Household-level Data Research Articles

Impact of common interest group participation and aquaculture development programs on fish productivity and net returns: evidence from Nile tilapia farming

Development programs have intensified support for the aquaculture sector to improve production and productivity, as well as food security and diet quality for smallholder farmers. This paper examines the impact of farmers’ participation in Common Interest Groups (CIGs) and the effects of aquaculture development support programs on the net returns and productivity of tilapia fish in Kenya. The study used household-level data of 506 members of the CIG who were randomly selected for the treatment group and benefited from Aquaculture Business Development Program (ABDP) interventions. The analysis employed an endogenous switching regression model to account for selection bias. The results reveal that membership in CIGs and receiving fish production interventions have resulted in a 32.3% increase in tilapia fish sales returns and a 6.6% increase in tilapia fish yields. Specifically, ABDP interventions are aimed at providing fish producers with ponds and cages had a significant and beneficial effect on fish yields and income returns. This finding suggests that policies with targeted interventions that support aquaculture infrastructure can play a significant role in increasing the incomes of smallholder farmers and reducing rural poverty in Kenya.

Rural–urban analysis of parental time poverty and child over-nutrition in ghana

ABSTRACT This study examines the link between parental time poverty and child body mass index, prevalence of overweight and obsesity. The study relied on data from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS), a nationally representative household level data. Employing the standard instrumental variable (IV) to control for endogeneity indicates that parental time poverty is associated with a higher BMI z-score and higher likelihood of children being overweight and obese, particularly in rural Ghana. Additionally, there is evidence of heterogeneity in the effect of parental time poverty on the prevalence of children being overweight and obese based on income classification and gender. The implications of these findings suggest that interventions aimed at providing labor-saving technologies and improving social and physical environments in rural areas may help reduce parental time poverty and improve child nutrition outcomes.

Expenditure behaviour of pensioners: exploring differences between breadwinners and non-breadwinners

Abstract This article examines the expenditure behaviours of households headed by pensioners who are financially responsible for other household members. By analysing household-level consumption data from the Spanish Family Income Survey from 2018 to 2021, our findings reveal that pensioner-led households with dependents exhibit a 10.2 per cent reduction in total spending compared to pensioner-led households without dependents. Moreover, expenditure on durable and non-durable goods is lower by 10.4 and 8.8 per cent, respectively. We find no heterogeneous effects across income levels or with cohort-fixed effects.

The power of digitalization: A study of the effect of the digital economy on household energy poverty

Severe energy poverty is one of the major challenges hindering the achievement of sustainable development in developing countries, while the current rapid advances in the digital economy offer new ways to alleviate energy poverty, the household-level effects of which urgently need to be supported by more empirical research. Using Chinese household-level panel data from 2010 to 2020, we identify the causal effects of the digital economy on household energy poverty by employing the "Broadband China" pilot policy and applying the difference-in-differences (DID) method. Research shows that the digital economy can significantly mitigate household energy poverty, especially among low earning and low educational inputs households. Improving energy accessibility through increased Internet use and promoting energy affordability through increased employment and income are the main channels through which the digital economy can exert an energy poverty reduction effect. Moreover, welfare analyses indicate that the power of digitalization not only reduces household energy poverty, but also further enhances the residents' welfare and improves local carbon reduction welfare performance. This study will provide new ideas from the viewpoint of digital economy development to improve household energy poverty governance in developing countries.

Divergence in smoking and drinking trends: Results from age-period-cohort analytical approach

BackgroundSmoking has dropped substantially over time while alcohol consumption has increased. Understanding how smoking and drinking relate to age, time-period or birth cohorts may improve public health measures. MethodThe cross-sectional Continuous Household Survey in Northern Ireland provided bi-annual, household-level data on smoking and drinking from 1985 to 2015. An age-period-cohort approach was employed using 10-year age groups and 9 birth cohorts. A descriptive analysis of smoking and drinking by birth cohort was performed and supplemented by a joinpoint analysis. An Intrinsic Estimator model was used to examine behaviour patterns defined separately by age, time-period, and cohort. ResultsAge effects showed that smoking and drinking peaked during adolescence and young adulthood (relative risk (RR) of age 25–34 vs. all ages: RR smoking = 1.59, RR drinking = 1.61, p < 0.001), followed by a progressive subsequent decline with age. Distinct secular trends were observed whereby smoking decreased over time but non-abstinence rates in relation to alcohol consumption increased substantially from 1985 to 2015. Cohort effects in smoking and drinking suggested that Generation X (born around 1961–1980) appeared to have a slightly higher likelihood of smoking and drinking but this converged with other cohorts over time. ConclusionThe absence of similar policy efforts for alcohol as given to smoking may explain the divergence in secular trends of smoking and drinking. Targeting interventions towards adolescents and young adults may offer the best chance of reducing smoking and drinking prevalence. Cohort effects suggest the need for further research about the relationship between drinking and Northern Ireland's political history.

