Microcredit Programme Participation and Household Food Security in Rural Bangladesh

Lack of access to credit prevents poor households in developing countries from diversifying into income‐generating activities that could safeguard them against unforeseen shocks and seasonality, leaving them susceptible to food deprivation, even when aggregate food supplies are adequate. Microcredit programmes help these households to access financial capital that could help improve their food security situation. We examine how microcredit affects different measures of food security; namely, household calorie availability, dietary diversity indicators and anthropometric status of women of reproductive age (15–49 years) and children under the age of 5 years. We find that microcredit programme participation increases calorie availability both at the intensive and extensive margins, but does not improve dietary diversity and only has mixed effects on the anthropometric measures. We also find that the effect of microcredit participation on food security may be non‐linear in which participation initially has either no effect on food security or may actually worsen it, before improving it in the longer run. Our results help to explain why existing short‐term evaluations of microcredit sometimes do not show any positive effects.     

How has microcredit supported agriculture? Evidence using panel data from Bangladesh

Improving agricultural productivity has received a greater attention in recent years amid concerns about rising food insecurity, population pressures, and climate change. Many believe that better access to institutional credit, spanning microcredit as well as commercial and agricultural banks, can help rural households smooth risks, and access inputs and other technology to modernize agriculture and improve farm/nonfarm linkages. We use recently augmented household panel data spanning over 20 years in Bangladesh to examine the effects of rural credit expansion (both microcredit and formal bank channels) on outcomes for agricultural households. We find that microcredit has benefited households with lower landownings, raising agricultural income from activities such as livestock rearing that require less land, as well as nonfarm income diversification for all households, but with the strongest effect for landless or near‐landless households. We do not find effects of microcredit on crop income, but do, however, find that reported supply‐side credit constraints significantly lower crop income. Borrowing by both men and women has contributed to nonfarm income growth for marginal farmers, but only men's borrowing has contributed to nonfarm income growth among higher landowning groups.     

Good debts,bad debts: Microcredit and managing debt in rural south India

This paper engages with debates around microcredit, once a development success story, but now much critiqued. Arguing that microcredit can only be understood within the wider context of debt, we draw on ethnographic material from two villages in Tamil Nadu, to examine how microcredit through self‐help groups sits within a broader context of indebtedness among the rural labouring classes. We describe patterns and sources of borrowing among the poor, the ways in which debts are managed, negotiated and settled within households and the ways in which the management of debt is mediated by gender, caste, class and aspiration. The paper calls for a more nuanced understanding of debt: some debts are seen as ‘good’ and others as ‘bad’. We explore the ways in which microcredit, channelled through self‐help groups, is—against much contemporary criticism—perceived by women borrowers in our study villages as a source of ‘good debt’ and praised as an enabling factor in their everyday household management as well as in aspirations for mobility and development. We also argue that microcredit can have positive impacts by enabling social investments that enhance status and reduce dependency.     

The role of education on the adoption of chemical fertiliser under different socioeconomic environments in Ethiopia

Studies on input adoption consider education as one of the most important factors that affect adoption decisions. However, very little is known about the spill‐over effect of intra‐household education on the adoption process and about the impact of education on adoption decisions under different socioeconomic conditions. We investigate these two issues using a discrete choice model. The results indicate that the decision making process is a decentralised one in which educated adult members of the household actively participate in the decision making process. This casts doubt on the traditional assumption that the household head is the sole decision maker. The results reveal that there is a substantial and statistically significant intra‐household spill‐over effect of education on the adoption decision of households. The results of the study also show that the coefficient of the education and the environment interaction variable is negative and statistically significant. This demonstrates that education and socioeconomic environments could be substitutes in modern environments and complementary in traditional ones. This implies that the expansion of education in traditional areas may be more attractive than in modern areas since education is usually the only means to enhance the ability of farmers to acquire, synthesise and respond to innovations such as chemical fertiliser.     

