Drivers Of Poverty Research Articles

Environmental limits of Rift Valley fever revealed using ecoepidemiological mechanistic models

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) of humans and domestic animals are a significant component of the global burden of disease and a key driver of poverty. The transmission cycles of VBDs are often strongly mediated by the ecological requirements of the vectors, resulting in complex transmission dynamics, including intermittent epidemics and an unclear link between environmental conditions and disease persistence. An important broader concern is the extent to which theoretical models are reliable at forecasting VBDs; infection dynamics can be complex, and the resulting systems are highly unstable. Here, we examine these problems in detail using a case study of Rift Valley fever (RVF), a high-burden disease endemic to Africa. We develop an ecoepidemiological, compartmental, mathematical model coupled to the dynamics of ambient temperature and water availability and apply it to a realistic setting using empirical environmental data from Kenya. Importantly, we identify the range of seasonally varying ambient temperatures and water-body availability that leads to either the extinction of mosquito populations and/or RVF (nonpersistent regimens) or the establishment of long-term mosquito populations and consequently, the endemicity of the RVF infection (persistent regimens). Instabilities arise when the range of the environmental variables overlaps with the threshold of persistence. The model captures the intermittent nature of RVF occurrence, which is explained as low-level circulation under the threshold of detection, with intermittent emergence sometimes after long periods. Using the approach developed here opens up the ability to improve predictions of the emergence and behaviors of epidemics of many other important VBDs.

‘Business Unusual’: Building BoP 3.0

With over three billion people currently living below the poverty line, finding better ways to lift people out of poverty is a concern of scholars from a range of disciplines. Within Management Studies, the focus is on developing market-based solutions to poverty alleviation through Bottom/Base-of-the-Pyramid (BoP) initiatives. To date, these have enjoyed limited success, sometimes even exacerbating the problems they attempt to solve. As a result, there is a growing academic and practitioner push for a third iteration—BoP 3.0—that moves closer to a sustainable development model of poverty alleviation. Through a grounded theory study of 21 Philippines-based organizations implementing poverty alleviation initiatives at the community level, this paper seeks to add to the existing suite of tools and guidance in the BoP field. It does so by questioning how these organizations approach the development and implementation of market-based approaches to poverty alleviation. Our results suggest that these organizations adopt a more community-centric approach, focusing on the creation of a self-reliant community before all else. We find this to be the result of a deeper understanding of the drivers of poverty in the communities they work with. Through the extrapolation of key themes and issues in our data, we propose a new conceptual model for building BoP 3.0 initiatives. This model consists of three intertwined theoretical dimensions: understanding issues as matters of concern; identifying limitations; and navigating time. These elements are linked by three active phases that allowed the organizations to move from one dimension to the next: sensemaking; entrainment; and investment.

Geographical Dynamics of Poverty in Nepal between 2005 and 2011: Where and How?

Poverty eradication is currently a central issue within the national economic development strategy in developing countries. Understanding the spatial changes and possible drivers of poverty from different geographical perspectives has the potential to provide a policy-relevant understanding of the trends in poverty. By district-level data, poverty incidence (PI), and a statistical analysis of the period from 2005 to 2011 in Nepal, we used the location quotient (LQ), as well as the Lorenz curve, to inspect the poverty concentration and the spatial-temporal variation of poverty in Nepal. As such, this study analyzed the change in identified typologies of poverty using an approach, which accounts for inter-regional and three identified terrain components. The PI methodological approach was applied in order to (i) compare the spatial change in poverty for Nepal during the study period from a geographical-administrative perspective and (ii) to develop Lorenze curves which show the change of poverty concentration over the study period. Within the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) approach, PI was further used, in combination with the indices of poverty gap (PG) and squared poverty gap (SPG), in order to highlight the unidimensional poverty (UP), that is the incidence, depth, and severity of poverty between 2005 and 2011. Simultaneously, the spatial relationship between UP and economic development was assessed, leading to five specific economic modes or typologies of poverty. Our findings identified that proportional poverty appears to have grown in mountainous areas as well as more urbanized and developed regions, while the mid hill regions have steadily reduced proportions of poverty. We propose a hypothesis, for further examination, which suggests that the increase in proportional poverty in the mountain regions is as a result of the migration to the urban areas of Nepal of the relatively less poor, leaving behind a trapped poorer population. This migration to urban areas of the relatively less poor, rather counterintuitively, produced an increase in proportional poverty in the urban areas. This is due to the fact that while this population represents the wealthier mountain communities, they are still relatively poor in an urban setting.

