Diversification Of Income Sources Research Articles

Editorial

Remittance flows in many developing countries have proved to be a lifeline to millions of households as well as the economies of many developing countries. Remittances have contributed a significant portion of GDPs in many countries. For example, remittances contribute about 50 per cent to Tajikistan’s GDP. As the volume of international migration increased substantially over the recent decades so did the volume of remittances. This is slightly slower than the past, for example, from 1970 to 2015, remittances increased by more than 500 per cent (see Ullah, 2017). However, it was proven that remittances were resilient to crises. The themes of the papers the current issue of Remittance Review include are geographically wide and thematically deep. The authors paid attention to a range of interesting dimensions of remittances i.e. how remittances become a development actor; interplay between remittances and growth and how remittances appear to diversify income sources in rural communities.

Small-scale seagrass fisheries can reduce social vulnerability: a comparative case study

Small-scale fisheries are in decline, negatively impacting sources of food and employment for coastal communities. Therefore, we need to assess how biological and socio-economic conditions influence vulnerability, or a community's susceptibility to loss and consequent ability to adapt. We characterized two Philippine fishing communities, Gulod and Buagsong with similar seagrass and fish species composition, and compared their social vulnerability, or pre-existing conditions likely to influence their response to changes in the fishing resource. Using a place-based model of vulnerability, we used household, fisher, landing and underwater surveys to compare their sensitivity and adaptive capacity.Depending on the scale assessed, each community and group within the community differed in their social vulnerability. The Buagsong community was less socially vulnerable, or less sensitive to pertubations to the seagrass resource because it was closer to a major urban center that provided salaried income. When we assessed seagrass fishers as a group within each community, we found that Gulod fishers had greater adaptive capacity than Buagsong fishers because they diversified their catch, gear types, and income sources. We found catch that comprised the greatest landing biomass did not have the highest market value, and fishers continued to capture high value items at low biomass levels. A third of intertidal gleaners were women, and their participation in the fishery enhanced household adaptive capacity by providing additional food and income, in an otherwise male-dominated fishery.Our research indicates that community context is not the only determinant of social vulnerability, because groups within the community may decrease their sensitivity, enhance their adaptive capabilities, and ultimately reduce social vulnerability by diversifying income sources, seagrass based catches, and workforces to include women.

Livelihood analysis of floating net cages fish farmers at Sendang Village Sub-district of Gajah Mungkur Reservoir of Wonogiri Regency

Floating net cages farming (KJA) is one of the main livelihood resources in Sendang Village, Gajah Mungkur Reservoir. The purposes of this study were to determine the livelihood asset of fish farmers, the problems of livelihood asset management and the utilization strategy to support aquaculture businesses also farmers livelihood. The study showed that the natural capital, provides easiest way to farmer in fish cultivation. The fish farmers also have good technical capabilities in fish cultivation and the product has high demand and value which is essential for farmers livelihood. The main problems faced by small-scale farmers and all large-scale farmers were transition period, and the rise of cost price which sometime cause the failure in the business. The strategies to deal the problems include technological adjustment, managing the pattern of stocking of tilapia seeds and income source diversification. There were differences in dealing the rise of cost. The small-scale farmers borrow from the bank, while medium-scale farmers use their savings. Another difference of livelihood strategy was the management of financial capital. However, various strategies were still required to increase the livelihood of fish farmers and could address the vulnerabilities in the cultivation of KJA as a common pool resources.

Climate change-induced hazards and local adaptations in agriculture: a study from Koshi River Basin, Nepal

Changes in climate, associated hazards, local adaptations in agriculture, and socioeconomic factors affecting adaptation were investigated using data from a large survey of 2310 households (HHs) in the Koshi River Basin (KRB), Nepal. More than 80% of HHs had perceived changes in climate in the 10 years preceding the survey, and 20–40% had perceived increases in the occurrence of droughts, dry spells, floods, and livestock diseases. Around 36–45% of crop-growing HHs perceived a decline in the production of staple crops such as paddy, wheat, maize, and millets, which was mainly attributed to climate change and related hazards. The decline in local food production meant that HH dependence on external sources for food had increased. Only 32% of HHs had taken some form of adaptive actions in agriculture to address these challenges; actions included not planting certain crops, introducing new crops, changing farming practices, not rearing certain livestock species, and investing in irrigation. The factors affecting the likelihood of a household undertaking adaptive actions included literacy of the head of household, household size, size of owned agricultural land, diversification of income sources, and insurance. Based on these findings, the study has suggested some approaches in the KRB which could contribute to building agricultural resilience to climate change.

