Household Asset Ownership Research Articles

The Impact of Credit on Multidimensional Poverty in Rural Areas: A Case Study of the Indonesian Agricultural Sector

Poor farmer households are a vulnerable group in rural areas. Various poverty alleviation measures have been launched to help poor farmer groups become more prosperous. The policies launched were in the form of cash transfers, empowerment, and access to formal financial institutions. Policies for providing formal financial access continue to face many obstacles, one of which is credit risk and farmer literacy. The study aims to estimate the impact of credit on multidimensional poverty in poor farmer households in Indonesia. Secondary data were obtained from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) batch 4 and 5. The impact estimation method used was propensity score matching combined with the difference in differences. The results showed that credit programs for poor farmers, initiated by official financial institutions, significantly helped farmers out of poverty, although the value was small. The addition of control variables such as education, ownership of household assets, and ownership of agricultural land actually made the credit program more modifiable at the policy level. Credit can be used as a complement to policies related to improving farmer education and knowledge in the form of agricultural modernization, as well as to scale-up of farmer household businesses.

Effectiveness of Micro-Credit Programs in Socio-Economic Development: A Study on Selected NGOs in Bangladesh

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) evolved in Bangladesh with the commitment of bringing positive social change and attaining balanced socio-economic development through the disbursement of micro-credit among the marginal people in society. The main intention of the study is to assess the impact of micro-credit on the overall socio-economic development of micro-credit receivers. The Chi-square (χ2) and Multinomial Logistic Regression techniques have applied on primary data collected from 260 beneficiaries of micro-credit of ASA and BRAC NGOs in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. The χ2 analysis shows that the amount of micro-credit taken has a significant positive impact on respondents’ type of home, sanitation facilities, ownership of other household assets, health service received, yearly income, expenditure, and savings, and participation in family’s decision making, whereas an insignificant relationship is observed for occupational status, children education, ownership of land and livestock, sources of drinking water, economic solvency, and social status of the respondents.

Impact of the conditional cash transfer program’ on the monthly food expenditure of household beneficiaries

Philippines is among the many countries which has a perennial problem on poverty. The country has made various ways to reduce its poverty rate; one is through conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme. This study measured the impact of CCT Program, particularly on food consumption among its household beneficiaries using Propensity Score Matching (PSM). Impact is measured in terms of the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) using four matching algorithms: Nearest Neighbor Matching, Caliper (Radius) Matching, Kernel Matching, and Local Linear Regression matching. Binary logistic regression was used to identify covariates influencing program participation which include having children who are 6-12 years old, education of the household heads’ spouses, marital status and sex of the household head, housing tenure, and ownership of household assets. Balance test indicates nonsignificant difference between 4Ps and non-4Ps beneficiaries across these covariates. Of the four matching algorithms, the Caliper (radius) matching generated ATT estimate with the least standard error. On the average, using the Caliper matching method, the monthly food expenditure of the household beneficiaries have significantly increased by PHP501.39, Thus, the CCT program of the government has brought significant improvement on the household beneficiaries, not only on education, health, and nutrition but also on their monthly food expenditure. It is recommended that the implementation of the CCT program should be strengthened, sustained, and maintained properly and orderly to gradually alleviate the current poverty conditions in the identified poor barangays around the nation. Moreover, the implementing agencies should consistently monitor the proper and synchronized implementation of the program in order to wholly purge the intergenerational transmission of poverty which is a perennial experience of the households who belong to the poorest populace in the country.

