Financial Scarcity Research Articles

Is there a place for ‘community’? Transnational governance, post-socialist authoritarianism, and deinstitutionalization in a child protection NGO in Hungary

With a focus on processes of community building from above and deinstitutionalization, the paper explores how concepts of transnational policymaking become localized in particular societal contexts. Specifically, through a case of recent transformations in a child-protection NGO in Hungary, it inquires into professional discourses of ‘deinstitutionalization’ and ‘community-based care’ in the context of post-socialist authoritarianism. The analysis exposes how financial scarcity pressured the management of the NGO to redefine family-community-institution boundaries, to legitimize the downsizing of services and staff, and to reassign childcare duties to less-paid and less-recognized positions. Austerity measures disguised as emancipatory processes of deinstitutionalization have already been described in numerous European contexts. To nuance this picture, we show how discourses of the East-West slope of modernization emerging in Central-Eastern Europe, and recent discourses of familisation and carefare dominating pubic policies in Hungary enhance such discursive shifts. Through our case study we draw attention to the role of professional and political discourses, transnational and national, in reinforcing restricted imaginaries of care. We also formulate the call for empirical analyses on how the caring for children unfold into hybrid – state and civic dominated - contexts, in practice, beyond simplistic and essentialising ideological categorisations of ‘family’, ‘community’ and ‘institution’.

Financial scarcity and financial avoidance: an eye-tracking and behavioral experiment

When having less money than needed, people experience financial scarcity. Here, we conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate whether financial scarcity increases financial avoidance – the tendency to avoid dealing with ones finances. Participants completed an incentivized task where they managed the finances of a household by earning income and paying expenses across multiple rounds. We manipulated participants’ financial situation such that they either had sufficient (financial abundance) or insufficient (financial scarcity) financial resources. At the end of each round, participants received an additional expense in the form of a letter. To measure financial avoidance in the form of attentional disengagement, we used an eye-tracker and assessed whether participants in the financial scarcity condition avoided looking at the expense letters. As a behavioral measure of financial avoidance, participants had the option to delay the payment of these expenses until the end of the experiment at no additional cost. Results showed no effect of financial scarcity on the eye-tracking measure, but there was an effect on the behavioral measure: Participants that experienced financial scarcity were more likely to delay payments. The behavioral finding corroborates the notion that financial scarcity can lead to financial avoidance. We explore potential reasons for the null-effect on the eye-tracking measure and discuss how future research can build upon our findings.

Resource Constraints Lead to Biased Attention but Decrease Unethical Behavior

ABSTRACTSubjective experiences of resource scarcity can make individuals short‐term oriented, capture attention, and trigger feelings of unfairness. However, the impact of scarcity on information processing and ethical decision‐making remains poorly understood. This eye‐tracking study explored how acute financial scarcity affects selective information search and ethical decision‐making in an economic task with competing incentives (N = 60, 12,000 observations). Results revealed that participants experiencing financial scarcity displayed a strong attentional bias towards financially tempting information, although they ultimately did not behave more unethically. These findings might reveal a “moral boundary” dictating when attentional biases translate into decision‐making. Our results contribute to understanding how individuals in scarcity contexts process and prioritize information in ethical decision‐making, helping organizations and policymakers combat stereotypes surrounding resource‐deprived individuals, and design evidence‐based policy interventions promoting ethical behavior in financially scarce situations.

The Effect of Scarcity and Information Avoidance on Debt Management Behavior

We explore how financial scarcity affects the strategy people choose to pay off their debts and the role of information avoidance in debt repayment. We conduct an online experiment in the United Kingdom (N= 1,000) in which people are endowed with multiple debts and given the task to pay off as many debts as possible during 15 rounds. We manipulate the level of financial scarcity by randomly assigning individuals to experience either a negative, a positive, or no financial shock during these 15 rounds. The results show that perceived financial scarcity is related to less optimal debt repayment. In conclusion, our findings suggest that perceived scarcity propels further scarcity due to poor debt management.