The diversification of income sources in the higher education public institutions budgets

The formation of public institutions income has been approached nationally and internationally alike. In concrete terms, the dependence on a single financing source can cause financial instability at the level of public universities. That is the reason why strategic management in education institutions needs to focus on attracting revenue sources, other than subsidies from state budget, and their use in the context of financial autonomy can ensure the achievement of goals in the institutional strategy. This research is based on literature review on the need to diversify universities’ financing sources and the means to achieve that. The identification of complementary sources for financing education – a real challenge for universities – can lead to an increase of their competitiveness nationally and internationally. Our research highlights the relevance and the problematic of diversifying financing sources of public universities. To this end, it centralizes types of extra-budgetary revenue sources: revenues from educational taxes, from registration and enrolment taxes, from resits taxes, from services taxes, etc. Various policies on educational taxes are also analysed, in the context of the competition among universities, as well as ways of ensuring provisions in the case of a decrease in the attractiveness of programs.

Does partial quantity rationing of credit affect the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in Punjab, Pakistan?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effect of partial quantity rationing of credit on the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in the Punjab province of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachPrior to the field survey, the authors constructed a theoretical model for clear identification of partial quantity rationed dairy farmers. Data from 154 dairy farmers were collected that represented three districts of the province. The collected data were analyzed in two stages: first, the efficiency level of dairy farmers was estimated using a stochastic frontier approach; second, the authors employed an inefficiency-effects model to estimate the effect of partial quantity rationing of credit on technical efficiency.FindingsThe results revealed that education level of the household head, cross-breed and imported cattle, and electric chaff cutter, all had significant positive impacts on technical efficiency, followed by diversified sources of income. Conversely, the analysis of our key variables, interest rate on principal amount and partial quantity rationing of credit had significant negative effects on the technical efficiency of dairy farmers in selected districts of the Punjab province in Pakistan.Originality/valueThe study will be an important contribution to the existing credit constraints and technical efficiency literature and will particularly help the rural financial institutions in terms of approving the loan amount according to the actual requirements of the borrowers. The study’s findings and subsequent recommendations will be useful for policy makers in achieving the actual production level, bringing down the poverty levels and ensuring food security in the country.

Pozarolnicze źródła utrzymania rodzin na wsi a szara strefa

For many years, the budget of the rural family, also these including the agricultural farm, has been diversifying sources of income. The percentage of farms receiving income from non-agricultural sources, especially from agritourism, is increasing. At the same time, a high increase of the employment in informal economy (gray economy) is recorded in rural areas, mainly in tourism and gastronomic services, as well as housework (cleaning). The majority of those working in the gray economy treat this work as an additional one, but for many people it is the only source of income. In the opinion of the Central Statistical Office, there were 711 thousand persons in 2014 in the gray economy (the share of employees in the gray economy in the total number of employed persons was 14.5%). The Central Statistical Office’s research indicated: insufficient income and no possibility of finding a legal job as the main reason for taking up work in gray economy. Basic changes in the number and percentage of employees in the gray economy took place after 2004, which could have been related to Poland’s accession to the European Union, and from 2008 to the Schengen area.