Food and water insecurity in specialised fishing communities: evidence from the Philippines

Food insecurity remains a common problem for Southeast Asian communities that specialise in fishing. Food insecurity is closely linked to other social conditions, and the linkages between these social conditions and their underlying drivers are less well explored in fishing contexts than they are in agricultural contexts. In this paper I draw on fieldwork from a community that specialises in fishing in the Western Philippines to examine the linkages between and drivers of food and water insecurity. Food insecurity is common, and characterised by a lack of funds to buy food, particularly during periods of bad weather. Water insecurity is also characterised by the need to pay for the delivery of drinking water from one of several remote sources. Because of the central role of markets in communities that specialise in fishing, I argue that both food and water insecurity are driven by income poverty. Understanding the relations between food and water insecurity and the wider drivers of poverty in specialised fishing community contexts should generate improved understandings of how food and water insecurity persist, and how these conditions may be better addressed.

A novel planning approach for the water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) sector: The use of object-oriented bayesian networks

Conventional approaches to design and plan water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) interventions are not suitable for capturing the increasing complexity of the context in which these services are delivered. Multidimensional tools are needed to unravel the links between access to basic services and the socio-economic drivers of poverty. This paper applies an object-oriented Bayesian network to reflect the main issues that determine access to WaSH services. A national Program in Kenya has been analyzed as initial case study. The main findings suggest that the proposed approach is able to accommodate local conditions and to represent an accurate reflection of the complexities of WaSH issues, incorporating the uncertainty intrinsic to service delivery processes. Results indicate those areas in which policy makers should prioritize efforts and resources. Similarly, the study shows the effects of sector interventions, as well as the foreseen impact of various scenarios related to the national Program.

Temporal Stability of Risk Attitudes and the Impact of Adverse Shocks—A Panel Data Analysis from Thailand and Vietnam

Summary Exogenous negative shocks and intrinsic risk attitudes are two important elements characterizing the vicious cycle of poverty associated with rural households in developing countries. Recent empirical studies suggest that adverse shocks—a key driver of poverty—can trigger substantial changes in the risk attitudes of poor people, leading to decisions that perpetuate their lives in poverty. Although the temporal variability of risk attitudes is a controversial topic, the literature advocating the temporal variability of risk attitudes suggests that covariate shocks, such as natural disasters, alter risk attitudes over time, whereas idiosyncratic shocks show no such significant impact. This paper aims to test the temporal stability of risk attitudes in rural households in Thailand and Vietnam to determine whether this pattern—covariate shocks that affect risk attitudes and idiosyncratic shocks that do not—can be confirmed for these households. I use an exogenous measure of shocks to explain temporal variation in risk attitudes. Thus, I estimate variation in consumption using a multilevel model in which variation in consumption at the individual level serves as a proxy for idiosyncratic shocks, while variation in consumption at the aggregate level is used to measure covariate shocks. My study finds temporal variability in risk attitudes that is driven by covariate shocks in Vietnam and—in contrast to past research—by idiosyncratic shocks in Thailand. The results suggest that Vietnamese respondents may be better in insuring idiosyncratic risks for example through safety nets, while mutual insurance across individuals does not seem to work well in Thailand. In addition, results indicate that the mutual insurance problem in Thailand seems to increase in wealth. The differences that I find between Thailand and Vietnam and across poverty types correspond to the difference in political systems and consequently the focus of socio-political measures. Thailand’s recent political volatility and the growing lack of social cohesion in Thai society support these findings.