林业社会化服务供给对贫困农户林地投入产出影响分析

基于江西省700户用材林农户调查数据,采用回归模型定量分析林业社会化服务供给对不同贫困程度农户林地投入和产出的影响程度和影响方向,以验证林权配套改革中的社会化服务供给是否发挥应有的效果。结果表明:林木栽培技术服务对一般贫困农户林地投入和林地产出水平具有显著正向影响;金融服务对非贫困农户和重度贫困农户林地投入水平具有显著正向影响;病虫害防治等服务对非贫困农户和一般贫困农户林地投入有显著负向影响;林地面积对不同农户林地投入产出具有显著的负向影响;是否参加林地保险对重度贫困农户林地投入有显著正向影响;劳动力人数对非贫困农户林地投入有显著正向影响;家庭收入结构对不同农户林地投入产出具有显著正向影响;户主年龄对非贫困农户和一般贫困农户林地投入有显著正向影响。因此,提出针对贫困农户提供林业技术培训;加大对贫困农户林业金融扶贫力度;加大林业社会化服务体系建设的财政投入力度等对策建议。     

Unpacked and packed fluid milk consumption patterns and preferences in Turkey

The objective of this study is to investigate unpacked and packed fluid milk consumption patterns and preferences among Turkish households by using cross‐sectional survey data from 18,278 households. Based on the data, 47.8% of the households consume unpacked milk, 29.3% consume sterilized milk, and 7.9% consume pasteurized fluid milk at least once a month. Results of the multinomial logit model for fluid milk consumption behavior suggest that unpacked fluid milk preference is related positively to household size, income and age of the household head, and negatively to education level of the household head and status of the household wife. Similarly, pasteurized and sterilized fluid milk preferences are related positively to income and the education level of the household head, and negatively to household size and age of the household head. Results from these analyses are used to suggest techniques for marketing fluid milk products to specific segments of the consumer population.     

贫困地区农户对自然灾害风险规避和响应分析

[目的]研究影响贫困地区农户应对自然灾害风险,减少经济损失的因素,并分析农户采取应对损失的措施。[方法]利用2015年云南、贵州和陕西3省6县经历过自然灾害的819农户作为研究对象。采用Logit模型研究影响贫困地区农户有效规避自然灾害风险的因素,并进一步分析农户在遭受自然灾害后采取的响应策略。[结果]研究表明农户户主的受教育程度越高、与外界市场接触越紧密,则农户规避自然灾害风险能力越强;农户收入中农业收入比重高、家庭贫穷、家庭收入来源过于集中均不利于农户规避自然灾害风险。通过分析农户应对自然灾害损失的策略发现,农户在自然灾害冲击下,较多采用被动的应对策略,不善于拓展新的收入来源。采用降低生活质量、减少生活必要支出、寻找新的收入来源、金融手段和出售生产生活资料这5种应对策略的农户分别占整体受灾农户的16.36%、6.47%、14.65%、5.37%、4.03%和11.35%。[结论]为了增强贫困地区农户规避自然灾害风险的能力,首先需要加大对贫困地区的教育投资;其次,增加贫困地区与外界沟通交流的渠道,可以在偏远地区多修公路等;最后,应当积极引导农户拓展农业生产以外的收入来源,将收入来源多样化,降低农户农业收入在家庭收入中的比重,有效增强贫困地区农户应对自然灾害风险的能力。     

退耕补贴到期对贫困地区农户消费的影响研究

目的 退耕补贴是维持贫困地区农户消费水平和维持生活消费的重要收入来源,首轮退耕还林补贴到期是否影响了退耕农户的消费是亟待探究的关键性问题,但鲜有研究对此进行探讨。方法 文章基于河北与四川8个贫困县831份农户实地调查数据,利用PSM-DID模型估计退耕补贴到期对农户消费水平和结构产生的影响,并利用组间差异分析和分位数回归来探究退耕补贴到期对异质性农户消费行为的影响。结果 退耕补贴到期对农户总消费、生存性消费、发展性消费和享受性消费影响系数分别为-0.091%、-0.087%、-0.097%和0.030%,贫困农户和低、中消费水平农户受到退耕补贴到期的较大影响。结论 退耕补贴到期对样本农户消费水平产生明显负向影响,同时一定程度上不利于农户消费结构改善。贫困农户相较于非贫困农户、低中消费水平农户相较于高消费水平农户更易受到退耕补贴到期的负向影响,为帮助提高贫困地区农户消费水平,维护脱贫攻坚成果,该研究依据实证结果提出政策建议。     