Pottery and Poverty Reduction among Kisi Households in Ludewa District, Tanzania

The study investigated the impact of pottery trade in reducing poverty among the Kisi households in Ludewa district which is located very close to Lake Nyasa..The role of pottery industry in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty among the Kisi began during the Iron Age in the first millennium A.D. The Kisi people live in Ludewa District and a few have spread to neighbouring districts like Kyela and Mbinga. The main economic activity of the Kisi is fishing but after trade liberation in the 1980s fishing is overtaken by pottery industry. The data for calculation of poverty index was collected from three villages which are Lumbila, Nkanda and Nsele which had abudant raw materials for pottery making along Lake Nyasa. The calculation of various indicators of poverty and their relationship to pottery industry indicated that pottery has a reasonable impact on poverty alleviation among the Kisi in Ludewa District. This is verified by the improvement of housing whereby people involved in pottery industry had slightly better housing than others. The same was applied to income poverty where villages like Lumbila and Nkanda had a higher per capita income when compared to Nsele Village which depends more on crop marketing than pottery. As far as household asset ownership is concerned there were small differentials among the villages and this was also reflected on the utilization of improved power, health and sanitation. The main bottleneck in the alleviation of poverty among the Kisi people was lack of reliable inland transport which was hindered by steep slopes close to the Lake and unreliable motorboats which ply along the lake. Some villages like Lumbila have managed to purchase a boat but in the case of Nkanda due to management problems the boat has been abandoned. The overall indicator shows that Lumbila village with more diversified economy had higher per capita income than the other villages. Besides this the villages were vulnerable to environmental degradation and disasters related to health.

Associations between socioeconomic resources and adiposity traits in adults: Evidence from Samoa.

In low- and middle-income countries, earlier in economic development, obesity tends to be more prevalent in high socioeconomic resource groups compared to low. Later in development, the distribution of obesity tends to show the opposite pattern, becoming more prevalent in those with low socioeconomic resources. This shift in obesity prevalence tends to occur between a gross national income per capita (GNI) of US$1,000 to $4,000 dollars. Whether a similar pattern occurs in Pacific Island countries has not been well documented. In Samoa, the GNI rose to US$3,200 dollars in 2010 at which time over 80% of adults were overweight or obese. We aimed to understand the association of socioeconomic resources, assessed by household assets, with adult body mass index (BMI) and abdominal circumference (AC) in Samoa. Data were from a genome-wide association study for obesity among 3,370 Samoans aged 24.5-<65 years in 2010. Household asset scores were calculated based on ownership of consumer durables, housing construction, and access to basic services. Sex-stratified multivariate linear regressions were used to assess adiposity trait differences by household asset ownership, after controlling for age, education, and household urbanicity. Higher asset ownership was associated with higher BMI and AC and the positive relationship remained robust after controlling for potential confounders. Despite significant economic growth preceding the year 2010 in Samoa, the obesity burden had not shifted to low socioeconomic groups in a similar way that has been observed in countries further along in the economic transition. The mechanism by which socioeconomic resources influence adiposity is complex and may be particularly complicated in Samoa by migrant remittances received both as cash and household assets. Social and physical environments may constrain the positive health behavior change necessary to reduce obesity even in the context of high socioeconomic position, a situation that requires further investigation.

Intensity and Determinants of Rural Poverty in Banja District of Awi Zone, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Poverty is one of the most serious problems of human deprivation and a complex phenomenon. Ethiopian government have been implementing different poverty reduction programs and strategies to fight extreme hunger and poverty. The struggle to reduce rural poverty at household level is a continuing challenge. This study was conducted in Banja district of Awi zone Amhara regional state. The specific objectives of this study were to estimate the rural poverty status, to identify factors determining rural poverty and to estimate the average exit time of poor households. In order to achieve these objectives, cross sectional data on human capital, physical capital, financial capital, natural capital and other institutional characteristics were collected from 190 households drawn from randomly selected five kebeles using structured household questioner. Descriptive and inferential statistics, and econometric model were used to analyze data on poverty status and poverty level, respectively. Hence, setting the poverty line, identifying poor and non-poor rural households, measuring the incidence, depth and severity, and mean comparison between the groups were made. Accordingly, using Cost of Basic Needs approach, the estimated poverty line was Birr 4301 per adult equivalent per year. The Foster Greer and Thorbeck measure of poverty found that 44 percent of sample households were found below poverty line and the poverty gap and poverty severity were 9 percent and 2 percent, respectively. The estimated average exit time of the poor households based on the five-year average per capita Gross Domestic Product growth rate was 3.35 years. Tobit model result showed that household size significantly and positively influence poverty whereas number of livestock and oxen ownership, educational level of the household head, input utilization, asset ownership and credit utilization negatively influenced poverty in the study area. The result suggests that improving adult education, provision of input for smallholder farmers, improving access and availability of credit, improving the livestock sector will be important policy interventions.