Attractiveness of Rural Areas for Young, Educated Women in Post-Industrial Society

Abstract Most scholars of rural gender studies do not consider the essential changes in rural economy and life styles, defining rural areas as traditional and conservative. Research is still extremely fragmented into new problems facing the female population in rural areas, those arising from the changes in the lifestyle and the diversified income sources typical of post-industrial rural settlements. This article hence identifies several significant changes in economic and social life in rural areas dealing with the differences between the attractiveness of rural areas as living place for women in the industrial society of the 20th century and the post-industrial society of the 21st century. The empirical research presented here proves the relevance of post-industrial theory in a real-world environment by testing the validity of several stereotypical opinions about the motivation to live in Lithuanian rural areas from the position of young well-educated people. The analysis of the opinions of young well-educated women reveals that their motivation is rather different from the perceptions of what was important and motivating for finding good living places; these perceptions have otherwise been pointed out by many gender studies based on the industrial society framework. These findings are a call for implementation of new rural policy measures following the higher incidence of young females as rural entrepreneurs, family farm managers, professionals, and local community leaders.

Climate smart agriculture, farm household typologies and food security: An ex-ante assessment from Eastern India

One of the great challenges in agricultural development and sustainable intensification is the assurance of social equity in food security oriented interventions. Development practitioners, researchers, and policy makers alike could benefit from prior insight into what interventions or environmental shocks might differentially affect farmers' food security status, in order to move towards more informed and equitable development. We examined the food security status and livelihood activities of 269 smallholder farm households (HHs) in Bihar, India. Proceeding with a four-step analysis, we first applied a multivariate statistical methodology to differentiate five primary farming system types. We next applied an indicator of food security in the form of HH potential food availability (PFA), and examined the contribution of crop, livestock, and on- and off-farm income generation to PFA within each farm HH type. Lastly, we applied scenario analysis to examine the potential impact of the adoption of ‘climate smart’ agricultural (CSA) practices in the form of conservation agriculture (CA) and improved livestock husbandry, and environmental shocks on HH PFA. Our results indicate that compared to livestock interventions, CA may hold considerable potential to boost HH PFA, though primarily for wealthier and medium-scale cereal farmers. These farm HH types were however considerably more vulnerable to food insecurity risks resulting from simulated drought, while part-time farmers and resource-poor agricultural laborers generating income from off-farm pursuits were comparatively less vulnerable, due in part to their more diversified income sources and potential to migrate in search of work. Our results underscore the importance of prior planning for development initiatives aimed at increasing smallholder food security while maintaining social equity, while providing a robust methodology to vet the implications of agricultural interventions on an ex ante basis.

Nonperforming Loans in Banks Are Managers Only Responsible?

Given the fact that Indian banking sectors are marred by the crisis of nonperforming loan, the study tries to find out the factors responsible for such crisis across ownership and size of the banks, using binomial multivariate panel logistic regression. Overall, it is found that regulatory measures such as CAR and economic growth such as credit to GDP ratio are irrelevant for probability of NPAs. Nevertheless, diversified sources of income and return on assets (ROA) help the banks to reduce their probability of loan assets becoming NPAs. On the other hand, loan size and provisioning contribute positively to probability of NPAs. As far as ownership is concerned, return on assets and diversification of sources of income help both the group of banks to trim the probability of NPAs. On the other hand, in both the cases probability of NPAs increases following the increase in credit to GDP ratio and provisioning. Further as far as bank size is concerned. ,return on assets (ROA) and diversified sources of income help the small size banks in downsizing the probability of NPAs, whereas only diversified sources of income helps the large size banks in this regard. However, for both large and small category banks, higher “Provisioning” is found to be positively related to higher probability of NPA. Credit to GDP ratio contributes to higher probability of NPAs in case of only large banks .On the whole for controlling NPAs, performance of managers may be given more emphasis rather than bringing out regulations.

Socioeconomic impacts of innovative dairy supply chain practices – The case of the Laiterie du Berger in the Senegalese Sahel

This study analyzes the Laiterie Du Berger (LDB)’s milk supply chain and its contribution to strengthening the food security and socioeconomic resources of Senegalese Sahelian pastoral households. Porter’s value chain model is used to characterize the innovations introduced by the LDB dairy in its milk inbound logistics and supplier relationships. A socioeconomic food security index and qualitative data are used to assess the dairy’s supply chain’s contribution to strengthen smallholder households’ livelihoods. Data for this research were obtained through individual surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews of LDB managers and milk suppliers. Results show that milk income contributes significantly to household food security. Suppliers who stabilize their dairy income between rainy and dry seasons, diversify income sources and have larger herds are more likely to remain food secure. The LDB innovations contribute by helping herders access biophysical and economic resources, leading to better livestock feed and household food security.

