Family Expenditure Research Articles

Intrahousehold Power in Russia and the Maternal Capital Law

Natalya Y. Shelkova – Ph.D., Associate Professor, Economics Department, Guilford College, Greensboro, USA. Email: shelkovany@guilford.edu
 It has been documented that the introduction of market economy institutions in Russia has disadvantaged Russian women, weakening their economic position and their power within the family. This paper investigates whether the introduction of the 2007 the Maternal Capital Law, which aims to promote fertility by granting Russian women a non-cash subsidy for having more than one child, affected the intrahousehold balance of power in Russian families. In order to investigate this hypothesis, the paper looks at changes in the ratio of family expenditure on children to spending on alcohol and tobacco before and after passing of the law. Data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE), 2002 to 2010, is used. The estimated regression models employ the difference-in-difference methodology and are based on Lundberg, Pollack and Wales, who researched a similar policy shift in the UK in 1970s. The results demonstrate that the year 2008 was a critical turning point: starting with 2008 the ratio of family expenditure on children to spending on alcohol and tobacco increased for families with two or more children (the results are statistically significant). After 2007, on average, expenditure on children increased by fifty-nine roubles per every ruble of alcohol and tobacco expenditures (mesearured in 2002 roubles), nearly doubling. The effect in families with a husband not holding a college degree was shown to be larger and more siginifcant than in families with college-educated husbands. It is concluded that the 2007 Law has had a positive impact on the bargaining power of Russian women.

The Role of Socio-Economic Factors in Earning of Women in Education Sector District Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

This paper overviews socio-economic factors as determinants of working women earnings in education department of district Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. For this purpose, a primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire from 126 working females in September, 2017. Multinomial logistic regression technique has been used for the estimation of results. The main findings of the study are that education, experience, family income, and locality of job area showed positive relationship with working women earnings. However, marital status remained insignificant. Based on the findings of this study the researchers recommended that females are significantly contributing in family expenditures. Therefore, government should invest more in female’s education and prioritize it.

Treatment Delay among Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients within the Pakistan National Tuberculosis Control Program.

Delay in diagnosis and treatment worsens the disease and clinical outcomes, which further enhances transmission of tuberculosis (TB) in the community. Therefore, this study aims to assess treatment delay and its associated factors among pulmonary TB patients in Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 269 pulmonary TB patients in the district. Binary and multivariate logistic regressions were used to explore the factors associated with delay in TB treatment. Results reveal that most patients were from low socioeconomic backgrounds. For example, 74.7% were living in kacha houses, 54.7% were from lowest the income group (< 250 US$/month), 60.2% married, 54.3% illiterate, 62.5% rural, 56.1% had no house ownership, and 56.5% had insufficient income for daily family expenditures. Significant delays were revealed by this study: 160 patients had experienced a delay of more than 4 weeks, whereas the median delay was 5 weeks. Results show that the most important reason for patient delay was low income and poverty (42.0%) followed by unaware of TB center (41.6), stigma (felt ashamed = 38.7%), and treatment from local traditional healers. Old age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 6.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.63-26.95); and rural areas patients (AOR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.15-3.71) were more likely to have experienced delay. However, the higher income and sufficient income category (AOR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.31-0.95) were associated factors and less likely to experience delay in patient treatment. Integrative prevention interventions, such as those involving community leaders, health extension workers such as lady health workers, and specialized TB centers, would help to reduce delay and expand access to TB-care facilities.

Socioeconomic drivers of vaccine uptake: An analysis of the data of a geographically defined cluster randomized cholera vaccine trial in Bangladesh

