Challenges and Changes in Gendered Poverty: The Feminization,De-Feminization,and Re-Feminization of Poverty in Latin America

Despite reductions in poverty generally, recent trends in Latin American countries show processes of both de-feminization and re-feminization of poverty. A rise in the numbers of women to men living in income-poor households has occurred despite feminized anti-poverty programs, most notably conditional cash transfers (CCTs), which target resources to women. This paper shows that methodological differences in what, how, and who is the focus of measurement may influence patterns of poverty “feminization.” It also suggests that feminized policy interventions might in themselves be playing a role in the re-feminization of poverty, not least because of data and definitional limitations in the way female-headed households and, relatedly, women’s poverty are understood. The somewhat paradoxical interactions between the feminization of household headship, the feminization of poverty, and the feminization of anti-poverty programs present interesting challenges for redressing gender gaps in poverty within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.     

Differences in perceptions about food delivery apps between single-person and multi-person households

The growth in mobile communications is a significant reason attributed to the O2O commerce explosion in China. Mobile applications have seized this opportunity adapting it to restaurants and food delivery services, recognized as an alternative strategy to increase sales revenue and for consumers to conveniently receive products and services. This study was designed to specifically explore five salient quality attributes representing convenience, design, trustworthiness, price, and various food choices associated with food delivery apps in consideration of their impacts upon user-perceived value, attitudes and intention to continuously use. Results determined that user trustworthiness was the most important quality attribute of the food delivery app business. Additionally, this study found that single-person households placed most importance upon quality attributes for ‘various food choices,’ ‘price’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Comparatively, multi-person households placed most importance upon ‘design,’ ‘convenience,’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Managerial implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are provided.     

On the rebound: estimating direct rebound effects for Australian households

Reducing dependence on fossil fuels by decreasing energy consumption is a common environmental policy. One mechanism used to achieve this is to encourage increased energy efficiency. However, improving efficiency may have an opposing effect and cause an increase in energy consumption if the intensity of use changes. This phenomenon is known as the rebound effect. We estimate direct rebound effects for energy use in Australia based on both aggregate residential energy use data and on household energy expenditure data. Our approach implements a new methodology developed by Hunt and Ryan (2014, Catching on the rebound: Why price elasticities are generally inappropriate measures of rebound effects. Surrey Energy Economics Discussion Paper Series SEEDS 148; 2015, Energy Economics 50, 273) that explicitly relates energy service use with energy source demand and directly incorporates measures of efficiency changes. The results indicate that the rebound effect is relatively high for energy use by Australian households. Due to the unique nature of our household data set, we can examine the influence of demographic and housing characteristics. We find that low‐income households and households with vulnerable members have the largest rebound effects. The relatively large rebound effects found here suggest that consumers gain from efficiency by improved energy services, and thus, policy targeting energy efficiency is not likely to be successful at reducing energy consumption.     

乡村振兴战略下要素国际流动的环境效果

乡村振兴战略和环境保护是当前经济工作中的重点。伴随经济全球化和“一带一路”战略的不断深入,生产要素国际流动日趋频繁。乡村振兴是国家重要发展战略,其重要抓手是实现农业现代化。因此,在小农户与现代农业共存的经济背景下,分析要素国际流动的环境效果,并根据现代农业发展的不同特征,对乡村振兴战略实施初始阶段和全面实施阶段分别进行分析后发现:在战略实施初始阶段,劳动流入加剧污染,反之改善环境;在战略全面实施阶段,资本流入改善环境,反之恶化环境。     

Agricultural holdings with undefined boundaries,communal systems and counter‐hegemonies: The persistence of the peasantry in Argentina

The presence of agricultural holdings with undefined boundaries (AHUBs) and their heterogeneous geographical distribution questions the supposed hegemony of agribusiness in Argentina. Given the lack of defined boundaries, these holdings generate a communal culture among dwellers, which is reflected in both the strategies of the use of commons and the initiatives for the defence of land in the conflicts between peasants and entrepreneurs. This article describes two counter‐enclosure experiences that were generated and have developed on the bedrock of AHUBs and a communal matrix. Those defence strategies are employed by families that possess the land but have not title to it, being a defence tactic against attempts of eviction. AHUB not only is a new census category that allows us to enhance our knowledge of the rural world but also proposes modes of production that differ from those of the capitalist model, showing possible counter‐hegemonic development alternatives that arise from the practices used in these holdings.     

