Income-earning Activities Research Articles

In Pursuit of Children’s Education Abroad: China’s Middle-Class Families and Parental Flexibility in Transient Migration to Thailand

Abstract This article explores education-led migration among Chinese families who pursue international education for their children in Thailand. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, with data collected from 220 Chinese respondents to a survey and by means of 12 semi-structured interviews. The Chinese families emigrating from China to Chiang Mai in Thailand are representatives of the largely urbanized, well-educated middle-class families that today practice a circulatory transnational migration for the purpose of obtaining an education for their children. The findings show that compared with the conventional pathway of upper middle-class Chinese families emigrating to Western developed countries, middle-class Chinese families in Chiang Mai have adopted transient migratory practices for enhancing their children’s international education. The article discusses the childcare arrangements, division of parental responsibilities, income-earning activities, and desire for a good personal lifestyle among Chinese parents with children undergoing education in Chang Mai.

The role of daughters in relation to their mother’s cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment in Guatemala: a descriptive study

PurposeThere is currently no information on how caregivers for women diagnosed with cervical cancer in Guatemala, particularly daughters, are affected by their supportive role. This study’s objective was to describe the support role of caregivers in the country, with a focus on daughters with a mother diagnosed with cervical cancer.MethodsThis analysis utilizes data from a cross-sectional study which aimed to understand pathways to cervical cancer care. Women seeking cervical cancer treatment at the Instituto de Cancerologia (INCAN) in Guatemala City, Guatemala and their companions were surveyed. Descriptive statistics were calculated.ResultsOne hundred forty-five women seeking treatment and 71 companions participated in the study. Patient's daughters were most frequently reported as the person who provided the most support (51%) and as the most reported to have encouraged the patient to seek care. Furthermore, daughters were noted as the person most reported to fulfill the major household and livelihood roles of the patient while they were seeking or receiving treatment (38.0%). Most daughters reported that they were missing housework (77%), childcare (63%), and income-earning activities (60%) to attend the appointment with their mothers.ConclusionOur study suggests that in Guatemala cervical cancer patient's daughters have a significant support role in their mother’s cancer diagnosis. Furthermore, we found that while caring for their mothers, daughters in Guatemala are often unable to participate in their primary labor activities. This highlights the additional burden that cervical cancer has on women in Latin America.

Ecological aspects shaping child labour in Tanzania's artisanal and small-scale gold mines: A qualitative inquiry

BackgroundThis study describes factors promoting child labour in small-scale gold mines in rural Tanzania, a pernicious problem despite the country's adoption of laws and regulations intended to curb it. MethodsEmploying a phenomenological design, we collected qualitative data using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to describe factors promoting children's engagement in small-scale gold mining activities in three districts in Tanzania. Data analysis applied constructs from the ecological system theory. ResultsChild labour was reported to be common in the small-scale gold mines and abject household poverty was reported as the main factor pushing children to work in the mines because of their respective households’ inability to provide for their basic needs. Other underlying factors stated included divorce and family disintegration and limited diversification of income-earning activities. The migratory nature of artisanal mining led some miner parents to not prioritize the education of their children. Furthermore, peer pressure and parental influence, especially of mothers, promoted entry into mining or reinforced its continuation. Early socialisation of children as future miners and lack of perspective and societal expectations of other life trajectories contributed to persistent child labour within mining communities. At the government level, the study participants mentioned poor reinforcement of mining regulations as another factor that legitimised child labour in the mines. ConclusionSince factors promoting child labour in small-scale gold mines are multifaceted, efforts for its elimination require a multi-layered approach aimed at addressing the root-causes at the micro-, meso-, exo- and macro-level systems.