BackgroundEvaluations of oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) have demonstrated their effectiveness in diverse settings. However, low vaccine uptake in some settings reduces the opportunity for prevention. This paper identifies the socioeconomic factors associated with vaccine uptake in a mass vaccination program. MethodsThis was a three-arm (vaccine, vaccine plus behavioral change, and non-intervention) cluster randomized trial conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Socio-demographic and vaccination data were collected from 268,896 participants. A geographical information system (GIS) was used to design and implement the vaccination program. A logistic regression model was used to assess the association between vaccine uptake and socioeconomic characteristics. ResultsThe GIS supported the implementation of the vaccination program by identifying ideal locations of vaccination centres for equitable population access, defining catchment areas of daily activities, and providing daily coverage maps during the campaign. Among 188,206 individuals in the intervention arms, 123,686 (66%) received two complete doses, and 64,520 (34%) received one or no doses of the OCV. The vaccine uptake rate was higher in females than males (aOR: 1.80; 95% CI = 1.75–1.84) and in younger (<15 years) than older participants (aOR: 2.19; 95% CI = 2.13–3.26). Individuals living in their own house or having a higher monthly family expenditure were more likely to receive the OCV (aOR: 1.60; 95% CI = 1.50–1.70 and aOR: 1.14; 95% CI = 1.10–1.18 respectively). Individuals using treated water for drinking or using own tap as the source of water were more likely to receive the OCV (aOR: 1.23; 95% CI = 1.17–1.29 and aOR: 1.14; 95% CI = 1.02–1.25 respectively) than their counterpart. Vaccine uptake was also significantly higher in participants residing farther away from health facilities (aOR: 95% 1.80; CI = 1.36–2.37). ConclusionThe GIS was useful in designing field activities, facilitating vaccine delivery and identifying socioeconomic drivers of vaccine uptake in the urban area of Bangladesh. Addressing these socioeconomic drivers may help improve OCV uptake, thereby effectiveness of the OCV in a community.

ESTIMATION OF A SEMIPARAMETRIC TRANSFORMATION MODEL IN THE PRESENCE OF ENDOGENEITY

We consider a semiparametric transformation model, in which the regression function has an additive nonparametric structure and the transformation of the response is assumed to belong to some parametric family. We suppose that endogeneity is present in the explanatory variables. Using a control function approach, we show that the proposed model is identified under suitable assumptions, and propose a profile estimation method for the transformation. The proposed estimator is shown to be asymptotically normal under certain regularity conditions. A simulation study shows that the estimator behaves well in practice. Finally, we give an empirical example using the U.K. Family Expenditure Survey.

PERAN PEREMPUAN TERHADAP RUMAH TANGGA NELAYAN BURUH YANG BERAKTIVITAS DI TEMPAT PELELANGAN IKAN (TPI) TILAMUTA, KABUPATEN BOALEMO