Digital literacy, relative poverty, and common prosperity for rural households

Digital transformation has emerged as a crucial driver of economic development, yet its impact on rural China's socioeconomic landscape remains understudied. This research investigates how digital literacy influences common prosperity and relative poverty in rural China using comprehensive household-level data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Through robust econometric analysis, including multiple regression models and structural equation modeling, we examine both the direct effects of digital literacy on household economic outcomes and its indirect effects through the mediating channel of relative poverty. Our findings demonstrate that a one standard deviation increase in digital literacy scores corresponds to a 12.3 % reduction in relative poverty and a 15.7 % increase in household income, with these effects amplified in China's western regions and among unmarried individuals. The results are robust to various model specifications and controls for potential endogeneity. By establishing the causal pathways between digital skills and economic well-being, this study provides empirical evidence for policymakers to design targeted interventions that leverage digital literacy as a tool for reducing rural-urban disparities. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on digital inclusion and suggest that investing in digital skills training could be a cost-effective strategy for promoting inclusive growth in rural China.

Holistic mapping of flood vulnerability in slums areas of Yaounde city, Cameroon through household and institutional surveys

Urbanization in major cities has resulted in increasing urban slum expansion. This, together with increased climate-change-driven hazards, and deplorable slum characteristics has led to considerably higher flood impacts in slum settlements. As such, there is a need for specialized flood vulnerability assessment tools that integrate features specific to the urban slums. Studies have consecrated efforts to integrated and multidimensional flood vulnerability studies. However, assessments that include social, economic, structural, and institutional realities of the slum settlements are rare in developing countries. This study comprehensively assessed the flood vulnerability in urban slums. It offers a simplified perspective of vulnerability in urban slums, capturing data from slum inhabitants, local councils, experts, and local NGOs since they often have profound insights into essential service availability, access, and quality within the study area. Utilizing data encompassing 40 indicators (exposure, susceptibility, and resilience), we assess the physical/structural, social, and economic/psychological vulnerability indices for slum households and the institutional vulnerability of 41 entities. Despite significant challenges of poor infrastructure and lack of basic disaster management tools, slum residents have developed recognizable strategies to overcome flooding. Institutions carrying out intervention activities in the slums were largely incompetent and plagued with challenges ranging from lack of technical know-how to access to funds and coordination. Finally, a significant gap exists between state efforts and the impacts of these efforts on the residents of these slums. These findings complement household-level data and provide an expanded understanding of vulnerability patterns, thus informing policymakers about interventions.

Intersecting social and environmental determinants of multidrug-resistant urinary tract infections in East Africa beyond antibiotic use

The global health crisis of antibacterial resistance (ABR) poses a particular threat in low-resource settings like East Africa. Interventions for ABR typically target antibiotic use, overlooking the wider set of factors which drive vulnerability and behaviours. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the joint contribution of behavioural, environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic factors associated with higher risk of multi-drug resistant urinary tract infections (MDR UTIs) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. We sampled outpatients with UTI symptoms in healthcare facilities and linked their microbiology data with patient, household and community level data. Using bivariate statistics and Bayesian profile regression on a sample of 1610 individuals, we show that individuals with higher risk of MDR UTIs were more likely to have compound and interrelated social and environmental disadvantages: they were on average older, with lower education, had more chronic illness, lived in resource-deprived households, more likely to have contact with animals, and human or animal waste. This suggests that interventions to tackle ABR need to take account of intersectional socio-environmental disadvantage as a priority.