Inter-state differences in caste-specific risks for child deprivation in India

The issue of caste has long been an important structural cause of poverty in India, with certain groups and communities socially and physically excluded from the benefits of national economic and social development. While differences between groups are often explained at national and state levels, this paper focuses instead on the issue of inter-state caste-specific risks of child poverty and basic needs deprivation. We show that while children from schedule caste and tribe (SC/ST) communities fare poorly at the national level, it need not be so given some states manage to protect SC/ST children, ensuring outcomes for them are on a par or better than for children from higher caste groups. Caste and tribe status need not condemn children to lives of poverty, and this paper identifies for policy makers where caste and tribe status remain important drivers of poverty and disparities for children. Tackling these would be a start for making India a more equitable society in coming decades.

The Key Drivers of Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and What Can Be Done About it to Achieve the Poverty Sustainable Development Goal

The first Sustainable Development Goal targets ending poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030. And one of the most remarkable achievements during the MDG era was the significant decline in the share of the extremely poor in the global population, leading to the global attainment of cutting the extreme poverty rate to half its 1990 level by 2015. However, Sub-Saharan Africa remained the only developing region where the MDG 1 target was not achieved. Based on the updated poverty line of $1.90 a day, poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa significantly lags other developing regions. Understanding the key drivers and ways of tackling poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa becomes one of the pressing development challenges of our time. Our empirical estimates for the period, 1980 to 2013, show that the key factors significantly feeding poverty incidence and poverty depth in the region include high income inequality, oil-dependence, institutionalized democracy, high prevalence of HIV among the female youth, and increased civil war episodes. On the other hand, the key drivers significantly reducing poverty in the region are higher levels of economic development (income per capita), higher general government final consumption expenditure, higher official development assistance and aid received, urbanization, and access to improved water source. The policy implications are discussed.

Water Poverty in Africa: A Review and Synthesis of Issues, Potentials, and Policy Implications

This study details an application of an improved Water Poverty Index (iWPI) to investigate and assess state of water resources in 53 African countries for the period 2000–2012 with a special focus on an international comparison of water poverty among northern and sub-Saharan countries. A multi-faceted approach that combines physical estimates of water availability with socio-economic drivers of poverty and environmental factors, has been used to do such comparison. It is with this in mind that the iWPI was developed based on the theoretical foundations and recent development of the water poverty approach. This would permit an inclusive comprehension of the crosscutting nature of water issues and their impacts on human wellbeing and environment. The results highlight an obvious dissimilarity of water poverty situation between more developed, but water-poor countries located principally in North Africa with that of lower-income and water-rich countries in sub-Saharan region. This can be used to inform policy makers, governments, donors and other stakeholders to assist in prioritization of appropriate policies to be taken towards better service delivery and sustainable water management across space and time.

Getting beneath the surface in program planning, monitoring and evaluation: Learning from use of participatory action research and theory of change in the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems

Many rural poor and marginalized people strive to make a living in social-ecological systems that are characterized by multiple and often inequitable interactions across agents, scale and space. Uncertainty and inequality in such systems require research and development interventions to be adaptive, support learning and to engage with underlying drivers of poverty. Such complexity-aware approaches to planning, monitoring and evaluating development interventions are gaining strength, yet, there is still little empirical evidence of what it takes to implement them in practice. In this paper, we share learning from an agricultural research program that used participatory action research and theory of change to foster learning and support transformative change in aquatic agricultural systems. We reflect on our use of critical reflection within participatory agricultural research interventions, and our use of theory of change to collectively surface and revisit assumptions about how change happens. We share learning on the importance of being strengths-based in engaging stakeholders across scales and building a common goal as a starting point, and then staging a more critical practice as capacity is built and opportunities for digging deeper emerge.

Sustaining Small Scale Farming: Evidence of Poverty and income Disparity among Rural Farming Households in South-South Region of Nigeria