AbstractBoalemo's waters contain a variety of marine fish that have high economic value such as tuna, fish and mouse grouper. Realizing the potential of fishery owned, Fish Auction Place (TPI) which organizes fish sale with auction system is a place where Boalemo fishermen sell their fish catch.The purpose of this study is to determine the general condition of women in households of fishermen who work at Tilamuta Fishing Place (TPI), Boalemo Regency and what are the roles of women in the household economy of fishermen who are active in the Fish Auction Site (TPI) Tilamuta, Kabupaten Boalemo.The method used in this study used census method. Technique of data collecting is done by observation, interview, and literature study.From the result of the research, most of the respondents have elementary school (SD) education as many as 14 people (70%), productive age of respondent (15-45 years) as many as 18 people (90%) and 4 families %). The role of hunting women fishermen to meet the needs of family life consists of: Domestic role; 1) cooking, respondents doing cooking activities between 2-3 times in one day; 2) Washing clothes, respondents generally wash clothes 2 to 3 times and washed clothes are all family members; 3) Cleaning and tidying the house, in one day only done between 2 to 3 times; 4) Taking care of the children, respondents no longer prepare children's clothes and no longer deliver to school because the distance of school from home is close enough; 5) Helping the husband, the respondent to prepare the equipment to go to husband husband, market the catch of husband. Social Role: 1) Majelis Ta'lim, attending meetings 1-2 times a month, benefiting respondents; 2) Arisan, respondents do lott arisan 2 - 3 times a month, used to cover household needs; 3) Dasawisma and PKK, respondents have attended the meeting; 4) Kube, respondents have participated about 3 years, the result is used for family expenditure.Productive Role: 1) Laborers, who work as laborers 3 to 4 days a week, earned wages ranging from Rp500,000 - Rp1,000,000; 2) Private employees / civil servants, there is 1 person (5%) with gajin only about&gt; Rp1.000.000, -; 3) washcloth, there are 3 people (15%) about &lt;2 years, with wages &lt;Rp500.000, -. Keywords: Role of women, Fish Auction Place, Tilamuta AbstrakPerairan yang dimiliki Boalemo menyimpan berbagai ikan laut yang memiliki nilai ekonomis yang tinggi seperti tuna, ikan layang dan kerapu tikus. Menyadari akan potensi perikanan yang dimiliki, Tempat Pelelangan Ikan (TPI) yang menyelenggarakan jual beli ikan dengan sistem lelang ini menjadi tempat nelayan-nelayan Boalemo menjual hasil ikan tangkapan mereka.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui keadaan umum perempuan pada rumah tangga nelayan buruh yang beraktivitas di Tempat Pelelangan Ikan (TPI) Tilamuta, Kabupaten Boalemo dan apa saja peran perempuan dalam perekonomian rumah tangga nelayan buruh yang beraktivitas di Tempat Pelelangan Ikan (TPI) Tilamuta, Kabupaten Boalemo.Metode yang dipakai dalam penelitian ini dipakai metode sensus. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan cara observasi, wawancara, dan studi literatur.Dari hasil penelitian yang diperoleh kebanyakan responden memiliki pendidikan Sekolah Dasar (SD) sebanyak 14 orang (70%), umur produktif responden (15-45 tahun) sebanyak 18 orang (90%) serta jumlah tanggungan keluarga &lt;4 orang sebanyak 16 orang (80%).Peran perempuan nelayan buru untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup keluarga terdiri dari: Peran domestik; 1) memasak, responden melakukan kegiatan memasak antara 2 - 3 kali dalam satu hari; 2) Mencuci pakaian, responden umumnya mencuci pakaian 2 sampai 3 kali dan pakaian yang dicuci adalah semua anggota keluarga; 3) Membersihkan dan merapikan rumah, dalam satu hari hanya dilakukan antara 2 sampai 3 kali; 4) Mengurus anak, responden sudah tidak lagi menyiapkan pakaian anak dan tidak lagi mengantar ke sekolah karena jarak sekolah dari rumah cukup dekat; 5) Membantu suami, responden menyiapkan perlengkapan melaut suami, memasarkan hasil tangkapan suami.Peran Sosial: 1) Majelis Ta’lim, mengikuti pertemuan 1 - 2 kali dalam sebulan, memberikan manfaat bagi responden; 2) Arisan, responden melakukan lott arisan 2 - 3 kali sebulan, digunakan untuk menutupi keperluan rumah tangga; 3) Dasawisma dan PKK, responden sudah mengikuti pertemuan yang diadakan; 4) Kube, responden sudah ikut sekitar 3 tahun, hasilnya digunakana untuk belanja keperluan keluarga.Peran Produktif : 1) Buruh, responden yang berkerja sebagai buruh 3 orang sampai 4 hari dalam satu minggu, upah yang diperoleh berkisar Rp500.000 – Rp1.000.000; 2) Pegawai Swasta/PNS, terdapat 1 orang (5%) dengan gajin hanya sekitar &gt;Rp1.000.000,-; 3) Tukas cuci, terdapat 3 orang (15%) sekitar &lt;2 tahun, dengan upah &lt;Rp500.000,-. Kata Kunci : Peranan perempuan, Tempat Pelelangan Ikan, Tilamuta

Dampak Kredit P4K terhadap Pendapatan dan Pengeluaran Keluarga Petani di Kabupaten Grobogan