Farming Features of African Bonytongue Fish <i>Heterotis niloticus</i> in Cameroon, Central Africa

The characterization of African bonytongue Heterotis niloticus fish farming was conducted in the Bi-modal agro-ecological zone of Cameroon from January to May 2021, Thirty-two fish farmers were interviewed and SPSS 6.2 Version was used to analyse the data. The results showed that the majority of fish farmers (81%) are men above 51 years, all of whom are Christians with more than fifty percent of them married. About 43% of them have university level education, and more than 6% of them considered the farming of Heterotis niloticus as their main income-earning activity. The main objective of Heterotis niloticus farming is sales (50%) and the uses (56%) of waged labour. A majority of the farmers produced reared African bonytongue in a polyculture system and 65% of them raised Heterotis niloticus in derivation ponds.

Participation of Rural Women in Self Help Group activities in Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh

Self Help Groups (SHGs) are grass root level democratic institutions of rural people, which is primary socio-economic institution to foster the drive for change. The study was carried out in two selected blocks of Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh in the year 2019-20. 120 members from 30 well-functioning SHGs were considered as respondents for present research purpose. The finding indicates that mean time devotion for Agricultural Work among the SHG members was 3.78 hours followed by 3.64 hours and 3.18 hours of mean time were devoted by them for Labour work and SHG work. Majority of the SHG members (78.00%) were involved always in decision making regarding Health Care followed by 57.00, 50.00 and 45.00 per cent of them were involved always in decision making on Investment, Agriculture and Acquisition of Credit, respectively. It shows that 78.00 per cent of the SHG members were participated regularly in Selection of Office Bearers followed by 72.00, 60.00 and 53.00 per cent of them were participated always in Income Earning Activities, Regular Meetings, and Arrangement of Input, respectively. Majority of the respondents (71.67%) had medium level of overall participation in SHG activities followed by high (15.83%) and low (12.50%) level of overall participation. Active participation of individual SHG members in the interior organizational activities indicates their eagerness towards attainment of goals.

Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms in Elderly Individuals Living in Urban Communities.

BackgroundDepression is one of the most significant mental illnesses in the elderly population. Societal and economic changes in the social structure, particularly in urban communities, have led to a tendency toward depression in the elderly. Therefore, understanding the factors associated with depression among the elderly living in urban areas in Thailand is important to prevent and mitigate depression.ObjectiveTo investigate the proportion of depression and its associated factors in the elderly living in Bangkok.Materials and MethodsThis was a cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample size of 888 people living in Thai urban communities, including those in slum, urban, suburban, and high-rise building areas. A two-parts questionnaire was used: 1) the Thai Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS) to assess depression and 2) associated factors.ResultsThe overall percentage of depression in the sample population was 7.3%, and the proportion of depression was associated with community density (p = 0.031). The factors significantly associated with depression in the elderly included anxiety about an underlying disease [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 7.51; 95% CI 3.47–16.27], family conflict (AOR = 6.30; 95% CI 1.34–29.55), family history of psychiatric illness (AOR = 5.78; 95% CI 2.35–14.21), financial problems (AOR = 3.81; 95% CI 2.08–6.98), living separately from a spouse (AOR = 3.31; 95% CI 1.22–8.98), and less or no activity participation (AOR = 3.09; 95% CI 1.32–7.26 and AOR = 3.02; 95% CI 1.29–7.09).ConclusionTo mitigate depression in the elderly, attention should be given to any underlying medical disease. The community also should promote more activities accessible to the elderly, especially income-earning activities. These activities might promote better relationships or ease conflict among elderly and other family members.

Welfare impact of market participation: The case of rice farmers from wetland ecosystem in Bangladesh

Haor ecosystem of Bangladesh plays dual roles: local economic development through agricultural income-earning activities and preserve the environment. Smallholder haor farmers face a variety of challenges that confined their access to the market. This study was undertaken to examine the determinants of smallholder's market access that plays an important role in improving their welfare. Primary data were collected from 300 haor households from three districts, taking 100 from each district by applying a multistage random sampling technique. Heckman's two-stage model with exclusion restriction was used for reaching the objectives. The first-stage probit model indicated that members of an organization, extension contact, access to market information, access to credit, home to market distance, home to haor distance, road connectivity, irrigation facilities, duration of the waterlogged, and output price significantly influenced the market participation of the farmers. The OLS regression results revealed that family size, dependency ratio, farm size, access to credit, and off-farm income significantly influenced the household's per capita consumption expenditure as a result of market participation. The policy should be triggered on investing more in haor areas for improving rural physical infrastructure, which ensured year-round road connectivity and established links with markets. Furthermore, an increase in extension contact, market information systems, agricultural-related training, and promotion of farmer organization should be emphasized.