The incidence of poverty is evidenced among rural farm households in developing societies. As a result of persistence poverty among rural farm households, there is sudden upsurge in agricultural livelihood diversification and rural-urban migration resulting in high rate of urban unemployment. To help generate suitable policThe incidence of poverty is evidenced among rural farm households in developing societies. As a result of persistence poverty among rural farm households, there is sudden upsurge in agricultural livelihood diversification and rural-urban migration resulting in high rate of urban unemployment. To help generate suitable policy variables to help tackle this rampaging issue in the South- south region of Nigeria, this study specifically analyzes poverty and income inequality as well as identified determinants of poverty among rural farm households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 390 rural farm household heads spread across the rural areas of the State. Combination of sampling methods was employed to sample cross sectional data from respondents. The study used descriptive tools and regression analysis (Tobit regressions) to analyze information collected. The socio-economic analysis reveals that, most farming household heads were male; an average of 12.3 years of formal was discovered; social capital formation was poor, while average age stood at 42.5 years. About 33.08 % of male headed households and 22.05 % of female headed households live below poverty line in the study area. Income inequality index revealed 0.4210 for male headed households and 0.4531 for female counterpart. The Tobit model estimates revealed that, household head farming experience, years in social organization, level of formal education, farm and non-farm income were negative drivers of rural poverty in the region. Household’s age, household size, structure of land ownership and gender were positive drivers of poverty among rural farming households. It is recommended that sound family welfare packages should be implemented in the rural communities. Also, social capital formation should be promoted among rural farming households, while adult education policies should be re-visited. Government of the region should also improve educational facilities in the rural areas and make marginal lands available to less privileged farmers.

Level of Income Inequality and Determinants of Poverty Incidence among Youth Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The prevalence of poverty among youths engaged in agricultural production is partly responsible for increase in agricultural diversification and rural-urban migration among other social vices in developing societies. To help generate suitable policies in order to tackle this rampaging issue, the study specifically analyzes poverty and income inequality as well as identified determinants of poverty among youths involved in agricultural production in the rural areas of Akwa Ibom State located in southern Nigeria. Data were collected from 300 youths spread across the rural areas of the State. Combinations of sampling methods were employed to sample cross sectional data from respondents. The study used descriptive tools and regression analysis (Logit regressions) to analyze information collected. The socio-economic analysis reveals that, most youth farmers were educated; social capital formation was poor, while land size averaged at 0.48ha per youth. About 45.1% of male youths and 72% of female youths live below poverty line in the study area. Income inequality index revealed 0.4009 for male youths and 0.3797 for female youths. The Logit model estimates revealed that, youths’ years in social organization, level of formal education, age of youths; amount of non-farm income, farm size, agricultural extension activities and commercial purposes of agricultural production reduced the probability of poverty incidence among youth farmers in the State. Household size and dependent ratio were positive drivers of poverty among rural youths. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that poverty and income inequality among youths engaged in agricultural production in the rural area of the State can be successfully handled, if sound family welfare packages are implemented in the rural communities. Also, rural youth’s groups should be strengthen to promote social capital formation; while farm enterprise development capacity should be encourage among youths as well as strengthening agricultural extension system in the State. Marginal lands should be developed and distributed to youth farmers in the area.

Under the Rainbow: Migration, Precarity and People Power in Post-Apartheid South Africa

The article focuses on systemic drivers of poverty, inequality and precarious livelihoods. It discusses the transformation of South Africa’s labour force management and its migratory system from a centralized management of unfree labour by the apartheid state bureaucracy, to a post-apartheid state of precarity, driven by ‘flexploitation’. The nexus of precarious work and a fracturing citizenship is seen to represent a duality of flexibility linking practices of employment and labour control to areas like welfare benefits, citizenship status, political participation and informal livelihoods. This is applicable to migrants and natives alike, but with migrants being particularly flexible. The author connects the issue of precarity with politics of xenophobia seen as a stratagem for the retaining of hegemony confronting looming labour struggles and an insurgent citizenship of the poor. The argument revolves around precarity as representing a rallying point for resistance as well as a social condition.

Addressing Child Poverty: How Does the United States Compare With Other Nations?