&lt;p&gt;The research of credit Impact for Rural Income Generation Project (RIGP) on Family Farmers Income and Expenditure is aimed to know program impact to educational aspect, family-member health and SFFs community social activity. And economically the research also have purpose to know credit impact on venture volume, income, family consumption, as well on employment and income distribution.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The research is conducted in Grobogan District Central Java, on 222 SFFs, 12 sub-districts, 42 villages, and 44 Small Farmer Group (SFGs) of RIGP program participant, by using descriptive analysis, regression analysis model, and Gini Index as well poverty index.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The research result shows descriptively occurred significant quite improvement for physical condition and SFFs family environment of RIGP program participant, which shown by the higher family-member percentage following formal education level, higher utility percentage of health facility and SFFs behavior change for participating in community social activity in their village.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Based on statistical calculation it is obtained tat low category credit value impact on SFFs employment (t-cal=4.143), which have impact on income (t-cal=1.839). But high category credit value, the credit addition even reducing SFFs employment itself (t-cal=2.133). This is caused by for uncreating market, marketing network and product/venture diversification from SFFs. For middle category credit value, credit value impact on venture volume (t-cal=2.051), which has impact on consumption (t-cal=2.439).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While SFFs income distribution of RIGP participant in Grobogan District it is obtained value (GC=0.32), be in middle inequality (GC=0.30 to 0.40), which means that relative income less spread unaveragely in each SFFs program participant. And for middle category credit, GC value is relative higher compared to high and low category credit value, namely as large as (GC=0.35). This value shows that income distribution for each SFFs of middle category credit receiver exists significant quite income inequality, which reative higher than high and low category credit value receiver SFFs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Furthermore, based on poverty standard of Grobogan District which measured based on income per capita/month as large as Rp. 74.007,- it has been achieved value 51,35% credit receiver SFFs still be in poor condition, with the lowest inequality level on high category credit receiver as large as PG=0,1801.&lt;/p&gt;

No association between fat tissue and height in 5019 children and adolescents, measured between 1982 and in 2011 in Kolkata/India.

Body height has traditionally been looked upon as a mirror of the condition of society, short height being an indicator of poor nutritional status, poor education, and low social status and income. This view has recently been questioned. We aimed to quantify the effects of nutrition, education, sibship size, and household income, factors that are conventionally considered to be related to child growth, on body height of children and adolescents raised under urban Indian conditions. Sample and methods: We re-analyzed several anthropometric measurements and questionnaires with questions on sibship size, fathers' and mother's education, and monthly family expenditure, from two cross-sectional growth studies performed in Kolkata, India. The first Kolkata Growth Study (KG1) took place in 1982-1983, with data on 825 Bengali boys aged 7 to 16 years; and the second Kolkata Growth Study (KG2) between 1999 and 2011 with data of 1999 boys aged 7 to 21 years from Bengali Hindu families, and data of 2195 girls obtained between 2005 and 2011. Results: Indian children showed positive insignificant secular trends in height and a significant secular trend in weight and BMI between between 1982 and 2011. Yet, multiple regression analysis failed to detect an association between nutritional status (expressed in terms of skinfold thickness), monthly family expenditure and sibship size with body height of these children. The analysis only revealed an influence of parental education on female, but not on male height. Conclusion: We failed to detect influences of nutrition, sibship size, and monthly family expenditure on body height in a large sample of children and adolescents raised in Kolkata, India, between 1982 and 2011. We found a mild positive association between parental education and girls' height. The data question current concepts regarding the impact of nutrition, and household and economic factors on growth, but instead underscore the effect of parental education.

The macroeconomic consequences of remittances

This paper analyzes the dynamic absorption of remittances at the macroeconomic level, contrasting two possible effects on economic activity, depending on whether these accrue to hand-to-mouth wage earners or credit-constrained entrepreneurs. Using an open economy DSGE model with heterogeneous households, we show that the effects of remittances are inherently contractionary if they accrue to the first group, and expansionary when they accrue to the second group. Calibrating the model to the Philippines using both aggregate data as well as micro-evidence from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), we show that accounting for both binding credit constraints and the internal distribution of remittances improves the model's fit to the data. Welfare gains result when the distribution of remittances is skewed towards entrepreneurs.

Family Expenditure on Higher Engineering Education in India and its Determinants

Research on family expenditures on education in India is not abundant; and research on the determinants of family expenditure on higher engineering education is very scanty. As a result, systematic knowledge of the nature and type of family expenditure is extremely limited and why do households invest in education? Of late while the significance of studies on family expenditures on higher education is increasingly understood in general and in the context of declining pubic budgets and when alternative methods of funding of education are being explored and cost recovery methods are being introduced. Using the data collected from about 7,000 students studying in forty-eight engineering institutions in four states in India, it is attempted in the present paper to examine the extent of family expenditure on engineering education and its determinants. The robust OLS estimates suggest that family’s economic, educational, and social factors exercise considerable influence on levels of family expenditures on engineering education in India. The paper is a modest but an important addition to the limited literature on the subject and helps in making informed public policy making.

