An integration of the livelihoods and asset-based community development approaches: A South African case study

This study provides an integrated framework and practice model of the sustainable livelihoods (SL) and the asset-based community development (ABCD) approaches. A household survey of a rural village in South Africa is used as a basis of analysis to demonstrate the application of the integrated approach. The results elucidate the vulnerability of the people and a range of inter-locking and multi-dimensional factors contributing to poverty in the community. The results also show people's assets, capabilities and activities which enable them to cope and survive despite constraints and shortcomings. It was found that the integrated SL/ABCD framework is a useful framework to understand the strengths of a vulnerable community in order to plan and implement sustainable community development strategies.     

中国新型城镇化过程中失地农民权益保障问题研究

土地是人类赖以生存和发展的最基本的物质基础,也是农民的生产资料和生计源泉。在城镇化建设和发展的过程中,失地农民是由中国城乡二元体制的客观因素造成的。征地制度、户籍制度的缺陷和农村社会保障率低下等因素使失地农民的生存权和发展权受到极大的挑战。文章认为,增强失地农民权益保障重点是要把握好"公共利益"的维度,完善征地补偿机制;建立城乡一体化社会保障体系,实现城乡统一发展;完善农村土地"双置换"。     

REGIONAL VARIATION IN LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES IN MALAWI

We identified livelihood strategies at the household level as a function of assets held using survey data from Malawi. We only included endowments that we expected to be predetermined. As expected, land, household size, age and primary education are important determinants of livelihood strategies. It also turned out to be significant regional variation in livelihood strategies, with more diversification in the southern region, and with regional variation in the role of ethnic and religious identity as determinants of livelihood strategies. In particular, we found that households from the Chewa community have more livelihood opportunities in the south, where they are in a minority.     

社会资本、农地流转与农户消费扩张

中国农户消费转型升级引发各方关注,但鲜有从社会资本的视角探讨农地流转对农户消费的影响及其微观作用机理。文章在理论层面分析了农地流转通过影响农户生计资本变动和生计策略调整对农户消费的传导机制,并基于中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）三期面板数据,定量评估了农地流转对农户消费影响的社会资本效应。结果表明：（1）我国农户消费基尼系数总体呈缩窄趋势,但农地转出农户相比农地转入农户具有更高的人均消费支出及消费不均等程度;（2）农地流转能够影响农户关键自然资本改变和生计策略调整,从而显著提高农户消费水平,且参与农地流转农户相比未参与农地流转农户具有更高的消费动机;（3）社会资本在农户农地转入和转出过程中对农户消费存在微观中介效应,即社会资本越高的农户参与农地流转的概率越大,且能够通过提高农地转出户非农就业机会和扩大其多元化收入来源,间接提升农户消费水平。在精准扶贫和乡村振兴战略协同背景下,应积极有序推进农地适度规模经营,促进农地转出户非农就业,并强化农户社会资本建设,提高农户多元化收入,从而全面助推农村消费转型升级。     

西藏农牧民养老保障满意度及影响因素研究

社会保障是民生之依,直接关系到人民群众的切实利益,是百姓生存、发展和延续的重要保证。老有所养是我国社会保障改革与发展的重要目标与方向之一。本文使用西藏民生研究中心2018年拉萨市农牧区民生发展调查数据(LLDR),其数据显示,拉萨市农牧民的养老保障满意度整体较高,其没有满意的主要原因是对办事流程不了解、经办人员的工作效率较低、经办机构开展政策不了解等。通过Logit回归分析发现,个体特征变量在一定程度上会显著影响养老保障的满意度,社会资本是影响社会养老保障满意度的重要因素。     

家庭金融研究综述——基于资产配置视角

家庭金融是金融学研究中的一个重要领域,二十多年来取得了重大进展,论文旨在从资产配置视角对这个领域的状况和发展做一个简要综述.论文首先概述了我国城镇居民家庭市场参与和投资分散化现状.其次,基于资产配置视角简述了家庭金融决策研究的基本框架.再次,从投资机会、生命周期、背景风险、社会保障、财富效应和社会资本等几个方面,介绍了资产配置视角下家庭金融研究的主要进展,最后对家庭金融研究的未来发展做了展望.     

Labor Shortages on Small Landholdings in Malawi: Implications for Policy Reforms

A simple linear programming model of representative smallholder households is used to investigate the sources of relative scarcity of labor and land in Malawi. The paradox of on-farm labor shortages on small landholdings can be explained by the multiple constraints smallholders face. These multiple constraints, including lack of finance, concerns for food security, and others, lead to suboptimal allocations of household resources. In turn, the low returns to labor and land, contribute to household food insecurity and a vicious cycle of poverty. The findings of the paper provide a clear signal to policymakers and research and extension institutions that these constraints are all linked, and addressing one cannot be effective without addressing the others.     