Commonalities and differences in injured patient experiences of accessing and receiving quality injury care: a qualitative study in three sub-Saharan African countries

ObjectivesTo understand commonalities and differences in injured patient experiences of accessing and receiving quality injury care across three lower-income and middle-income countries.DesignA qualitative interview study. The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed...

Parallel mediation analysis of household income and impression management with financial scarcity on materialism

Parallel mediation analysis of household income and impression management with financial scarcity on materialism

The Cold War in pharmacology: a bibliometric analysis of Berlin’s contributions to Naunyn‑Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology (1947–1974)

After World War II, Berlin was divided into the West, controlled by The United States, the UK, and France, and the East, controlled by the Soviet Union, resulting in a Cold War for decades. This bibliometric study analyzes the influence of the Cold War on pharmacological research in Berlin by evaluating publication patterns in Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology from 1947 to 1974 (n = 383). The publications highlight the political disparities in scientific output, exacerbated by the founding of the Free University of Berlin (FUB) as a countermeasure to Soviet repression, promoting academic freedom in West-Berlin. Researchers in West-Berlin published many more papers in Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology than researchers in East-Berlin and received much more citations. West-Berlin adopted English as a scientific language much more rapidly than East-Berlin. West-Berlin and East-Berlin focused on totally different research topics. This paper demonstrates how political freedom, financial support, and internationalization boosted research productivity in West-Berlin. In contrast, political suppression, financial scarcity, and restricted international ties hindered scientific development in East-Berlin.

The effect of financial stress on inhibitory control and economic decisions

Financial scarcity, both real and imagined, is associated with impaired executive functions and present-focused economic decisions. What is the mechanism that connects the lack of financial resources to these cognitive and behavioral effects? The present work will test the hypothesis that the experience of financial stress contributes to these deficits by reducing executive functions related to self-control and causing present-focused, real-world economic decisions. In a preliminary experiment (N = 215), we found support for the hypothesis that financial stress (as compared to social stress) causes a reduction in inhibitory control performance. In the registered study, we recruited participants (N = 1014) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and assessed inhibitory control before and after a financial stress manipulation, and economic preferences. The results did not support the hypothesis that momentary financial stress reduces inhibitory control or alters time preference. However, chronic financial stress was associated with reduced inhibitory control and VWM, and real-world economic decisions. Several interactions between SES and the effect of conditions highlight the relevance of a person's SES in the association between affective experiences and cognitive and behavioral responses. We discuss the implications of this work for future study of the association between SES, executive function, and economic decisions.

Financial scarcity, psychological well-being and perceptions: an evaluation of the Nigerian currency redesign policy outcomes

BackgroundThe relationship between insufficient financial resources and psychological health has been extensively studied and established in various contexts. However, there remains uncertainty regarding the potential impact of the Nigerian naira currency redesign policy on the psychological well-being of Nigerians. This policy, which aimed to demonetize the economy and promote economic stability, involved changes to the physical appearance of some naira denominations (200, 500 and 1000). Understanding the effects of this policy on psychological health is essential for evaluating its overall societal impact and identifying potential areas for improvement in future currency redesign initiatives.MethodsThe study is a cross-sectional mixed-methods study involving 2237 respondents across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Utilizing the simple random, snowball and convenience sampling technique, social media platforms (Facebook and WhatsApp) were used to recruit respondents. Variables were analyzed at descriptive and inferential levels. The qualitative component comprised seven (7) in-depth interviews with participants across the geo-political zones.ResultsThe perceptions of respondents towards the policy were diverse across different demographic groups. It was widely perceived that the timing of the policy was inappropriate, considering the challenges faced in utilizing online payment platforms and the significant inaccessibility of cash. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that demographic variables played a role in explaining systematic variations in the experience of financial scarcity and its effect on psychological health during the cash crunch that ensued as a result of the Nigerian naira currency redesign policy.ConclusionsThis study identified a significant association between the psychological inventory of financial scarcity and psychological well-being among residents in Nigeria during the cash crunch resulting from the Naira redesign policy. The findings suggest that the financial scarcity experienced by Nigerians due to the policy had a substantial impact on individuals’ psychological well-being. We recommend that a holistic approach be undertaken by policymakers to ensure that policy actions not only address economic objectives but also safeguard the mental health and overall well-being of the population.