Poverty during childhood raises a number of policy challenges. The earliest years are critical in terms of future cognitive and emotional development and early health outcomes, and have long-lasting consequences on future health. In this article child poverty in the United States is compared with a set of other developed countries. To the surprise of few, results show that child poverty is high in the United States. But why is poverty so much higher in the United States than in other rich nations? Among child poverty drivers, household composition and parent's labor market participation matter a great deal. But these are not insurmountable problems. Many of these disadvantages can be overcome by appropriate public policies. For example, single mothers have a very high probability of poverty in the United States, but this is not the case in other countries where the provision of work support increases mothers' labor earnings and together with strong public cash support effectively reduces child poverty. In this article we focus on the role and design of public expenditure to understand the functioning of the different national systems and highlight ways for improvements to reduce child poverty in the United States. We compare relative child poverty in the United States with poverty in a set of selected countries. The takeaway is that the United States underinvests in its children and their families and in so doing this leads to high child poverty and poor health and educational outcomes. If a nation like the United States wants to decrease poverty and improve health and life chances for poor children, it must support parental employment and incomes, and invest in children's futures as do other similar nations with less child poverty.

Is shrimp farming a successful adaptation to salinity intrusion? A geospatial associative analysis of poverty in the populous Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta of Bangladesh.

The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta of Bangladesh is one of the most populous deltas in the world, supporting as many as 140 million people. The delta is threatened by diverse environmental stressors including salinity intrusion, with adverse consequences for livelihood and health. Shrimp farming is recognised as one of the few economic adaptations to the impacts of the rapidly salinizing delta. Although salinity intrusion and shrimp farming are geographically co-located in the delta, there has been no systematic study to examine their geospatial associations with poverty. In this study, we use multiple data sources including Census, Landsat Satellite Imagery and soil salinity survey data to examine the extent of geospatial clustering of poverty within the delta and their associative relationships with salinity intensity and shrimp farming. The analysis was conducted at the union level, which is the lowest local government administrative unit in Bangladesh. The findings show a strong clustering of poverty in the delta, and whilst different intensities of salinization are significantly associated with increasing poverty, neither saline nor freshwater shrimp farming has a significant association with poverty. These findings suggest that whilst shrimp farming may produce economic growth, in its present form it has not been an effective adaptation for the poor and marginalised areas of the delta. The study demonstrates that there are a series of drivers of poverty in the delta, including salinization, water logging, wetland/mudflats, employment, education and access to roads, amongst others that are discernible spatially, indicating that poverty alleviation programmes in the delta require strengthening with area-specific targeted interventions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11625-016-0356-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Arthritis and the Risk of Falling Into Poverty: A Survival Analysis Using Australian Data.

Low income is known to be associated with having arthritis. However, no longitudinal studies have documented the relationship between developing arthritis and falling into poverty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Australians who developed arthritis to determine if they had an elevated risk of falling into poverty. Survival analysis using Cox regression models was applied to nationally representative, longitudinal survey data obtained between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2012 from Australian adults who were ages 21 years and older in 2007. The hazard ratio for falling into income poverty was 1.08 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.06-1.09) in women who were diagnosed as having arthritis and 1.15 (95% CI 1.13-1.16) in men who were diagnosed as having arthritis, as compared to those who were never diagnosed as having arthritis. The hazard ratio for falling into multidimensional poverty was 1.15 (95% CI 1.14-1.17) in women who were diagnosed as having arthritis and 1.88 (95% CI 1.85-1.91) in men who were diagnosed as having arthritis. Developing arthritis increases the risk of falling into income poverty and multidimensional poverty. The risk of multidimensional poverty is greater than the risk of income poverty. Given the high prevalence of arthritis, the condition is likely an overlooked driver of poverty.

Rights to urban climate resilience: moving beyond poverty and vulnerability

Urbanization represents a transformation of social‐ecological systems. In Asia within a generation, the dramatic pace and extent of urbanization transformed the ecological landscape and caused a fundamental shift in labor and production from rural, agricultural society to urban, industrialized society. Much of this has and continues to occur in locations that are hazardous and will exacerbate future climate risks. While Asia leads this process of urbanization, similar patterns are emerging across the Global South. Rapid urbanization compels us to rethink poverty and vulnerability. Much of the literature on urban poverty argues that it has been long ignored and is poorly understood due to inappropriate indicators and weak measurement methods. However in addition to these challenges, the nature of urbanization—including dependence on complex infrastructural, technological, and institutional systems—creates new drivers of poverty that necessitates new approaches to understanding and addressing urban poverty and vulnerability. As a result, there exists a problem regarding how urban poverty and vulnerability are framed. With the emergence of urban climate concerns and the discourse of resilience, poverty, and vulnerability are increasingly framed as impacts to be addressed and are seen as problems of welfare and social protection. At the heart of urbanization in Asia, however, are challenges of governance and equity rather than simply welfare. Issues of governance and equity link strongly to questions regarding how the urban future is shaped, for whose benefit and by whom, that is to say, to concepts of wellbeing and the ‘right of the city.’ WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:643–651. doi: 10.1002/wcc.364This article is categorized under: Climate and Development > Urbanization, Development, and Climate Change