Effects of microcredit and other loans on female empowerment in Bangladesh: the borrower's gender influences intra‐household resource allocation

This article examines microcredit's effectiveness in empowering women borrowers in rural Bangladesh. It does so by examining how gender‐specific borrowing activities influence household expenditures which are either specifically of interest to men or women, and by examining the effects of all loans rather than only those provided by microcredit organizations. The article uses a quasi‐experimental design to identify the effects of borrowing by men and women by using an original combination of panel data and instrumental variables on subsamples of the surveyed population. It finds that the borrower's gender affects how households allocate their resources to different expenditure items and assets that are valued differently by men and women. In all, the findings suggest that providing greater credit access to women may improve their household bargaining positions.     

The Dynamics of Individuals' Fat Consumption

Consumers are increasingly aware of the link between their lifestyle choices and the risk of noncommunicable diseases. A dynamic approach incorporating this linkage in food demand is developed, where consumers maximize utility over time by choosing fat intake to control their cumulative fat level. The resulting dynamic indirect utility function and household data on meat, fish, and dairy consumption are used to estimate a censored demand system. Results show that consumers consciously adjust, but not instantaneously, their cumulative fat level. Highly educated households have a faster rate of adjustment of cumulative fat. When cumulative fat level increases, consumers shift to dairy or white meat from red meat products.     

Is Irrigation Rehabilitation Good for Poor Farmers? An Impact Evaluation of a Non‐Experimental Irrigation Project in Peru

This paper analyses the effect of a set of irrigation rehabilitation projects conducted over the last 10 years in Peru. The projects were conducted without the aim or the tools for a full‐fledged impact evaluation. Nevertheless, this paper attempts an evaluation through the use of alternative data sources such as household surveys and geographic information, a strategy of identification of beneficiaries and control households based on spatial proximity to the projects’ sites, and an econometric approach consisting of a double‐differencing technique. The empirical analysis is guided and interpreted with the help of a theoretical model that considers the effects of an irrigation project on the distribution of production, employment and income for different types of landowners. The paper concludes that the irrigation projects implemented in Peru had a positive impact on intended beneficiary households, but not in the way it could have been simplistically expected. The project did benefit the poor but not by increasing production in their own small plots but by providing them with better employment opportunities in larger farms.     

Food aid and adult nutrition in rural Ethiopia

Insight into the role of safety nets that contribute to adult nutrition is an important component to understanding the dynamics of poverty in developing countries. This article uses panel data from rural Ethiopia on individual nutritional status to test for an effect of public transfers on adult body mass index (BMI). Results show that among adult household members, male members are the primary beneficiaries of food aid as male and female aid recipients tend to invest aid receipts in male household members. These results are consistent with a theory in which additional resources are allocated to members of the household whose market returns are higher or those who engage in activities that expend higher levels of energy. For high‐asset households, female household members benefit if the aid recipient is a female. Women in low‐asset households appear to be adversely affected by aid receipts, and evidence suggests that women with little bargaining power suffer the most. The results suggest that aid receipts are useful in mitigating fluctuations in adult BMI over a short time period.     

中国农户土地租佃行为实证研究

本文利用福建省和黑龙江省的农户调查样本数据，通过建立土地租佃行为的经济计量模型，从微观层面定量分析了影响农户土地租佃行为的各种因素。计量结果表明，农户土地租佃行为受到户主年龄、户主是否接受过专业技术培训、家庭劳动力人数、人均纯收入、非农收入比重、农户是否饲养役畜、交易成本等多方面因素的影响，并随着这些因素的变化而不断变化。     

Smallholder participation in vegetable exports and age‐disaggregated labor allocation in Northern Tanzania