Abstract P287: Incorporating Behavioral and Social Determinants of Health Variables Into a Machine Learning Model Predicting Cardiometabolic Disease

Introduction: Machine learning models hold potential for improved cardiometabolic disease prediction and more efficacious prevention and intervention efforts. Current models are limited by use of cross-sectional datasets and variables (features) consisting of diagnostic criteria (such as blood glucose or hemoglobin A1c in type 2 diabetes models) and overlook health behaviors and social determinants of health (HB-SDH). Hypothesis: Machine learning models built with HB-SDH variables will accurately predict type 2 diabetes. Methods: We used data from 2,493 participants without diabetes in the Adolescent to Adult Health study (mean age = 15.5 years at baseline (1994), 40.9% male) who contributed blood samples and anthropometric measures in wave 4 (2008) or 5 (2016-2018). We used an 80/20 split to form separate training and test datasets; the training dataset was used to build random forest and XGBoost models, and performance with respect to classifying diabetes was evaluated in the test dataset. We first built a model using 15 demographic and biomarker features as a comparator for our second model, which included 34 HB-SDH features measured during adulthood but no biomarkers. Results: Five-hundred sixteen participants developed type 2 diabetes. In XGBoost, the comparator model was found to predict diabetes with 92.6% accuracy (95% CI: 89.8%, 94.8%) and area under the curve (AUC) = 0.8165. The HB-SDH model had 88.7% accuracy (95% CI: 85.4, 91.4%) and AUC = 0.7631. Using random forest, the comparator model had 93.0% accuracy (95% CI: 90.3, 95.2%) and AUC = 0.8376, while the HB-SDH model had 89.8% (95% CI: 88.6, 92.4%) accuracy and AUC = 0.7650. The top 10 variables in ascertaining classifications in the random forest model included self-reported general health, waist circumference, self-reported anxiety diagnosis, self-reported hypertension diagnosis, income, BMI, education level, change in weight, financial scarcity, and experienced stigma, while in the XGBoost model these were self-reported general health, experienced stigma, financial scarcity, self-reported anxiety diagnosis, experienced weight stigma, waist circumference, income, self-reported hypertension diagnosis, sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and BMI. Conclusions: Machine learning models built with behavioral and social determinants of health variables perform comparably to models with biomarkers and identify salient features for diabetes risk. The features that factored into classification performance were similar between random forest and XGBoost models. In this population, HB-SDH of relevance included socioeconomic indicators, sugary beverages, anxiety, and experiencing stigma, in addition to adiposity and hypertension. This finding needs to be replicated in diverse cohorts that may experience different HB-SDH.

Structure and Functioning of Urban Local Bodies in Infrastructure and its Challenges

India's society is now characterised by widespread urbanisation. Millions of people are moving to cities in search of employment because cities are the main benefactors of globalisation and are growing in population. This shows that Indian cities must act as the engine for the country's economy's structural change. Infrastructure has to be improved and upgraded, which necessitates active cooperation from both the state and federal governments. The 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution, which aim to establish an institutional framework for bringing about grass- roots democracy through the use of genuinely self-governing local bodies in both urban and rural areas of the nation, provide a clear mandate for democratic decentralisation in addition to the directive principle of state policy. The subjects covered in this research study include various urban local bodies, their relevance, their organisation, their tasks and responsibilities, and their problems and difficulties. Urban Local Bodies must deal with issues such financial scarcity, unplanned urbanisation, excessive state government control, and the proliferation of agencies, Low level of People’s Participation in socio-economic development. And how can the financial independence of urban local governments be increased? By incorporating technology, e-governance, financial instruments like municipal bonds, ensuring active citizen participation, and improving grievance redressal mechanisms. Keywords—urban local bodies, municipal corporation, municipal council, municipal bonds