IMPLICATIONS OF ADOPTING WATER POLICY AND CASTE ON MULTIDIMENSIONAL POVERTY: EVIDENCE FROM HOUSEHOLD-LEVEL DATA IN INDIA

This paper attempts to unravel the influence of caste on water poverty while examining the relationship between the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) and the modified water poverty index (MWPI). Additionally, considering the inevitable role of policies in combatting water woes, this paper analyses the impact of drinking water policies. The empirical results show that MWPI significantly impacts MPI, and caste significantly determines both MWPI and MPI. This study also found that drinking water policies significantly influence MWPI and indirectly impact MPI through MWPI.

Growth, Poverty, and Food Policy in the Philippines: Lessons for the Post-COVID-19 Era

The Philippine economy’s growth has accelerated since 2010, outperforming its Asian peers in the current decade. However, poverty reduction is comparatively weak in response to growth, suggesting that growth has been less inclusive than expected. Poverty in the Philippines is still largely a rural phenomenon despite the country’s rapid urbanization. Our primary objective is to reexamine how much the national food policy has influenced the poverty-reducing effects of economic growth using the more recent national household-level data from 2000 to 2021. The longer-term data, including a period of mobility relaxation following long lockdowns upon the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, allow us to revisit the growth-poverty conundrum in the Philippines. We focus on the more recent decade of relatively sustained growth compared to earlier studies on the subject. We use Engel food shares as a proxy for household welfare and consider the differential welfare effects of food price changes across segments of the population. We show that economic growth in recent years would have been strongly pro-poor if not for the misguided set of policy tools chosen to achieve the food self-sufficiency goal. The government’s move to dismantle the quantitative restriction regime on rice imports in favor of tariffs is a step in the right direction.

Determinants of under-five mortality in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya from 2002 to 2018

BackgroundChildhood mortality persists as a significant public health challenge in low and middle-income countries and is uneven within countries, with poor communities such as urban informal settlements bearing the highest burden. There is limited literature from urban informal settlements on the risk factors of mortality. We assessed under-five mortality and associated risk factors from the period 2002 to 2018 in Nairobi urban informal settlements.MethodsWe used secondary data from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS), a longitudinal surveillance platform that routinely collects individual and household-level data in two informal settlements (Viwandani and Korogocho) in Nairobi, Kenya. We used Kaplan-Meier curves to estimate overall survival and the Cox proportional hazard model with a frailty term to evaluate the impact of risk factors on survival time.ResultsOverall under-five survival rate was 96.8% and this improved from 82.6% (2002-2006) to 95% (2007-2012) and 98.4% (2012-2018). There was a reduced risk of mortality among children who had BCG vaccination, those born to a married mother or a mother not engaging in any income-generating activity (both from 2007 to 2011), children from singleton pregnancy, children born in Viwandani slum and ethnicity of the child.ConclusionUnder-five mortality is still high in urban informal settlements. Targeted public health interventions such as vaccinations and interventions empowering women such as single mothers, those with multiple pregnancies, and more impoverished slums are needed to further reduce under-five mortality in urban informal settlements.

Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Pediatric Aquaporin-4-Positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder

BackgroundOnly 5% of aquaporin-4-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4+ NMOSD) cases emerge during childhood. Poorer outcomes have been suggested in black/African American (AA) adults with NMOSD; however, conflicting and limited data exist for pediatric-onset NMOSD. This study evaluates racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in pediatric AQP4+ NMOSD outcomes. MethodsThirty-eight pediatric patients with AQP4+ NMOSD cared for at three pediatric tertiary care centers between 2009 and 2021 were identified. Patient addresses connected to socioeconomic measures available from the US Census. Demographic characteristics, pertinent clinical outcomes, and health care utilization in the two years following diagnosis were captured. ResultsCompared with non-Hispanic White children, Black/AA children had a significantly higher Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (2.46 vs 0.33, P = 0.003), 2.37 more hospital admissions (P = 0.002), and 28.40 additional inpatient days (P = 0.002) in the two years following their NMOSD diagnosis. Additionally, children with public insurance had higher relapse rates than those with private insurance (P = 0.046). At two years and at the most recent follow-up, a significantly higher EDSS was correlated with children living in census tracts with a lower median income, higher deprivation index, and higher proportion of population on assisted income, in poverty, and with vacant housing (all P < 0.05). ConclusionsWe identified racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in clinical outcomes and health care utilization in pediatric AQP4+ NMOSD. Further prospective and household-level data are needed to dissect the interplay of genetics, structural racism, and social determinants of health so that interventions to optimize care and outcomes for this population may be developed.