Modern agricultural supply chains have been playing an increasingly important role in developing countries and have had significant effects on rural labor markets. This article analyses the effects of smallholder farmer participation in export vegetable supply chains in Northern Tanzania on both household hired labor demand and off‐farm labor supply, using an age‐disaggregated approach. In our sample, neither separability nor exogeneity of smallholder farmer participation in export supply chains can be rejected. Hence, we apply lognormal double‐hurdle models and find that participation in export supply chains positively affects households’ decision to hire labor from all age groups. We also find that it increases the unconditional overall level of hired labor demand, while the age‐disaggregated analysis shows that these effects mostly benefit rural youth. However, our sample does not allow us to establish statistically significant evidence of an effect on household off‐farm labor supply although the point estimates point to nonnegligible positive effect sizes.     

Financial drivers of land use decisions: The case of smallholder woodlots in Amhara,Ethiopia

A household survey on the financial drivers of woodlot production was conducted in the Lake Tana watershed of Amhara State, Ethiopia. Analysis of smallholder Eucalyptus globulus Labill. production reveals that converting uneroded over eroded croplands leads to significantly higher financial returns. Returns were also significantly higher for rotation intervals closer to the optimal economic rotation and for higher planting densities. Most woodlots had positive financial returns. The presence of negative financial returns for some households demonstrates that positive ecological externalities, a lack of economies of scale and/or myopic behavior are potentially important factors in land use decision-making. Wood utilization decisions were shown to impact the potential financial returns of households. Smallholders’ activities demonstrate that eucalyptus is an imperfect substitute for agricultural production on surplus cropland. A third of respondents indicated they had intentionally chosen to convert uneroded croplands to achieve higher returns. Smallholders faced constraints in bargaining over price and access to markets. Future land use policies should address marketing constraints and unsustainable land use activities. Harvesting soil from natural forests and the conversion of productive surplus cropland to woodlot production both present long-term sustainability challenges. This study demonstrates the importance of considering economic and social incentives when creating land use policies for smallholder's woodlot production.     

The adoption of intensive monocrop horticulture in southern Cameroon

Results from a 1997 survey of 208 households in the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon indicate that African policy makers seeking to intensify agricultural production should focus attention on the horticultural sub‐sector. The survey, which gathered information on horticultural production practices, found that the average expenditure on agro‐chemical inputs by horticultural producers using monocrop production systems was 190US$/ha, which greatly exceeds the FAO reported national average expenditure of 6.50 US$/ha. A logit model of monocrop adoption indicated that the size of land holding per household had a negative effect on adoption, congruent with population‐driven technical change and that increases in unit transportation costs significantly decreased the probability of adoption. These findings suggest that policy makers should target horticultural intensification in areas of higher population density and promote investment in rural roads. The age of the household head had a significant negative and elastic effect on adoption, which in combination with an increase in the cohort of younger farmers in the rural population induced by macro‐economic events contributed to the spread of intensified horticulture. In the study area, roughly two‐thirds of rural households also produce cocoa and the quantity of cocoa produced was positively associated with adoption of intensive horticultural systems suggesting that export crop promotion indirectly facilitated diversification of agriculture. Women's participation in intensive monocrop production was limited and efforts to promote their greater involvement are recommended.     

Impacts in Uganda of rising global food prices: the role of diversified staples and limited price transmission

This study assesses the potential impact of rising world food prices on the welfare of Ugandan households. While Uganda experienced sharply higher food prices in 2008, as a landlocked, food‐exporting country the causes of those price changes were mainly regional and indirect rather than directly transmitted from global markets. Using trade volumes, food prices, and household survey data we describe how Uganda, unlike some other countries, is partially shielded from direct impacts of global food price movements. Although the majority of Ugandans are net food buyers, the adverse impact at household‐level of rising global prices is moderated by the relatively large quantity and range of staples consumed that come from home production. Moreover, several of these are not widely traded. Some population groups in Uganda are vulnerable to rising food prices, however, primarily those for whom maize is an important staple, including those dependent upon humanitarian relief and the urban poor. Only a relatively small group of Ugandan households will benefit directly and immediately from rising food prices—the significant net sellers of food crops constituting between 12% and 27% of the population. In this assessment we do not estimate the level and extent of wider second round effects from these higher prices.     