Financial scarcity and cognitive performance: A meta-analysis

Whereas several studies find that financial scarcity has a detrimental impact on cognitive functioning, some studies find no relationship and others even report beneficial effects. To shed light on this issue we conducted a meta-analysis on the relationship between financial scarcity and cognitive functioning. We went beyond testing the direct relationship between these two concepts and looked at potential moderators, namely education, the moment of scarcity, the severity of scarcity, the type of tasks used to assess cognitive functioning, and the type of study. Our findings suggest that scarcity does have a detrimental effect on cognitive functioning. Across 256 effect sizes from 29 datasets involving 111,852 respondents, we found a detrimental total effect of scarcity on cognitive performance of Hedge’s g = -0.43. We then estimated a meta-regression model of the drivers of the effect of scarcity on cognition. Education strongly explained this relationship, reducing the effect size by 60 % (partial effect of scarcity on cognitive performance is Hedge’s g = -0.15, when accounting for education), to a small effect size. The moment and the severity of scarcity also contribute to this relationship, by moderating the effect, such that lifetime and adulthood scarcity have a larger effect than childhood scarcity, and more extreme levels of scarcity lead to higher cognitive dysfunction. The type of task used to assess cognitive functioning did not moderate the effect. And when controlling for education, higher effect sizes were found for non-correlational designs. We discuss these findings and their implications in light of existing research and theories.

The Link between Abstract Thinking Style and Subjective Well-Being: Its Impact when People are in (Real or Perceived) Financial Scarcity.

Across three studies, we explored the link between an abstract mindset and subjective well-being (SWB) in participants with real and/or perceived financial scarcity. In Studies 1 and 2, samples presented real objective financial vulnerability: Adolescents from lower-middle income districts (Study 1; N = 256), and adults without higher education and with very low incomes (Study 2; N = 210). In Studies 1 and 2 participants completed a survey including measures of thinking style and SWB. In Studies 2 and 3 perception of financial difficulty and SWB were also measured. Study 3 (N = 161) used a sample of university students and employed an experimental design manipulating participants' thinking style (i.e., concrete versus abstract mindset conditions); additionally, all participants were induced to perceive financial scarcity. Correlations revealed a significant and positive relationship between an abstract thinking style and SWB (Studies 1 and 2). Thus, these results showed that a relatively more abstract thinking style was associated with greater life satisfaction. In Studies 2 and 3 mediation analyses indicated that adults who presented a more abstract thinking style, perceived lower financial difficulties and then reported greater SWB. Overall, given that an abstract thinking style can be induced, these results offer a new intervention approach for improving the SWB of people living in situations of financial scarcity.

A narrative review on problems in product quality, regulatory system constraints, and the concept of quality by design as a solution for quality assurance of African medicines.