Доходы и расходы многодетных семей колхозников Свердловской области (по данным бюджетных обследований 1965 года)

The article studies the problem of material living conditions of large families in the USSR. The study was conducted on the materials of the State Archives of the Sverdlovsk Region (SASR) and the current archive of the Territorial Body of the Federal State Statistics Service for the Sverdlovsk Region (TBFSSSSR), involving Internet sources, as well as scientific and journalistic literature. The relevance of the topic is due to its importance for the social sciences, especially for history, sociology and economics. The scientific novelty of the work is seen in the fact that new materials discovered by the author in the funds of these archives are introduced into use. The article focuses on the analysis of incomes and expenditures of collective farmers large families. It is noted that large families have rarely been the object of research by sociologists and historians. It is stated that it did not have a social or demographic effect in the form and in the amounts state support was provided to large families. It is stated that serious differentiation of average per capita monetary incomes and expenditures of the surveyed families of collective farmers was not observed. The significant role of personal subsidiary plot (PSP) in the economy of the families surveyed is proved. It is declared that most of the expenses of large families of collective farmers were the costs of food products and non-food industrial goods. It is concluded that even taking into account the incomes from PSP per capita incomes (and, accordingly, expenses) of large families were significantly lower than the same indicators of families of urban workers, and collective farmers in the Sverdlovsk region.

(An Empirical Analysis of the Saving Behavior of Elderly Households in Japan)

Japanese Abstract: 本稿では，日本において，人口高齢化が家計貯蓄率にどのような影響をおよぼしうるのかを検証するため，日本の高齢者世帯の貯蓄行動を分析する．分析には，総務省統計局が実施している「家計調査」およびゆうちょ財団が実施している「家計と貯蓄に関する調査」からのデータを用いる．分析結果により，以下のことが示される．すなわち，（1）日本では，働いている高齢者世帯は正の貯蓄をしているものの，彼らの貯蓄率は若い世帯よりも低い．一方，退職後の高齢者世帯の貯蓄率は大きく負である，（2）退職後の高齢者世帯が資産を取り崩す傾向は年々緩やかに強まっており，この傾向は主に社会保障給付の削減によるものである，（3）退職後の高齢者世帯は，資産を取り崩してはいるが，取り崩し率は最も単純なライフ・サイクル仮説が予測しているほど高くはなく，これは主に予備的貯蓄と遺産動機の存在によるものであることが示唆される． English Abstract: In this paper, we analyze the saving behavior of elderly households in Japan in order to shed light on the impact of population aging on the household saving rate. The data sources we use for this analysis are the “Family Income and Expenditure Survey,” conducted by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the “Survey on Households and Saving,” conducted by the Yu-cho Foundation. Our main findings are as follows: (1) In Japan, the saving rate of the working elderly is positive but lower than that of younger households. By contrast, the saving rate of the retired elderly is negative and high in absolute magnitude; (2) the wealth decumulation rate of the retired elderly has shown a moderate increase over time, and this is due primarily to reductions over time in social security benefits; and (3) the retired elderly are decumulating their wealth but not as rapidly as predicted by the simple life-cycle hypothesis, due primarily to the presence of precautionary saving and bequest motives.

Effects of Physical Activity on the Frequency of and Medical Expenses Incurred for Treating Diabetes and Hypertension in Japan

Increasing of obesity people is a global health problem in a lot of countries including Japan. Promoting policies to increase the awareness of and changed attitudes toward physical activity and encouraging greater participation from people in such an activity is important from the perspective of sound financing policies for health care in Japan. This paper’s purpose is to test the hypothesis that physical activity affects the frequency of and the medical expenses incurred for treating diabetes and hypertension in a prefecture. This study’s data were taken from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, Patient Surveys, the Survey of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists, the Report on Health Center Activities and Health Services for the Aged, and Social Indicators by Prefecture. The method is least-squares regression analysis with prefectural data. Physical activity is defined by sports-related expenses as a proxy variable. The variable of medical expenses incurred for treating hypertension and diabetes is defined as the money spent on medical treatment for each household. The frequency of diabetes and hypertension is defined as data per 100,000 people. The results showed that sports-related expenses were negatively related to the frequency of and the medical expenses incurred for treating diabetes and hypertension. The coefficients of the following factors are as given medical expenses incurred for the treatment of diabetes and hypertension: −0.00585, coefficient of the frequency of diabetes: −0.4942, and coefficient of the frequency of hypertension: −0.1005. Since all the three factors are negative values, it shows that physical activity has the possibility to reduce both medical expenses incurred for treating of diabetes and hypertension and frequency of diabetes and hypertension.