Bank Consolidation and Systemic Risk: M&As During the 2008 Financial Crisis

This paper analyzes the relationship between bank consolidation and the stability of the financial system within the United States. In particular, we compare mergers and acquisitions of banks during the 2008 financial crisis with those that occurred during stable market conditions in order to determine whether the effects of bank consolidation on the overall economy at all differ depending upon the macroeconomic climate. We calculate the systemic risk measures of MES, SRISK, NSRISK, and ∆CoVaR both before and after a merger so as to capture the consequent merger-related change in an acquirer's exposure as well as contribution to systemic risk. We then conduct difference-in-differences analysis utilizing a non-merging control group to determine whether the change in these risk metrics is truly unique to the merging banks. For MES, NSRISK, and ∆CoVaR, the results indicate that there is a significant decrease in the acquiring banks' risk after the merger for the sample that merged during the crisis. Furthermore, when examining the underlying characteristics driving this difference through the use of a logit model, we find that mergers during the 2008 financial crisis tended to involve acquirers that possessed more diversified sources of income and less leverage than their stable market counterparts. Meanwhile, the targets of these transactions often were less profitable banks with lower tier 1 capital ratios, yet possessed greater shares of deposits making them more vulnerable to the downturn, but also attractive for acquisition. Overall, the findings of this paper suggest that during the 2008 financial crisis healthy banks acquired poorly performing target banks for diversification purposes, potentially driving the observed reduction in systemic risk.

CRITICAL NITROGEN DILUTION CURVE AND NITROGEN NUTRITION INDEX FOR JUTE MALLOW (CORCHORUS OLITORIUSL.) IN SOUTHERN BENIN

SUMMARYIndigenous crops, such as jute mallow (Corchorus olitoriusL.) have high potential for improving nutrient efficiency and income source diversification of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. A better understanding of plant responses to nitrogen (N) is essential in shedding light on the trend towards increasing fertilizer applications for commercially grown jute mallow. The aim of this study was to determine the critical N dilution curve in order to assess the N nutrition index (NNI) in jute mallow in southern Benin. Above-ground dry matter (DM) and N concentration were determined weekly during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons and six N treatments of 0, 30, 60, 120, 180 or 240 kg N ha−1were tested under irrigated conditions. A critical N curve (Nc= 3.35 W−0.18), where W is the DM in Mg per ha, was plotted based on the N concentration in the whole plant. The critical N concentration (Nc) represents the minimal N concentration required to achieve maximum growth. According to significant differences in DM at each sampling date, data points were divided into two groups representing either N deficient or N excess conditions. All data points in the N deficient group were under the critical N curve and most data points in the N excess group were on or above the critical N curve, therefore confirming the validity of the critical N curve determined in southern Benin. The NNI calculated as the ratio between the measured N concentration and predictedNc, ranged from 0.55 to 1.30. The equation for the critical N curve and NNI determined in this study for jute mallow could potentially be used as a parameter for N application under non-deficient water conditions in southern Benin.

Multiple livelihoods and social relations in the South African Lowveld, 1986–2013

ABSTRACTDespite improvements in the last two decades, rural communal areas in South Africa remain dumping grounds, requiring multiple livelihood strategies and social adaptations. Local experience of dispossession forms the backdrop to individual and collective responses to changes in the role of land, labour and reproduction. The ethnographic research focused on a rural settlement in the former Gazankulu Bantustan in the period 1986–2013. Shifts in the mix of livelihoods were related to changing gender and generational relationships. Individual livelihood strategies aimed at diversifying sources of income and collective actions were directed at getting rid of criminals and accessing state resources.

