Vulnerability of the unbanked: evidence from a developing country

Financial exclusion is an apparent phenomenon globally, the majority of people without bank accounts living in the developing countries. Those who lack access to financial services could experience vulnerability. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to unfold the vulnerability of the low‐income unbanked consumers in a Pakistani context. Qualitative data were gathered from low‐income unbanked consumers through in‐depth interviews. The findings suggest that unbanked consumers are vulnerable in many ways. The participants faced several negative consequences due to their financial exclusion, which resulted into their personal, economic and social detriment. Based on our study findings, we provide managerial and public policy implications for the well‐being of the low‐income unbanked consumers. Lastly, study limitations and future study guidelines are discussed.     

The evolution of aquatic agricultural systems in Southwest Bangladesh in response to salinity and other drivers of change

Aquatic agricultural systems (AAS) in coastal Southwest Bangladesh have evolved in response to a number of stimuli and constraints including improving market access, technological change, and salinization. Farming systems in the region are highly dynamic, and are characterized by the integration of varying combinations of freshwater prawns, rice, fish, vegetables, and brackish water shrimp. This paper examines the developmental history, productivity, and profitability of three distinct AAS: a low-salinity freshwater prawn-dominated system; an intermediate-salinity-mixed prawn and shrimp system, and a high-salinity shrimp-dominated system. Productivity, cropping intensity, and profitability are found to be highest in the diversified low- and intermediate-salinity systems, and lower in the high-salinity system, where cultivation of rice and vegetables is no longer possible. The paper concludes that more diverse integrated systems reduce risk and vulnerability for farming households. Salinization is found to be a double-edged sword – proving a stimulus to diversification at low levels, but reducing agro-biodiversity at higher salt concentrations. While the adaptation strategies in all systems have been successful in maintaining or improving most, though not all, system functions due to high levels of social resilience, support for effective community-based adaptation strategies will enable continued transformation and adaptation to future drivers of change.     

Vulnerability of Rural Communities to Change in an Ecosystem Service Provision: Surface water supply. A Case Study in the Northern Andes,Colombia

The understanding of how socio-ecological systems respond to environmental change is an essential issue in land use planning processes. Vulnerability analyses in the context of socio-ecological systems are a useful tool to this end. The study of social vulnerability seeks to analyze how the characteristics of beneficiaries of ecosystem services and their relation to the ecosystems, determine their sensitivity and their capacity to adapt to changes in the provision of said services. In this paper, we evaluate the social vulnerability of rural communities in the face of changes in the levels of the provision of surface water in the Riogrande basin, which is located in the Northern Andes in Colombia. Social vulnerability is evaluated based on two components. First, the initial, inherent vulnerability, which depends on parameters such as current level and the change in the level of benefits, types of needs met by the ecosystem service analyzed, and the capacity for substitution. The second component is the final, inherent vulnerability that considers the beneficiary’s adaptive capacity determined by individual and institutional characteristics. The information was collected through semi-structured interviews and site-level surveys, as well as the use of available existing data for the area of study. The results show that beneficiaries of the ecosystem service which was analyzed have a low vulnerability to changes in the levels of water supply given their high substitution capacities and medium-high adaptive capacity.     

多维视阈下土地流转的减贫效应及其异质性研究——基于CFPS2018微观数据分析

目的 土地流转是深化农村土地制度改革的重要探索,是解决农村贫困问题的重要路径,以土地流转为抓手对进一步实施乡村振兴战略具有重要意义。方法 文章基于2018年4 445份中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）数据,从收入和贫困脆弱性两个维度入手,构建可行广义最小二乘法（FGLS）模型并运用倾向得分匹配（PSM）法分析土地流转的减贫效应及其异质性。结果 （1）在收入维度下,土地流转户的家庭收入水平相比未流转户高12.07%,其中受教育程度、家庭规模和工资水平的差异是影响农户家庭收入增加的关键因素;（2）在贫困脆弱性维度下,土地流转户的贫困脆弱性比未流转户低5.13%,西部地区贫困脆弱性水平为0.419远高于中部和东部地区;（3）从土地流转方式来看,土地转出户的贫困脆弱性比土地转入户显著低0.018,通过PSM解决内生性问题后结果依然稳健。结论 加快健全土地经营权流转机制,根据不同地区、不同农户的土地流转特征出台针对性的相关政策,强化新型农业经营主体的带动作用,完善农村社会化服务体系。     

From risk to vulnerability: the role of perceived adaptive capacity for the acceptance of contested infrastructure