Determinants of out-of-pocket spending on health among the poor population served by public health services in Peru, 2010-2014Determinantes da despesa por conta própria em saúde da população pobre atendida em serviços públicos de saúde, Peru, 2010-2014

RESUMENObjetivoEl objetivo de este estudio fue averiguar qué factores afectan el gasto de bolsillo en servicios de salud prestados por el MINSA y los gobiernos regionales a la población en condiciones de pobreza monetaria relativa entre 2010 y 2014.Materiales y métodosEstudio transversal descriptivo econométrico con cortes anuales (2010-2014) a nivel nacional con información de encuestas de hogares. La variable dependiente fue el gasto de bolsillo en salud de las personas en situación de pobreza monetaria relativa para costear su atención médica en servicios de salud públicos. Las variables independientes fueron la afiliación al Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS), el nivel de gasto familiar per capita, el grupo de edad (0-5 años), ser mujer en edad fértil (15-49 años), ser persona adulta mayor (mayor de 60 años)), la carga familiar (cuyo indicador proxy fue el número de miembros en el hogar), y el nivel de complejidad del prestador de servicios.ResultadosSólo 5% de la población rural objeto de estudio fue atendida en centros de mayor nivel de complejidad (hospital) frente a 16% de la del medio urbano. Los medicamentos concentraron el mayor gasto de hogares: 44% en los asegurados en el SIS y 62% en los no asegurados (2014). El gasto de bolsillo en salud se asoció positivamente con no estar afiliado en el SIS, el mayor nivel de complejidad del prestador, el nivel del gasto familiar per capita y ser adulto mayor.ConclusionesLa afiliación al SIS es una variable de política relevante para disminuir el gasto de bolsillo en hogares pobres. El menor gasto de bolsillo de la población rural pobre, especialmente vulnerable, está fuertemente asociado con el uso casi exclusivo de servicios provistos por prestadores del primer nivel de atención. Se necesitan políticas específicas de protección de la población adulta mayor en condiciones de pobreza. Para lograr la cobertura universal en salud, Perú necesita políticas más intensivas de protección financiera y de reestructuración de su oferta pública.

Peran Koherensi terhadap Kelentingan Keluarga yang Memiliki Anak dengan Spektrum Autistik (ASA)

Families of children with autism spectrum disorder experience a number of challenges in life, both physically, psychologically and socially. Families who can adapt effectively will be functioning well and prosper. They are not only survived, but also able to gain some positive benefits from the difficult situations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of family sense of coherence on family resilience among Families of children with autism spectrum disorder, based on mother's perspective as the primary caregiver. This study also wants to identify the difference of family sense of coherence and family resilience level based on several demographic factors such as the number of children, the age of Autistic children, the age of participant (mother), the amount of family expenditure, level of education, and length of diagnosis. Using quantitative approach with associative design, subjects in this research are 148 mothers who have a child with autism, living in Jabodetabek area. Data were obtained through questionnaire-based research instruments, which is Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire and The Family Sense of Coherence Scale. The questionnaires were distributed to research participants through foundation or school concerned in autistic children. The data have been obtained and then analyzed by simple regression analysis. The result indicated that family sense of coherence has a positive and significant correlation between family resilience. It is indicated that family sense of coherence can help us to understand how a family becomes resilient when facing a difficult situation.

Double disadvantage: income inequality, spatial polarization and mortality rates in Taiwan.