Using group ratings to assess household food security: Empirical evidence from southern Africa

This article addresses the reliability and validity of household welfare rankings using the Group Ratings (GR) method. The GR aimed to measure the food security status of 142 households in seven villages in Malawi. Sets of informant groups rated households from their own community. Results show that the reliability of the method was no more than fair to moderate, and was particularly low for households falling in the middle category of 'intermittently food insecure'. Consensus ratings from the GR sessions were then compared with a number of alternative indicators of food security from a quantitative household survey. GR were associated with the more visible aspects of food security, such as household asset and livestock holdings, but associations with less visible aspects of food security were weaker. The strength of these associations varied from village to village.     

Socioeconomic Determinants of Child Health: Empirical Evidence from Indonesia

This paper characterizes the socioeconomic determinants of child health using height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ), a long‐run measure of chronic nutritional deficiency. We construct a panel data that follows children between ages 3 and 59 months in 1993 through the 1997 and 2000 waves of the Indonesian Family Life Survey. We use this data to identify the various child‐level, household‐level and community‐level factors that affect children's health. Our findings indicate that household income has a large and statistically significant role in explaining improvements in HAZ. We also find a strong positive association between parental height and HAZ. At the community level, we find that provision of electricity and the availability of paved roads are positively associated with improvements in HAZ. Finally, in comparison to community‐level factors, household‐level characteristics play a large role in explaining the variation in HAZ. These findings suggest that policies that address the demand‐side constraints have greater potential to improve children's health outcomes in the future.     

山西省生态系统安全评价研究

基于P-S-R(压力-状态-响应)模型,从经济、民生、资源及环境保护角度,构建了评价山西省生态系统安全指标体系,同时将突变级数法与因子分析法相结合,构建评价区域突变模型,对2004—2013年山西省生态系统安全进行综合评价。结果表明：2004-2007年,山西省生态系统安全隶属度呈上升趋势,在2008-2009年则出现快速下降,在2009年有明显突变,这反映山西省的经济、民生、资源与环境四者之间还未能协调发展。     

论社会保障与民生问题的关系

社会保障是解决民生问题的最有效措施。文章回顾了党和政府解决有关社会保障与民生问题的实践,无论是成功的经验还是失败的教训,都充分证明社会保障与民生问题有着内在的联系。因此,从解决民生问题的战略高度来设计社会保障制度,有三个可以考虑的层面:一是基于救助的社会保障体系;二是基于保险的社会保障体系;三是基于福利的社会保障体系。     

The contribution of livelihood activities in the Limpopo province: Case study evidence from Makua and Manganeng

This article uses case study evidence from Makua and Manganeng, two rural villages in the Capricorn region, to investigate the effects of private and social costs, such as land degradation, on rural livelihoods in the area. Information is derived from household surveys, key informant interviews, participatory appraisal techniques, and a detailed ecological baseline study of the area. Livelihood activities such as agricultural practices (crop and livestock production), and wood and edible product gathering are included. This article attempts to synthesise the information gathered and lessons learnt from these studies, quantifies the contribution of these livelihood activities in monetary terms, and considers the implications for sustainable livelihood practices. The study finds that non-cash earnings contribute an important component of overall household income - between 40 and 50 per cent before social and opportunity costs are deducted. However, external costs significantly undermine overall earnings from natural resource-based products.     

Food Demand Characteristics in Uganda: Estimation and Policy Relevance

Uganda was highly successful in reducing poverty over the past two decades but made little progress towards household food security. This underlines the need for designing food security interventions customised for household‐specific needs and behaviours. This study estimates Ugandan household demand behaviour with a focus on food consumption paying particular attention to household‐specific characteristics. The results show that preferences to increase calorie‐dense staple consumption, likely associated with food energy deficiency, extend far beyond the percentage of rural Ugandans officially deemed poor. Price elasticities indicate that poor rural households are largely well positioned to compensate staple price increases by substitution as long as they are not already concentrated on the cheapest foods. This flexibility applies less to urban households. The estimated demand elasticities generally vary widely between rural and urban households and depend on expenditure levels. Household‐specific characteristics have significant, sometimes pronounced, influences on demand, as do seasons and regions. The results reflect highly differentiated demand behaviour, which can be utilised to improve the design and evaluation of food security interventions.     