The provision of medicines with confirmed quality and efficacy is critical for maintaining the public health and building confidence in the healthcare systems. However, the presence of poor-quality medicines still presents a significant challenge in the pharmaceutical landscape across the African regions. This is further exacerbated by the lack of consistency or discrepancy in the current regulatory framework. As a consequence, given the current constraints, a robust regulatory structure that can guarantee the supply chains attainment of the intended medicinal product requirements are required. The review aimed to provide a detailed analysis of the quality issues in the pharmaceutical supply in Africa, highlighting the challenges and proposing potential solutions for its mitigation. The review was conducted from May 2023 to April 2024. This narrative review examined poor-quality medicines, regulatory challenges, and mitigation strategies in the African pharmaceutical industry. The review utilized databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science. The search strategy was customized to include open-access articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in English and focused exclusively on studies conducted in African countries. The review portrays the prevalence of poor-quality medicinal products in various regions of Africa. Among various categories of findings, 42% of the reports on poor-quality medicinal products come from the African region, as per the WHO report. Furthermore, separate findings on substandard medicinal products from many African countries were encountered. The presence of problems in the regulatory system, such as the absence of any pharmacopeia belonging to any African country and variation/inconsistency in each country's regulatory set-up, was indicated. Other factors for the inability to enforce regulatory law, such as insufficient skilled and committed human resources, the presence of corruption, as well as financial resource scarcity, were revealed in the review. From the situational analysis, the possibility of building a robust quality assurance system in the near future through a quality by design approach under existing resource limitations was discussed. The pharmaceutical sector in Africa faces significant challenges, including the prevalence of poor-quality medicines and weak regulatory enforcement. Tackling these challenges are vital for enhancing health outcomes throughout the continent through the provision of high-quality medicines. Trending toward quality by design in the quality assurance system under prevailing financial scarcity can be very beneficial.

Drop some money! The influence of income and subjective financial scarcity on pro-environmental behaviour

Numerous studies investigated how people's willingness to engage in pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) is shaped by their financial circumstances. Yet, no clear pattern can be found in the literature: research demonstrates that people with higher incomes have higher carbon footprints, while other findings show that people with more perceived financial resources indicate more engagement in PEBs. We propose to differentiate between objective income and the subjective feeling of financial scarcity, because less income does not necessarily go together with feelings of financial scarcity and vice versa. We investigated if both income and subjective financial scarcity – though being negatively related in the first place – have a negative influence on the willingness to engage in PEBs.The data of a pilot study (n = 199) provides first evidence that willingness for PEB was indeed lower for people with higher incomes and simultaneously also for those reporting more subjective financial scarcity. Moreover, the analyses of our studies revealed that the negative relation between income and willingness for PEB was mediated by (higher) perceived future availability of natural resources (Study 1 n1 = 314 & Study 2 n2 = 393). Further findings showed that subjective financial scarcity was going along with less PEB due to an increased perceived effort/cost associated with PEB. Finally, Study 3 (n3 = 950) revealed that both income and subjective financial scarcity were also related to a reduced acceptance of shifting activities that consume electric energy. We conclude that researchers need to consider both individuals’ objective and subjective financial situation for determining and coping with the specific barriers that prevent people from engaging in PEB.

Examining the role of civic attitudes in the link between family wealth and school dropout among tertiary vocational students

This study examined the relationship between family wealth and school dropout among vocational education students (n = 1,231; mean age=17.81). It investigated whether (1) family affluence and adolescents’ own perceptions and experiences of their family wealth (i.e., perceived family wealth, financial scarcity) predict dropout, (2) adolescents’ civic attitudes (i.e., system justification, institutional trust) explain the association between family wealth and school dropout, and (3) trust in teachers buffers against the risk of dropout among students with lower civic attitudes. Multivariate models revealed that financial scarcity predicted dropout. Financial scarcity showed an indirect only effect on dropout through lower institutional trust, but not through system justification. Trust in teachers was neither associated with dropout, nor a moderator. Controlling for mental health problems did not affect these results. This study helps explain how students’ experienced and perceived family wealth can affect their educational attainment, by reducing their trust in social institutions.

Is the association between financial scarcity and health behaviours moderated by cultural capital? The GLOBE study.