Agricultural commercialisation,asset growth and poverty in rural Vietnam

Poverty remains a substantial threat in rural areas of many developing countries, and solving this problem requires an in-depth understanding of the income generating capacity that determines poverty. This paper examines the impact of agricultural commercialisation on the capability of rural households to accumulate and productively use assets and reduce structural and multidimensional poverty. A longitudinal dataset of around 2000 households with a total of 9781 observations from five rural surveys undertaken in the period 2008–2017 in Vietnam is used. Results from a fixed effects regression with an instrumental variable and a control function approach show that agricultural commercialisation has a positive effect on the accumulation of assets and reduces multidimensional and structural poverty over time. However, the effect is not homogeneous and is larger for households that are not mainly engaged in rice commercialisation. This suggests that commercialisation can be a path out of poverty, especially if policy makers move towards utilising other crops instead of rice.     

Policies for sustainable development in the hillside areas of Honduras: a quantitative livelihoods approach

In this article, we use data for 376 households, 1,066 parcels, and 2,143 plots located in 95 villages in the hillside areas in Honduras to generate information needed by decision makers to assess the needs and opportunities for public investments, and design policies that stimulate natural resource conservation. We develop a quantitative livelihood approach, using factor and cluster analysis to group households based on the use of their main assets. This resulted in seven household categories that pursue similar livelihood strategies. We use a multinomial logit model to show that livelihood strategies are determined by comparative advantages as reflected by a combination of biophysical and socioeconomic variables. While 92% of the rural hillsides population in Honduras lives on US$1.00/capita/day or less, households that follow a livelihood strategy based on basic grain farming are the poorest because they often live in isolated areas with relatively poor agro‐ecological and socioeconomic conditions. Opportunities for off‐farm work tend to be limited in these areas and household strategies that combine on‐farm work with off‐farm work earn higher incomes. Per capita incomes can be increased by improving road infrastructure, widening access to land, policies that reduce household size and dependency ratios, and adoption of sustainable land management technologies that restore soil fertility. We used probit models to show that the latter can be promoted by agricultural extension programs and land redistribution. Investments in physical assets should be directed toward households that pursue livelihood strategies based on off‐farm employment or coffee production, while agricultural training programs are best focused on livestock producers.     

Urbanization,the energy ladder and forest transitions in India's emerging economy

Urbanization is currently a major force in tropical land use transitions as economic activities aggregate in urban centers, particularly in Asia. This paper examines relationships among urbanization, household energy source, and forest cover at the state level in India using available census, survey, and remote sensing analysis from the 1990s and 2000s. Central questions include (1) how rapidly are urban and rural households switching from traditional to modern fuel sources; and (2) what are the consequences of changing household energy sources for fuelwood demand and forest cover. Country-wide, 30 and 78% of urban and rural households respectively used fuelwood for cooking in 1993. In urban households, the percentage decreased to 22% by 2005 with a shift towards liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The shift occurred across almost all income classes. In rural areas, the use of LPG increased fourfold but 75% of households still rely on fuelwood. Despite the decline in percentage households using traditional fuels, fuelwood demand continued to increase from 1993 to 2005 at a national scale due to an increasing total number of households. However, 25% of states and union territories experienced declines in rural fuelwood demand and over 70% declines in urban fuelwood demand. Forest cover has remained steady or increased slightly over the time period, reaffirming the conclusion that fuelwood demand may lead to local degradation but not large-scale deforestation. At the state level, increases in percent forest cover between 2000 and 2004 are positively associated with percent of total households that are urban (corresponding to fewer percentage households using wood) but not related to changes in fuelwood demand. Plantations are a primary cause of increases in forest area, where benefits to ecosystem services such as biodiversity and hydrologic function are controversial. Results suggest that households will continue to climb the energy ladder with future urbanization, resulting in substantial development benefits and reduced exposure to indoor air pollution. Implications of reduced fuelwood demand for forest cover are less certain but the limited data suggest that urbanization will promote a transition to increasing forest cover in the Indian context.