Understanding consumption and purchase of tap water and diverse tap-alternative drinking water sources in Detroit, Michigan

ABSTRACT Several gaps remain in understanding individuals' water consumption reliance outcomes in disadvantaged communities. We utilize a cross-sectional sample of household-level survey data from predominantly low-income, minoritized households in Detroit, MI, to examine the relationship between tap and tap-alternative drinking water consumption and purchase behavior. We collected survey data from one English-speaking adult per household in May–October 2021 (n = 259). Consistent with past studies, tap water consumption is negatively correlated with single-use bottled water consumption and consuming drinking water from multiple sources. We also find tap distrust is correlated with tap-alternative water consumption, yet there is a surprising positive relationship between tap and overall bottled water consumption levels. Very low-income households were more likely to rely on bottled water and multiple other water sources simultaneously. Female respondents reported lower levels of most types of water consumption. Black respondents reported lower tap water and bottled water consumption but had higher levels of other tap-alternative source consumption. Our results call into question whether higher tap water consumption is synonymous with tap trust or with reduced bottled water consumption. Public health interventions must further address high levels of bottled water consumption among low-income individuals, and low tap water consumption among Black individuals.

Inequalities in Water Insecurity in Kenya: A Multidimensional Approach

Water insecurity is a global concern likely to be compounded by increases in population and climate change. Existing water insecurity measurement methods capture multidimensional deprivation only at regional or sub-regional levels. Such estimates do not capture heterogeneous household experiences of water supply, proximity to water sources and affordability, which can vary substantially from regional averages. Accurate measurement requires a method that captures the incidence and intensity of a household’s simultaneous deprivation in dimensions of water accessibility, affordability, sufficiency and safety. We propose such a method and assess related inequalities using an approach analogous to the Alkire–Foster methodology for multidimensional poverty. Using household-level data from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2015/16, we find that 63% of the Kenyan population experience multiple deprivation in water access. The dimensions of water affordability and sufficiency contribute most to multidimensional water insecurity, highlighting the need to ensure an adequate supply of affordable water. Disparities by household place of residence, dwelling type, and socio-economic status are evident. The estimates of multidimensional water insecurity are robust to different deprivation and poverty cutoffs. Our analysis is an invitation to rethink water insecurity metrics, allowing water deprivation to be measured more frequently and with greater precision to understand its impact clearly.

Effect of environmental regulation on sustainable household waste management in Nigeria

Nigeria's 2009 environmental regulatory policy began to restrict illegal household trash disposal, introducing trash bins in many, but far from all, areas. This paper uses national household-level data to estimate the immediate effects of the national policy and geographically heterogeneous facility improvement. The largest increase in the share of households opting for sustainable disposal occurred in “emerging areas” that historically lacked trash bins but began to introduce them under the new policy. In areas without facility improvement but were otherwise comparable to emerging areas, the policy alone failed to enhance the share of households choosing the use of contained dumpsites.

Engagement and Communication Challenges for a Complex, Multi-nation Research Project: AD|ARC (Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection)

The Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection (AD|ARC) is a complex research project involving four nations, a mixture of business-level, household-level and person-level data, and diverse partners, stakeholders and audiences. The project is creating independent but comparable Research Ready Datasets, using linked data for farm businesses, farmers and farm families in the four UK nations. The engagement and communications workstream is crucial to build trust, inform the programme of work, support and enhance scientific objectives, and deliver high-quality, relevant findings that meet stakeholder and funder expectations. The project deployed a bespoke engagement and communications framework to meet these objectives. This presentation shares key elements of AD|ARC project's engagement and communications framework and strategy: Multi-region Approach: Balancing the need for a harmonised, federated resource with respecting regional differences in data, trusted research environments, and stakeholder perspectives. Transparency and Trust: Engaging diverse stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, and policymakers, to build trust, support and legitimacy. Collaborative Decision-Making: Interacting with diverse partners, (data owners, researchers, research subject representatives) to refine research questions. Outreach and Dissemination: A multi-method, iterative approach to raise awareness, share and promote the project. Results are demonstrated by success in being selected as an ADR UK Flagship Dataset; integrating diverse perspectives into the creation of comparable Research Ready Datasets; consensus on a research programme; useful learning which is incorporated into strategy; and actionable evidence to inform policymaking. The presentation will reflect on lessons learned, drawing out implications for research and public engagement that could apply to any complex research project.