Marketing, consumption and their determinants in village poultry production in four states of Ethiopia

Context It is widely recognised that village poultry play important roles nutritionally, economically and socio-culturally in developing countries such as Ethiopia where the sector makes up the largest portion of the national poultry meat and egg production. The importance of socioeconomic environment for improving the contribution of village poultry to household income and diets is receiving little attention in research and development. Aims The present study examined whether and to what extent household, flock, institutional and infrastructural factors enable or constrain village poultry marketing and consumption. Methods The results of the study are based on analysis of data drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 5004 households conducted in four regions of Ethiopia. On the basis of the type of dependent variable, probit and ordinary least squares regression models and marginal effects were used to determine whether and how much the aforementioned factors affect household involvement in marketing or consumption of village poultry. Key results Flock size per household highly significantly and positively affected poultry selling. Majority of the households (82%) sold their poultry primarily for covering planned household expenses. Male-headed households had a lower likelihood of selling poultry and an increased mean number of birds consumed, than did female-headed households. A lower probability of selling poultry was associated with an increasing household-asset ownership and an increasing distance to a market town. Participation in training increased poultry consumption per household. Conclusions Our empirical results showed that factors related to household characteristics, flock size, infrastructure and institutional services affected marketing and consumption of household poultry. Household attributes are important to identify and target the right groups for poultry research and development, and market infrastructure and institutional services have to be developed for improving opportunities of smallholders to better benefit from poultry marketing or consumption. Implications Finally, along with technical efforts to increase production, sustainability and nutritional and economic impacts could be improved if research and development interventions were to holistically take into account the socioeconomic and institutional context under which poultry-producing households operate.

FACTORS DETERMINING EMPOWERMENT OF AGED WIDOW IN RAINGAMARI VILLAGE OF BATIAGHATA THANA IN KHULNA DISTRICT OF BANGLADESH

This study mainly focused on recognizing the influence of socioeconomic factors to determine empowerment for aged widow. Two hundred randomly selected widow (aged 60 and above) from Raingamari village of Batiaghata thana in Khulna District were interviewed by administering a semi-structured interview schedule. Findings of the study revealed that age of the widow had statistically significant relation (p &lt;0.047) with women empowerment index while living arrangement, occupational status, personal income, saving and land ownership were also significantly related with women empowerment. On the other hand, year of schooling had insignificant relationship (p &gt;0.163)with women empowerment index, whereas duration of being widow was negatively related with empowerment of women (p &gt;0.250). Additionally, total household income also had no significant relationship with empowerment process. Moreover, correlation coefficient of this study exposed that lower age of the respondents indicated higher women empowerment index (p&lt;0.035). Furthermore, higher the income of the respondent, savings, landed property and household assets ensured higher women empowerment. Finally, the study, therefore, concluded that widow’s economic independence, in terms of income, savings and ownership of land or household assets, is the most influential factors to determine their level of empowerment than the non-economic factors, i.e. year of schooling, duration of being widow and living arrangement.

Tobacco smoking patterns in Samoa in 2010: Implications for interventions.

