧业发展的体制机制与政策体系,鼓励牲畜种类多样化以及持续实施禁牧和草畜平衡的生态政策,是降低牧户贫困脆弱性与提升可行能力的重要路径。