Glass Ceilings and Iron Bars: Women, Gender, and Poverty in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

This paper argues that it is necessary to focus on gender rather than exclusively on women in discussions on global poverty eradication. It argues firstly, that the drivers of poverty are complex and multifaceted leading to a least two different forms of deprivation – transitory and structural poverty – each requiring different forms of analysis and treatment. Transitory poverty can arise as a consequence of an event or shock that would diminish an individual’s capacity to retain or secure employment and where a State lacks an appropriate form of social protection. Structural poverty, on the other hand, arises where groups are excluded from the workforce on a more permanent basis due to a wide variety of factors of discrimination such as sex, race, ethnicity, and age. Focusing on the sex of an individual alone cannot explain why some are more likely to experience different forms of poverty than others. Policies that protect women against transitory poverty, such as care related allowances, are not sufficient to eradicate structural poverty. Secondly, structural poverty prompts an examination of gender roles and relations. Unlike the category of ‘women’, the concept of gender demands consideration of a wider range of intersecting factors that influence life chances. The structure of contemporary gender relations, where women continue to experience higher levels of violence, and carry the greatest burden of responsibility for non-market based production activities, create the social conditions where domination and dependence thrive, and where persistently high rates of poverty seem inevitable. Such circumstances are generated by human agency. Thus, thirdly, it argues that these circumstances can and should be changed through human action. Knowledge of these circumstances gives rise to moral obligations for both men and women to avoid upholding values and practices that lead to domination and dependence as a matter of basic justice.

When opportunity lags: human development policymaking in Arctic regions

ABSTRACTThe popular narrative of Arctic development continues to dwell on melting sea ice, untapped oil and gas reserves, an icebreaker arms race and the perils and potential of rapid industrialisation. Rarely is the welfare of Arctic populations considered in a holistic sense and with a precise call for policy change. The recently released Arctic human development report II, echoing the more widely distributed human development reports generated by the United Nations, does just this. Unfortunately, despite the laudable efforts of the authors to embrace the more systemic drivers of poverty and marginalisation, the report fails to account for governmental and policy shortcomings which continue to limit health and opportunity, while obscuring tangible pathways to prosperity for Arctic populations. This comment is intended as a call, amongst the fervour of Arctic exploitation, to refocus attention on the unmistakable disparities in public health and well-being that persist in the Arctic regions of otherwise wealthy countries, and to incorporate globally practised perceptions of human development, including the role of social and political marginalisation in explaining health and prosperity discrepancies, which have been largely lacking in Arctic development discourse, and practice.

What are the best policies for fighting poverty? Learning from the recent European experience

Abstract Contrary to all expectations and policy goals, poverty is on the rise in the European Union (EU). In fact, one of the headline targets of the current Europe 2020 strategy is precisely to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty or social exclusion. This setback can be largely explained by the crisis. Eventually, cohesion and political legitimacy may be put in jeopardy. Therefore, the growth in poverty calls for the adoption of adequate policies at the European and domestic levels, taking into account past experience and the diversity of national contexts. However, the inability to tackle poverty was already evident between 2000 and 2010. During this period, European social policy underwent a paradigm shift that emphasized activation measures rather than just income redistribution. This article explains this change by arguing that the deepening of the internal market, European diversity and the goal of sustaining the core European acquis were the underlying reasons behind this transition. The impact of this change on poverty and inequality during the last decade is also assessed. Econometric estimations show that the drivers of poverty and the drivers of inequality are different, suggesting that distinct approaches are required for each of these problems. We claim that the traditional redistributive policies remain the most effective way of fighting poverty and that although activation policies have had a positive impact on reducing inequality, they have not been able to combat poverty effectively.