INTRODUCTIONTobacco use in Samoa has been described over time by age, sex and education, but little work exists on other sociodemographic factors associated with tobacco use. We describe current smoking and daily tobacco use in adults from Samoa, with a focus on sex and age stratified analyses of the influence of occupation, education, census region, household asset ownership and alcohol use in order to help develop potential targeted interventions.METHODSIn 2010, a nationwide survey of 3745 adults aged 25–65 years from 33 villages was completed in Samoa. Current smoking status, daily tobacco use, as well as current alcohol use, and a variety of sociodemographic factors were assessed by interview. Bivariate and multivariable models, and sex and age group stratified analyses, were performed to determine different patterns of correlates.RESULTSMore than half of all men (51.3%) and 21.8% of women were current tobacco smokers. Men and women smoked on average 10.9 and 8.7 cigarettes/day, respectively. Twenty per cent of men consumed ≥20 cigarettes/day. In men, being married, a subsistence-farmer/laborer, an alcohol user, and having low household assets, were independently associated with being a tobacco smoker (all p<0.01). Among women, not completing secondary education, being 25–34 years, residing in urban Apia, and being an alcohol user, were independently associated with being a tobacco smoker (all p<0.01).CONCLUSIONSTobacco use in Samoa remains high and correlates of smoking suggest that interventions for cessation need to be developed within the contexts of sex, age, education, and household socioeconomic status.

Food Security Dynamics, Transition and Dimension: Evidence from Rural Households in Nigeria

The study investigates the dynamics of food security transitions among rural households in Nigeria. Secondary data from Generalised Household survey (GHS), a country-wide panel data conducted in 2010/2011, 2012/2013 and 2015/2016, were employed in the study. Out of the 5,000 households covered by the survey, the study only used 1,829 households whose characteristics were found relevant to the realization of the objectives of the study. Findings showed that although majority of the household heads were food secure in 2010 and 2012, almost one half of this population transitioned into food insecurity in 2015. Sex of the household head, marital status and asset ownership were identified as key determinants of mobility into food insecurity. In the long run, the probability that a household in rural Nigeria will transition into food security is 62.2% while the probability of exiting the status is 38.27%.The study also revealed that the relatively high and fairly stable level of food security in the sampled area can be linked to socio-demographic factors such as household size, marital status, years of education, asset ownership, access to credit or extension and non-farm income. Since exiting food security status remains a challenge in rural areas, interventions targeted at increasing literacy level, access to credit as well as providing other such safety nets should be encouraged.

The Impact of Microfinance on Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Pakistan

This paper examines the effect of microfinance on poverty alleviation in Pakistan using district-level panel data. We conduct fixed effect panel regressions to show a statistically significant positive impact of microfinance on household income, ownership of household assets, education, and expenditure. These results suggest that the development of microfinance is an efficient tool for both welfare improvement and poverty alleviation in Pakistan.

Wealth-related inequalities in adoption of drought-tolerant maize and conservation agriculture in Zimbabwe

This paper concerns Drought-Tolerant Maize (DTM) and Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices that were introduced into smallholder maize-based farming systems in Zimbabwe to enhance the productivity of maize and food security under a changing climate. Although these technologies are technically appropriate, there are difficulties with their use by smallholder farmers of relatively low socio-economic status, as measured through ownership of farm or household assets and endowments. Thus, we sought to quantify and explain wealth-related inequalities in the adoption of DTM and CA in smallholder farming communities and discuss their implications for food security. The analysis used cross-sectional household-level data gathered from 601 smallholder farmers from four districts in Zimbabwe. We found evidence of a pro-rich distribution of inequalities in the adoption of DTM and CA that were mostly explained by differences in household wealth, access to agricultural extension services and size of farm land. No meaningful differences in DTM adoption disparities were found across districts. Significant gender differences were observed for CA, and meaningful differences by district were noted. Results suggest the need for decision makers to consider implementing policies that focus on the poorer segments of the farming society to alleviate differences in the adoption of such agricultural technologies. For example, subsidizing the uptake of improved maize varieties including DTM and prioritizing equitable land distribution, coupled with specialised extension services for the poor in a cereal-based CA farming system, could reduce the observed gap between rich and poor in the uptake of these innovations and consequently improve food security.