欠发达地区失地农民生计方式对生计资本变化的响应——以兰州市安宁区为例

[目的]明确失地农民生计方式选择对生计资本变化的响应,对于制定有效的扶持政策、实现精准扶贫、消除返贫隐患非常重要。[方法]基于参与式的农村评估法(PRA)获取的调查问卷,分析了当前甘肃省兰州市安宁区失地农民的主要生计方式以及影响其非农就业的主要因子,并进一步运用多项Logistic模型探讨失地农民职业分化对上述因子的响应。[结果](1)个体特征和人力资本差异不仅影响兰州安宁区失地农民就业水平,也显著影响职业分化。职业层次越高,失地农民转移就业概率对性别差异、教育程度、年龄及职业资格水平越敏感;(2)征地补偿转化形成的财产性收入及转移性收入对转移就业后各层次职业的就业水平都具有显著负向影响;(3)地理空间异质性对中低层次就业影响更显著。[结论]生计资本数量不仅影响失地农民生计方式能否向非农产业转移,同时影响其对较高层次职业的获取,进而影响其生计转型后的稳定性以及可持续性。     

干旱影响生计脆弱性中的中介和调节效应

［目的］气候变化下跨尺度变量对生计脆弱性的影响多数为定性研究，很少进行实证研究，文章通过实证分析探索跨尺度变量在干旱影响生计脆弱性中的作用。［方法］基于黄土高原218个农户调查数据，采用线性回归和层次回归分析跨尺度变量在干旱影响生计脆弱性中的中介和调节效应。［结果］干旱对农户生计脆弱性有显著影响。在干旱影响生计脆弱性的过程中，个人尺度的“户主年龄、感知的气温最大值、降雨量变化、干旱程度变化和灾后信息渠道”与农户尺度的“批发市场距离和集市距离”起到了调节作用； 农户尺度的“三代直系亲属的户数和生产机械指数”起到了中介作用； 而村庄尺度的“工程措施”，既没起到中介作用，也没起到调节作用。［结论］用中介和调节效应反映了跨尺度变量的交互作用，在跨尺度效应的实证研究方面提供了科学的方法，弥补了现有研究的空白，这为制定减少农户生计脆弱性的政策提供了科学有效的依据。     

Electricity awareness and consumer demand for information

With the envisioned growth in the residential electricity demand and increased share of intermittent renewables in the supply mix, consumers will need to be better informed about their electricity consumption and to play an active role in managing their electricity use. However, consumer inattention and lack of information are ubiquitous, especially in household energy‐related settings. Thus, using a novel survey and actual monthly electricity consumption data, this study set out to measure the level of awareness about electricity bills, prices and costs among some Finnish households—as captured by the answers to six questions—and to investigate whether higher levels of “electricity awareness” are associated with electricity savings. In addition, this study analyses the willingness to receive extra information about energy consumption and savings and how it differs between “electricity aware” and “electricity unaware” respondents. The results indicate low levels of “electricity awareness” among the respondents of the survey. Compared to the respondents with little knowledge about electricity bills, prices and costs, the respondents with higher levels of “electricity awareness” tend to consume less electricity. Higher levels of awareness about electricity use and consumption might “materialize” inconspicuous consumption patterns, as opposed to more general facts about the largely invisible environmental consequences of everyday practices. More than two‐thirds of the total number of respondents would like to receive additional information about energy consumption and how to save energy. However, there exists a significant portion of “electricity unaware” respondents who are not only unwilling to receive such information, but are also unaware of their own knowledge deficits. To maximize the impact of any information strategy, decision makers should attempt to engage with this type of consumer; by becoming more aware of their knowledge deficits, people might become more receptive to information that can benefit them.