A cross-sectional study of the income sources of primary care health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

BackgroundIn the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the state system to remunerate health workers is poorly functional, encouraging diversification of income sources and corruption. Given the central role that health workers play in health systems, policy-makers need to ensure health workers are remunerated in a way which best incentivises them to provide effective and good quality services. This study describes the different sources and quantities of income paid to primary care health workers in Equateur, Maniema, Kasai Occidental, Province Orientale and Kasai Oriental provinces. It also explores characteristics associated with the receipt of different sources of income.MethodsQuantitative data on the income received by health workers were collected through baseline surveys. Descriptive statistics explored the demographic characteristics of health workers surveyed, and types and amounts of incomes received. A series of regression models were estimated to examine the health worker and facility-level determinants of receiving each income source and of levels received. Qualitative data collection was carried out in Kasai Occidental province to explore perceptions of each income source and reasons for receiving each.ResultsNurses made up the majority of workers in primary care. Only 31% received a government salary, while 75% reported compensation from user fees. Almost half of all nurses engaged in supplemental non-clinical activities. Receipt of government payments was associated with income from private practice and non-clinical activities. Male nurses were more likely to receive per diems, performance payments, and higher total remuneration compared to females. Contextual factors such as provincial location, presence of externally financed health programmes and local user fee policy also influenced the extent to which nurses received many income sources.ConclusionsThe receipt of government payments was unreliable and had implications for receipt of other income sources. A mixture of individual, facility and geographical factors were associated with the receipt of various income sources. Greater co-ordination is needed between partners involved in health worker remuneration to design more effective financial incentive packages, reduce the fragmentation of incomes and improve transparency in the payment of workers in the DRC.

Financial Management Practices and Sustainability of Non Governmental Organisations Projects in Juba, South Sudan

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of financial management challenges on financial sustainability of Non-Governmental Organizations in south Sudan.Methodology: The study used descriptive research design. The target population of the study was all the 112 NGO in South Sudan at July 31st 2015. A census of all the 112 key financial manager personnel was taken since the population is small. Primary data was collected through the administration of the questionnaires. This study generated both qualitative and quantitative data. Data was analyzed mainly by use of descriptive and inferential statistics that is, graphical and numerical methods, measures of central tendencies as well as measures of variability. The particular inferential statistics were regression and correlation analysis. Multiple regression equation was used to determine the strength and directions of the association between the variables with the results.Results: The study findings indicated that there is a significant and positive relationship between budget control and the financial sustainability of NGOs in South Sudan. The results also indicated that there is a significant and positive relationship between financial reporting and the financial sustainability of NGOs in South Sudan. Also, results found out that there is a significant and positive relationship between income source diversification and the financial sustainability of NGOs in South Sudan. Further, the results indicated that there is a significant and positive relationship between donor relationship management and the financial sustainability of NGOs in South Sudan.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that budget control activities such as financial resources, competent human resource, and participation of both staff and other stakeholders in the budgeting process, proper planning, evaluation, monitoring and control of the budget process and staff motivation should be fully adopted by NGOs in order to sustain their financials. The study also recommended that income source diversification activities such as charitable donations from individuals and corporations, grants, fees, commission, contracts for service, and sales of goods and should be adopted in order to enhance the financial sustainability of NGOs.

SOME ASPECTS OF RURAL-URBAN INTERDEPENDENCE: ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW

There are two broad, often overlapping, categories of rural urban linkages. «Spatial» links refer to the movement of people, goods, money, and information between urban and rural areas. «Sectoral» links describe the interdependence between agriculture on the one hand and industry and services on the other. In the next two decades, three main issues related to rural-urban interdependence are likely to emerge: (1) changes in land use around urban centers, from farmland to residential or industrial use; (2) greater diversification of income sources in rural and urban areas, often involving people migrating or commuting between the countryside and urban centers; and (3) changes in the direction and composition of internal migration ( see Tacoli, 2000). In this text indicates on the some economic geographic aspects of rural-urban interdependence. Rural and urban development requires a balance between human capital, economic progress and natural resources. The migration of labor from rural to urban areas is an important part of the urbanization process in developing countries. Even though it has been the focus of abundant research over the past five decades, some key policy questions have not found clear answers yet. Sustainable development can be achieved at any level, provided that each component of the system to have the same importance in maintaining a balance between the need to develop and its possibilities. The rural urban metabolism generates relations of interdependence between villages and towns, resulting in the formation of a «variety of societies, from deep rural to deep urban».