Previous studies have suggested that social and economic spatial polarization is associated with various health outcomes. However, few studies have examined the joint effect of income inequality and spatial polarization on health. Data on mortality in 2008-12 were from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. We constructed economic spatial polarization using the Index of Concentration at the Extremes (ICE) by tax data from the Ministry of Finance. The Gini coefficient was from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Using multilevel datasets of 352 townships nested within 20 cities in Taiwan, we examined the association between township-level ICE and mortality, and further examined whether city-level income inequality moderate this association. In 2008-12, the average age-standardized mortality in Taiwan was 470.5 per 100 000 populations. As compared to the highest income-based ICE quintile, the lowest ICE quintile was associated with an excess 171.7 deaths per 100 000 people (95% CI = 116.1, 227.3) after controlling for income inequality and population size. One unit rise in the Gini coefficient further increased 29.9 deaths (95% CI = 12.4, 47.5) for the lowest ICE quintile, as compared to the highest. The joint effect of income inequality and small-scale economic polarization may shed light on how inequalities increase mortality.

The Ability of Mangosteen Farmer to Finance Mangosteen Farm in Subang District Area

The market share of mangosteen in the domestic and in the word is still large, but Indonesian export of mangosteen is less than 10 % of their production because of low quality. In the reality many mangosteen farmer used low input of production in their farm such as fertilizer. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ability of mangosteen farmer to finance mangosteen farm. The study used secondary and primary data from the mangosteen farmer in Subang district by using survey method. The data was analyzed by mathematic analysis. The result shows that mangosteen farmers have low ability to finance the mangosteen farm. Keywords: mangosteen, family income, family expenditure, the ability of farmer.

Beyond the mean: Estimating consumer demand systems in the tails

The study proposes a novel approach to estimate price demand elasticities at the various levels of expenditures. Through the expectile estimator, the demand system can be estimated not only at the mean, as is generally done when implementing the OLS, but also at the lower and higher levels of expenditure. A simple demand system of equations focusing on five basic goods: Food, Recreation, Clothing, Transport, Rent, using the Canadian Family Expenditure Survey data was estimated. The comparison of the estimated elasticity of each commodity at the selected expectiles is tested to verify the statistical relevance of any difference among the estimates in the tails and those computed at the centre of the conditional distribution. The results show with a strong evidence that the elasticity of Food and Recreation grows across the expectiles. Clothing variations are less evident, while the Transport and Rent elasticity is basically constant across the expectiles.

Nutritional status of adolescent girls in a rural area of Bangladesh: A cross sectional study

The improvement of adolescent nutritional status may help address the reduction of all forms of malnutrition in Bangladesh. This is because at this stage, they experience a growth spurt thus increasing the need for most nutrients, needed for growth and reproductive health. The objective of this research was to assess the nutritional status of adolescent girls in rural areas of Bangladesh and find out the associated factors that affects nutritional status. A cross sectional study was carried out among 106 adolescent girls of Nobabpur village in Comilla district. A questionnaire was developed to obtain demographic information, food intake pattern and anthropometric measures such as weight, height with measuring instruments. About 80% were found normal according to BMI where about 13% adolescent girls were malnourished, below the cut off value 18.5. Place of residence, education of adolescent girls, their family expenditure to food and improper knowledge on food and nutrition were identified as underlying causes. Nutritional profiles of adolescent girl can be improved by implementing effective nutrition education program, providing supplementary food, facilitating primary health care program and creating awareness about nutritional knowledge. Severely malnourished adolescent girl in the selected area should be identified as early as possible and brought under supplementary feeding program.Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 52(3), 221-228, 2017

Quantile Regression with Generated Regressors

This paper studies estimation and inference for linear quantile regression models with generated regressors. We suggest a practical two-step estimation procedure, where the generated regressors are computed in the first step. The asymptotic properties of the two-step estimator, namely, consistency and asymptotic normality are established. We show that the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix needs to be adjusted to account for the first-step estimation error. We propose a general estimator for the asymptotic variance-covariance, establish its consistency, and develop testing procedures for linear hypotheses in these models. Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the estimation and inference procedures are provided. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to study Engel curves for various commodities using data from the UK Family Expenditure Survey. We document strong heterogeneity in the estimated Engel curves along the conditional distribution of the budget share of each commodity. The empirical application also emphasizes that correctly estimating confidence intervals for the estimated Engel curves by the proposed estimator is of importance for inference.