Poverty,livelihood and class in rural South Africa

Using data from a national living standards survey undertaken in late 1993, this paper disaggregates and explores the economics of livelihood generation and class in rural South Africa in an effort to contribute to the ongoing and vociferous debate in South Africa about poverty and its alleviation. Pursuant to the suggestion of participants in a recent participatory poverty assessment, this paper analyzes what might be termed the class structure of poverty. After exploring the range of claiming systems and livelihood tactics available in rural South Africa, the paper offers a first look at who the poor are by disaggregating the rural population into discrete livelihood strategy classes. Non-parametric regression methods are used to then estimate and graphically explore the nature of the livelihood mapping between endowments and real incomes. In addition to identifying those endowment combinations that map to consumption levels below the poverty line (the asset basis of poverty), the topography of the estimated livelihood mapping helps identify the constraints that limit household's ability to effectively utilize their assets and endowments. These results suggest that poverty is a matter of not only having few assets, but also of constraints which limit the effectiveness with which those assets are used, and poverty and livelihood policy needs to be designed accordingly.     

民生科技创新视角下的全国社会保障基金管理研究

民生科技已成为我国社会保障制度建设的重要内容与手段,全国社会保障基金管理中的民生科技应用不足导致基金目标规模不明确、投资渠道受限和社会监督缺失。文章提出从社会保障基金的行政管理、目标管理、运营管理、投资管理方面进行民生科技创新,以提高社保基金的管理水平和社会效益。     

完善我国食品安全监管体系的深层探讨——组织机构的构建

我国一直非常关注关系国计民生的食品安全问题，但食品安全事件仍时有发生。文章在对我国现行的食品安全监管体系进行客观评价的基础上，提出完善食品安全监管体系的组织构想，阐述了食品安全监管体系组织机构运行的保障措施。     

EVALUATION OF CONTINGENT REPAYMENTS IN MICROFINANCE: EVIDENCE FROM A NATURAL DISASTER IN BANGLADESH

Frequent and strictly scheduled repayments and savings in microfinance often deteriorate the liquidity of members in the face of negative shocks. Previous articles suggest the introduction of a contingent repayment system that allows such members to be rescheduled, but the unavailability of a suitable dataset makes it difficult to examine how it would actually work. This study is one of the first to evaluate the impact of this repayment system on household livelihood. In employing a unique dataset from Bangladesh, I show that rescheduling reduces the possibility of binding credit constraints and borrowing from moneylenders, and may also reduce transitory poverty. However, short‐term rescheduling has insignificant effects. Indebted members with less liquid assets are more likely to be rescheduled.     

Rural household migration in China – the roles of actual and perceived tenure security

Migration can make an important contribution to rural poverty reduction and overall productivity growth, but it may be limited by prevailing rural land tenure arrangements. Since 1998, the Chinese government has implemented a number of land tenure reforms with the aim of improving the tenure security and the transferability of land. Although these reforms enhanced legal tenure security, it is not clear to what extent they remove existing land tenure bottlenecks in migration. Both actual tenure security, i.e. local implementation of laws that warrant tenure security, and household perceptions of tenure security are likely to play a role. In this paper we examine the impacts of actual and perceived tenure security on rural household migration in China, taking into account the degree of development of land rental markets. We argue that actual and perceived tenure security can have both positive and negative effects on migration decisions and that the presence of land rental markets may modify these effects. A two-step control function approach that controls for endogeneity of tenure security perceptions is applied to household and village-level data collected in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning provinces and Chongqing municipality. We find that both actual and perceived tenure security affect migration, but the impact of perceived tenure security measured by land reallocation expectations is much stronger and is positive, whereas the independent impact of actual tenure security is negative. Households perceiving a lower risk of losing land when one or more members migrate are more inclined to migrate, independent of the availability of land rental markets in their villages. Actual tenure security, as measured by absence of land reallocations and possession of land certificates, has an independent negative effect on migration only in villages with underdeveloped land rental markets.     

家庭金融研究的回顾与展望

家庭金融是金融学界不少学者关注的研究课题。近十年来,家庭金融的研究取得了一定的进展。国外对家庭金融的研究,大多是以发达国家单一的现代经济为研究背景的。与发达国家不同,我国的城乡二元经济结构特征显著,在这种背景下,我国城乡家庭金融存在着显著的差异。本文从家庭金融的含义出发,从家庭金融资产和金融负债两个角度对国内外家庭金融的研究进行了回顾和展望,     

The dynamics of household dissolution and change in socio-economic position: A survival model in a rural South Africa

This paper investigates household dissolution and changes in asset wealth (socio-economic position) in a rural South African community containing settled refugees. Survival analysis applied to a longitudinal dataset indicated that the covariates increasing the risk of forced household dissolution were a reduction in socio-economic position (asset wealth), adult deaths and the permanent outmigration of more than 40% of the household. Conversely, the risk of dissolution was reduced by bigger households, state grants and older household heads. Significant spatial clusters of former refugee villages also showed a higher risk of dissolution after 20?years of permanent residence. A discussion of the dynamics of dissolution showed how an outflow/inflow of household assets (socio-economic position) was precipitated by each of the selected covariates. The paper shows how an understanding of the dynamics of forced household dissolution, combined with the use of geo-spatial mapping, can inform inter-disciplinary policy in a rural community.