The poverty impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria: A counterfactual analysis.

Adoption of improved agricultural technologies has long been recognized as critical for reducing poverty through increased productivity, incomes, and asset accumulation. Using a nationally representative survey data from a sample of over 1500 households in Nigeria, this paper evaluates the impacts of adoption of improved cowpea varieties on income and asset poverty reduction using an endogenous switching regression model. The results showed that adoption of improved cowpea varieties increased per capita household income and asset ownership by 17 and 24 percentage points, respectively. The results based on the observed and counterfactual income and asset distributions further showed that adoption reduced both income poverty and asset poverty by 5 percentage points. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy options for increasing adoption and impacts of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria.

Eosinophil cationic protein can monitoring efficacy of specific immunoterapy in eosinophilic esophagitis

Travel behaviour varies with respect to the income. Directly reported incomes used in the travel behaviour studies are subject to the issues of under and non-reporting. To account for this, we propose principal component analysis (PCA) on household asset ownership data to estimate socio-economic wellbeing score (SEWS) as the proxy of income. SEWS is used to understand the variation in travel behaviour of people belonging to different income groups in Vishakhapatnam. We have used sample data of 2623 households collected in 2012–2013. Internal coherency test and chi-square tests are conducted to assess the robustness of estimated SEWS.Travel behaviour analysis highlights that both the trip length and mode choice significantly varies with regard to the SEWS in Vishakhapatnam. People belonging to the low and low middle SEWS group are more dependent on walking and travel shorter distances as compared to the middle high and very high SEWS group. Encouraging the middle high and very high SEWS group to travel short distances and use low carbon modes of transport will need interventions related to the development control regulations and infrastructure provision. Since SEWS is estimated using multiple variables and captures the consumption pattern of the households, therefore, it can be used as the proxy of income in travel behaviour studies.

Analysis of Factors Influencing the Usage of Seasonal Forecast in Drought Prone Area

This research aims to investigate the factors influencing the households in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Indonesia to use seasonal forecast issued by the Meteorological Office (BMKG) Indonesia. NTT is a highly vulnerable region to drought, and hence, understanding the weather and climate condition is a crucial issue. Household survey was conducted to interview 300 households in NTT asking about their intention to utilize the forecast information in supporting their livelihood. Furthermore, this research investigates whether the households characteristics influencing the intention. Using the Classification and Regression Tree (CART), we found that the intention to use forecast is dominantly influenced by age of the household head, ownership of household assets, main source of income, crop and livestock activities and water source for livestock.

Considering the benefits of hosting refugees: evidence of refugee camps influencing local labour market activity and economic welfare in Rwanda

This paper examines the influence of Congolese refugees on host communities in Rwanda, with a focus on labour market activity and economic welfare. The analysis takes advantage of newly collected survey data from three refugee camps and their surrounding areas to compare individuals and households within communities at various distances from, and therefore exposure to, the refugee population. We find evidence that residing close to a refugee camp makes it more likely that an individual is engaged in wage employment in comparison to farming or livestock production, representing a shift away from subsistence farming activities. In addition, there is evidence that females living nearby a camp have a higher occurrence of self-employment in business both as a primary and secondary activity, highlighting a notable gender-specific dynamic. Likewise, living in close proximity to a camp is associated with greater household asset ownership, benefiting both male- and female-headed households similarly, whereas no relationship is found in regard to ones’ subjective perception of their household’s economic situation. These generally encouraging results illustrate that refugees need not be a burden to their host societies, and their presence results in direct and indirect benefits.