Estimation of household income diversification in South Africa: A case study of three provinces


 
 
 We estimated household income diversification in settlement types of the poorest provinces in South Africa – the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. We obtained data from the 2010/2011 Income and Expenditure Survey from Statistics South Africa and Wave 3 data from the National Income Dynamics Study. We used the number of income sources, the number of income earners and the Shannon Diversity Index to estimate income diversification in the study provinces. The results show that households in the traditional and urban formal areas diversified income sources to a greater extent than households in urban informal and rural formal settlements. The varied degrees of income diversification in the three provinces suggest that targeted policy initiatives aimed at enhancing household income are important in these provinces.
 
 
 
 
 Significance: 
 
 
 
 Indices yet to be used in South Africa were used in the analysis of StatsSA data to understand income diversification.
 Poverty is mostly concentrated in the traditional areas and urban informal areas.
 Households in the traditional areas and urban informal areas derive livelihood mostly from social transfers and remittances, whereas those in the urban formal areas derive income from business, labour income and financial capital returns.
 
 
 

Enabling Conditions for Improved Use of Seasonal Climate Forecast in Arid and Semi-Arid Baringo County—Kenya

The use of seasonal climate forecasts can inform implementation of planned adaptation strategies to stabilize pastoral livestock assets in drought prone agro ecological zones. The main objective of this study was to assess use of seasonal climate forecasts as strategies for securing pastoralists assets in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Baringo County. The study used five (5) study locations that were purposively picked to ensure that they fall within the ASAL agro-ecological zones, LM5 and IL6. The total sampled households from the five locations was 221. The study used data from household survey to establish barriers to use of seasonal climate forecasts, use of traditional climate information and enabling conditions. Mean comparisons and frequencies of ratings were generated to ascertain the use of traditional climate information among the respondents. Sensitivity analysis was useful in identifying the most significant barriers to uptake of seasonal climate forecasts and the best and most significant enabling conditions/institutions to the access and usage of climate forecasts. The study established that majority (72.4%) of the respondents relied on traditional climate forecast methods than scientific methods in decision-making. The factors with greater influence on uptake of seasonal climate forecast information were lack of information, access, diversified sources of income and insecurity/conflicts, illiteracy and culture. The institutions with large influence were knowledge dissemination linked to radio and extension services and local climate information. The study recommends increased investments in strengthening and equipping human resource capacities of the pastoral community, local weather stations and extension services to foster uptake of scientific climate information to help reduce vulnerability to drought events in the arid and semi-arid lands.

Rural Farm Households’ Income Diversification: The Case of Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Despite the economic dominance of agriculture in the study area, farm households widely practice diverse income generating activities as livelihood strategies to overcome diverse challenges and risks. The existing capacity of agriculture to attain food and livelihood security is tremendously declining from time to time. The main aim of this study was to identify the determinants of farmers' participation in income diversification in the study area. The study involved primary data which were collected from randomly selected 300 households in four districts of the zone. For selection of study units probability proportional to the size was applied and respondents were selected through systematic sampling technique. In addition, key informant interview and focus group discussion were used to supplement the survey with qualitative information. Secondary data were also collected from various relevant sources. Descriptive statistics were applied to characterize the sample households’ social, economic, demographic and institutional factors. The findings of the study indicates that rural households in the study area practice diversified income sources, in that about 57.7% of the households combine agriculture with other activities (non/off-farm). Some farmers were pursuing non-farm and off-farm activities as the primary income sources rather than agriculture. Considering the wealth status, the poor households derive almost half (50%) of their income from non-agricultural activities whereas the latter accounts for only 6.4% of the income of the better-off households’. Binary logit model was applied to investigate factors influencing the households’ participation in income diversification. In this regard, out of total explanatory variables included in the model, 8 were significant. The results confirm that factors such as sex, farm size, livestock ownership, oxen ownership, education, leadership, annual cash income and market distance were key determinants of farmers’ participation in income diversification. Further, the study identifies income diversification as a cumulative effects of several factors, and therefore urges policy makers to give due attention to them with a view to overcoming the challenging bottlenecks.