Infrastructure projects such as repositories for nuclear waste or hazardous waste sites impose risks (in the form of potential burdens or losses) over extensive timescales. These risks change dynamically over time and so, potentially, does their management. Societies and key actors go through learning processes and subsequently may be better able to deal with related challenges. However, social scientific research on the acceptance of such projects is mainly concerned with (static) risk perception issues and does not include dynamic aspects. Adaptive capacity, which is part of the concept of vulnerability, therefore represents a promising complementing facet for this line of research. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of perceived adaptive capacity (PAC) for the acceptance of contested long-term infrastructure for the two issues of nuclear and hazardous waste. In an online experimental survey (N?=?300) examining either the acceptance of a nuclear waste repository or of a hazardous waste site, we demonstrate that (i) PAC can be separated empirically as a psychological construct from risk and benefit perception, and (ii) PAC explains a significant additional share of variance in the acceptance of both waste types beyond risk and benefit perception. Furthermore, we report what adaptation mechanisms of PAC participants expect to occur in the future. We conclude that such a dynamic perspective yields important insights in understanding individual decision-making regarding long-term infrastructure projects.     

Vulnerability to poverty: an empirical comparison of alternative measures

This article compares empirically the several measures of individual vulnerability to poverty proposed in the literature, in order to understand which is the best signal of poverty that can be used for policy purposes. To this aim, the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, the Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients are used as precision criteria. The results show that two groups of indexes can be identified, high and low performers, and, among the former, that proposed by Dutta et al. (2011 Dutta, I. 2011. Foster, J. and Mishra, A., On measuring vulnerability to poverty, Social Choice and Welfare, 37, 743–61 [Google Scholar]) is the most precise.     

黄河流域高级别旅游景区空间分布特征及影响因素

黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展的重大决策,迫切要求开展黄河流域旅游业发展的整体研究。以GIS10.3作为主要分析工具,系统梳理了黄河流域内1 010个3A级以上旅游景区的空间分布特征和影响因素,结果表明:①黄河流域高级别景区整体呈"大分散、小集聚"的分布状态,三大自然区划内景区分布悬殊,东部季风区数量最多、密度最大;②黄河流域高级别景区空间分布类型以凝聚型为主,在流域中下游的西安、济南等沿黄城市附近形成大的凝聚中心;③黄河流域高级别景区核密度分布空间差异显著,整体呈倒"入"字形结构,不同级别景区之间存在密度差异;④黄河流域高级别景区之间存在较强的空间自相关,空间关联类型以正相关为主,且集聚特征明显;⑤自然地理环境、旅游资源禀赋、交通区位、社会经济发展水平和旅游经济联系强度对黄河流域高级别景区的空间分布具有显著影响,且对不同类型不同级别景区的影响程度存在差异。最后,文章针对黄河流域景区空间格局优化及旅游经济高质量发展提出了建议。     

Supply chain vulnerability assessment: A network based visualization and clustering analysis approach

Supply chains are large, complex, and often unpredictable. Purchasing and supply managers and supply chain risk managers need methods and tools to enable them to quickly understand how unexpected disruptions in the supply chain start and grow and to what extent will they negatively impact the flow of goods and services. This paper introduces a methodological approach that can be used by both researchers and managers to quickly visualize a supply chain, map out the propagation path of disruptive events from the supply side to the end customer and understand potential weaknesses in the supply chain design; taking into account the structure, connectivity, and dependence within the supply chain. The approach incorporates a Petri net and Triangularization Clustering Algorithm to offer insights into a supply chain network's vulnerabilities and can be used to efficiently assess supply chain disruption mitigation strategies, especially in complex and difficulty to analyze supply chain systems.     

浅谈计算机信息安全

现今社会网络发展日新月异,甚至我们的生活都无法离开网络,但事物都有它的两面性,网上信息不是被泄露,就是被篡改假冒,甚至借用计算机网络进行犯罪,计算机病毒更是肆意传播。信息安全是迫在眉睫要解决的问题,设置密码就是其中最有效而且便捷的方法,我们应该研究和掌握好这门技术。     

中国老年家庭的经济脆弱性与贫困

利用中国健康与营养调查(CHNS)2006和2009年的面板数据测度了老年家庭的经济脆弱性,检验各因素对经济脆弱性和贫困的相对影响力。老年家庭的经济脆弱性高于贫困;户主特征和家庭变量不同程度地影响到了经济脆弱性及贫困,代际间向上流动的私人转移支付对老年家庭的经济脆弱性和贫困没有作用;超过24%的非贫困家庭是经济脆弱性家庭;期望效用的脆弱性(VEU)方法表明,不平等虽然减少了脆弱性,但其影响经济脆弱性的力量最小,不可解释的风险是最重要的因素,异质性风险和协同性风险的力量居中。