The sweet burden: Does homeownership improve the economic status of households?

This study utilizes household-level micro survey data from China to investigate the impact of homeownership on the economic status of households and the underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal that homeownership does not enhance the economic status of households. This outcome may be attributed to the inherent immobility of housing as a physical asset and the substantial financial pressure imposed by housing loans, leading to a “housing mortgage slave effect” and reduced job mobility among homeowners. These conclusions remain robust after accounting for endogeneity issues and preforming a series of robustness checks. Moreover, the study finds that homeownership is significantly and negatively associated with changes in the economic status of households without intergenerational financial support, whereas it has no significant effect on those without such support. This suggests that financial supports can alleviate the burden of mortgage debt, therefore mitigating the adverse relationship between homeownership and changes in household economic status.

Time-varying relative risk aversion: Theoretical mechanism and empirical evidence

This paper explores the issue of understanding time-varying relative risk aversion with household-level data on two classical portfolio choice problems. First, we derive an analytic form solution to a parsimonious portfolio choice model with the preference given by Greenwood, Hercowitz and Huffman (1988, GHH), and then, the solution identifies four partial equilibrium effects in our model with the GHH preference on risky shares through two channels and two net effects whose signs hinge on the value of a key structural parameter. Based on household-level data, our empirical results from both mean and quantile regression models show clearly that wealth negatively affects risky shares and the estimated effects are statistically significant and robust, which is in line with the theory. Finally, we show that the GHH preference alone is not sufficient in explaining how risky shares respond to labor income in the household-level data.

Systematic Study of Battery Electric Vehicle Ownership in England

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) form a big part of the UK’s agenda for decarbonizing road transport. Although there have been various policies such as purchase grants and vehicle tax exemptions, the BEV penetration rate in the UK was only 2.5% in September 2023. Most research analyzing electric vehicle (EV) ownership in the UK is either based on stated preference survey data or includes plug-in hybrid vehicles in the analysis because of the sparsity of BEV ownership data; there is limited research based on household revealed preference (RP) data. This paper develops a BEV ownership model using RP household-level data from England to discover influential factors, to validate the findings in the literature, or both. Specifically, this paper uses the subset of the UK National Travel Survey (NTS) special license data to estimate a series of binary logit models of BEV ownership as a function of several sociodemographic, regional, and temporal factors, and discusses the related policy implications. Household income, multivehicle ownership (resulting from range anxiety), and overnight parking on street (resulting from insufficient public charging infrastructure) are influential factors found in this study that align with previous studies. On the other hand, households with a mortgage loan, geographical attributes (such as population density), and household composition (e.g., number of adults and children) are new factors identified in this study. We also present a future BEV ownership prediction model for regions of England which clearly suggests that improving public charging infrastructure, especially in the north, is required to achieve widespread growth in BEV ownership.

Unveiling the effects of energy poverty on mental health of children in energy-poor countries

While existing literature extensively investigates the adverse effects of energy poverty on physical health, exploring its impacts on the mental well-being of school-aged children (5–14 years old) remain underexplored, particularly in the energy-deprived regions of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This research aims to bridge this gap by delving into the indirect pathways through which energy poverty influences the mental health of these children, explicitly examining anxiety and depression, with a particular focus on child abuse as a potential mediating factor. This study employs comprehensive data at both the country level, covering 52 energy-poor nations from 2000 to 2019, and the household level, covering 18 energy-poor nations. This study utilizes a two-step system generalized method of moment approach to unveil the significant relationships between energy poverty and heightened levels of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the study employs advanced statistical methods to analyze household-level data, including multilevel logistic regression, Probit instrumental regression models, and mediation analysis. These analyses confirm a robust association between energy poverty and an increased likelihood of anxiety and depression among school-aged children. The study also uncovers a concerning link between energy poverty and child abuse, emphasizing its role as a contributing factor to adverse mental health outcomes in children. The findings of this study offer critical insights for policymakers, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions and policies aimed at alleviating the adverse mental health effects of energy poverty on children. By addressing this issue, policymakers can contribute to fostering children's overall well-being and development in energy-poor regions.