Experiencing financial scarcity taxes cognitive bandwidth. This leaves less capacity to withhold temptations and makes relying on easiest default options more likely. Whether this default option is (un)healthy may depend on the amount of cultural capital acquired during life course. This study examined whether the association between financial scarcity and health behaviours is moderated by cultural capital. Self-reported data were used from Dutch adults of the 2014-survey of the GLOBE study (N = 2466). Using linear regression analysis, financial strain (no, some, great) and cultural capital (institutionalized, objectivized, incorporated) were related to body mass index (BMI), alcohol intake, sports participation, cycling and walking, fruit intake and vegetable consumption. The interaction between financial strain and cultural capital was used to assess moderation. Experiencing some financial strain was associated with a higher BMI (0.7 kg/m2) and less sport participation (-31.8 min/week). Great financial strain was associated with less sport participation (-41.4 min/week). Being in the lowest tertile of cultural capital was associated with a higher BMI (1.3 kg/m2), drinking less alcohol (-10.0 units/week), less sport participation (-31.5 min/week) and consuming less fruit (-2.9 pieces/week). Cultural capital had no significant moderating effect on the relationship between financial strain and these health behaviours. Financial strain and cultural capital seem associated with different health behaviours. Cultural capital had no moderating effect on the relationship between financial strain and different health behaviours. While financial strain and cultural capital could both be entry points for interventions to improve health behaviour, underlying mechanisms require further attention.

COVID-19-related financial scarcity is associated with greater delay discounting but not probability discounting

Prior studies suggest that scarcity increases delay discounting (devaluation of delayed outcomes) and disturbs other decision-making processes. Evidence on the effect of COVID-19 on delay discounting is mixed. Also, no study has examined the effect of COVID-19-related scarcity on probability discounting (devaluation of probabilistic outcomes). The goal of the study was to examine cross-sectional associations between financial impact during the COVID-19 pandemic, delay discounting, and probability discounting. During April 2020, 1012 participants with low income were recruited on Amazon Mechanical Turk and completed measures of delay and probability discounting, perceived COVID-19-related financial impacts, and food security. Regression analyses indicate that compared to those with no COVID-19-related financial impacts, those with severe COVID-19-related financial impacts had greater delay discounting of money and greater delay discounting of a grocery gift card. Also, greater food insecurity in the past month was associated with greater delay discounting of a grocery gift card but not delay discounting of money. Perceived COVID-19 related financial impact was not associated with probability discounting. Combined with laboratory experiments, this study provides additional support for the idea that feelings of scarcity may increase delay discounting. However, as this study was observational, no assumptions of causality should be made about the specific effect of COVID-19 on delay discounting.

Eye Care Utilization among Older Subjects with Visual Impairment in Northwest Ethiopia.

To find out the level of eye care service utilization and its determinants among the elderly visually impaired populations while visiting ophthalmic outreach locations in North-Western Ethiopia, 2021. An ophthalmic outreach-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 852 visually impaired older people. Participants were selected by using a systematic random sampling method from January to July 2021. Data were collected by using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and an ocular examination. The collected data were entered into the Epi Info 7, and analyzed using SPSS 20. A binary logistic regression was fitted. A total of 821 participants, with a response rate of 96.5%, were included in the study. The utilization of eye care services within the past two years prior to the study was 21.1% (95 % CI: 18.2-23.9). Having systemic disease (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.5-7.0), being a spectacle wearer (AOR = 4.5, 95% CI: 2.0-9.4), having visual impairment at distance (AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: 1.5-5.6), being blind (AOR = 2.9; 95% CI: 1.5-5.6), duration of visual impairment 1 year (AOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.3-4.9) were all significantly associated. In this study, utilization of eye care services was low. Being visually impaired at distance, being blind, recent onset of visual impairment, being a spectacle wearer, and having systemic disease were all related to the use of eye care services. The commonest barriers to utilization of eye care services were financial scarcity and long distances between eye care facilities.

Social Genomics Model of Health Disparities

Social stress such as financial scarcity, childhood trauma, and neighborhood violence has been associated with worse health outcomes. Furthemore, the social stress one experiences is not accidental. Rather, it can be the result of systematic economic and social marginalization through social policies, built environment and neighborhood underdevelopment from structural racism and discrimination. The psychological and physical stress associated with social exposure risk has been identified as possible explanatory variables for the disparities in health outcomes we have previously assigned to “race.” We will use lung cancer as a use case to illustrate a novel model that links social exposure, behavioral risk and the stress response to outcomes.