LINKAGE BETWEEN INCOME DIVERSIFICATION AND ASSET OWNERSHIP IN RURAL HOUSEHOLDS OF YAYU WOREDA AND HURUMU WOREDA, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Rural households are engage in a variety of farm and non-farm activities based on initial assets endowments to diversify their income and cope with the risk of agricultural loss. This study was designed to assess linkage between income diversification and asset ownership among rural households in study area. Mult-stage sampling techniques were used to collect primary data from 237 farm households using semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were used to analyze the data. Tobit model was used to pinpoint factors that affect intensity of household income diversification and principal component analysis was used to index asset owned by households. The study shows that farm activities are the most important source of income for rural households in the study area contributing 90.92% of total households income with the remaining 9.08% originating from non-farm activities. A mean of income diversification index is 0.414(41.4%). Factors that affect intensity of household income diversification were: aggregate index of human capital, aggregate financial capital index and extension contact positively and membership in agricultural cooperative, sex of household heads and access to training negatively. In the study area generally, household asset ownership positively and significantly affected intensity of households income diversification and it has served as means for income diversification. Asset endowment needs to be considered by policy makers in the planning of agricultural and non-agricultural initiatives in the study area.

Disparities in Ownership of Household Assets among the Tribal Households in Himachal Pradesh

This paper was an attempt to analyse the distribution pattern of household assets and to assess the existing level of disparities in the ownership of household assets among the tribal households in Himachal Pradesh. For this purpose, the firsthand information is collected from 439 tribal households from all the seven community development block constituting the tribal belt of Himachal Pradesh with the help of multistage random sampling during 2013–14. The results showed that the value of household assets showed an increasing tendency with an increase in the size of holdings. The analysis highlighted that the distribution of the household assets among the tribal population in Himachal Pradesh is highly skewed and the disparities in the distribution of household assets are showing an increasing tendency with an increase in the size of land holdings. This paper will be helpful in carrying out further extensive analysis and showing a way to reduce the existing disparities in asset distribution in Himachal Pradesh.

Explaining travel behaviour with limited socio-economic data: Case study of Vishakhapatnam, India

Travel behaviour varies with respect to the income. Directly reported incomes used in the travel behaviour studies are subject to the issues of under and non-reporting. To account for this, we propose principal component analysis (PCA) on household asset ownership data to estimate socio-economic wellbeing score (SEWS) as the proxy of income. SEWS is used to understand the variation in travel behaviour of people belonging to different income groups in Vishakhapatnam. We have used sample data of 2623 households collected in 2012–2013. Internal coherency test and chi-square tests are conducted to assess the robustness of estimated SEWS.Travel behaviour analysis highlights that both the trip length and mode choice significantly varies with regard to the SEWS in Vishakhapatnam. People belonging to the low and low middle SEWS group are more dependent on walking and travel shorter distances as compared to the middle high and very high SEWS group. Encouraging the middle high and very high SEWS group to travel short distances and use low carbon modes of transport will need interventions related to the development control regulations and infrastructure provision. Since SEWS is estimated using multiple variables and captures the consumption pattern of the households, therefore, it can be used as the proxy of income in travel behaviour studies.

Analysis of social and economic aspects of management of marine and coastal resources based on EAFM (Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management) method in Banda Aceh City

The study was conducted from January to February 2018 located in Lampulo sub-district of Kuta Alam Banda Aceh, Kampung Jawa, Aceh Province. The method of data retrieval was taken from primary data (interview and questionnaire) and secondary data (from related institution and references). The sampling used was purposive sampling method with 15 respondents. Data analysis used was ordinal-based on liker score 1, 2, 3 to each indicator such as; economic domain, fishery household income (RTP), saving ratio and asset ownership, and social domain which is stakeholder participation, fishery conflict and local knowledge in management of fish resources. The overall average indicator scores are 2. The management of coastal and marine resources ecosystems in Banda Aceh city conducted precisely in Kampung Jawa, Lampulo village. The result showed that economic domain is classified with the acquisition of composite value 53.33, and social domain is classified very well with the composite value of 88.88.