Can community service grants foster social and economic integration for youth? A randomized trial in Kazakhstan

Integrating youth into communities and labor markets is a major challenge for developing countries, and incentives for community service are an increasingly popular tool to achieve this goal. We use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the Kazakhstan Youth Corps (KYC), a program comprising cash grants for community service projects and life skills training, on social capital for a sample of youth aged 18–29. We find little evidence that engaging youth in civic service and training has any positive effects one year post-intervention; there is no shift in attitudinal indices of social capital and no reported increase in volunteering or donations. Moreover, there is no effect of the intervention on secondary outcomes (life skills and human capital), and some evidence of a negative effect of the training-only intervention on the probability of reporting any income-earning activity.

Does Size of Landholding Contributing Highest Share to Consumption Expenditure Inequalities among Agricultural Households?

This study aims to identify factors that contribute to consumption expenditure inequality and employed the regression based inequality decomposition (RBID) method. Used primary data on agricultural households’ consumption expenditure for the agricultural year 2018-19 in the south coastal region of Andhra Pradesh. The results compared across the landholding size wise category and concluded that monthly income, dependency ratio, non-farm income-earning members and size of household contributed highest percentage share to total inequality for food, non-food and total consumption expenditure. At the aggregate (overall farmers) level highest percentage of inequality share contributed by monthly income and followed by the size of landholding. There is a need to focus on control the size of households by narrowing the dependency ratio and enhance the monthly income of agricultural households by providing employment opportunities in both farm and non-farm income-earning activities.

English

Land degradation mainly caused by soil erosion, and shades an ominous threat to the livelihood development prospects of Ethiopian smallholder farmers. In response to this, the government of Ethiopia introduced a Sustainable Land Management Program (hereafter referred as ‘SLM’), even though the adoption by smallholder farmers has been low. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence the adoption of SLM practices choices using primary data collected from 200 smallholder farmers. Both descriptive statistics and Multivariate Probit model were applied. The multivariate probit model revealed that the main factors that positively and significantly influenced the decision of farmers to use these SLM practices are the household size, livestock holding size, amount of total income, level of education, the slope of farm plot, extension services and use of credit, the status of soil erosion hazard. However, distance to the nearest market had a negative and significant effect on adoption of SLM practices choices in the study area. The study recommended that the regional and local government should design various specific programs to resolve the constraints for scaling up and adopting the SLM practices through facilitating additional income-earning activities, encouraging the use of labor-saving technologies, promoting modern livestock production system, increasing farmers’ literacy level, promoting soil conservation techniques, widening the rural microfinance intuition services and establishing near market information provision center in the study area. Key words: Smallholder farmers, adoption, Sustainable Land Management (SLM), multivariate Probit, Abay Basin.

Food Crop Diversity, Women's Income-Earning Activities, and Distance to Markets in Relation to Maternal Dietary Quality in Tanzania

BackgroundWomen's dietary diversity and quality are limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Nutrition-sensitive interventions that promote food crop diversity and women's access to income could improve diets and address the double burden of malnutrition in LMICs. ObjectivesWe examined the associations among food crop diversity and women's income-earning activities with women's diet quality, as well as effect modification by access to markets, in the context of small-holder food production in rural Tanzania. MethodsData from a cross-sectional study of 880 women from Rufiji, Tanzania, were analyzed. Women's dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. The prime diet quality score (PDQS; 21 food groups; range, 0–42), a unique diet-quality metric for women that captures the healthy and unhealthy aspects of diet, was computed. Generalized estimating equation linear models were used to evaluate the associations of food crop diversity and women's income-earning activities with PDQS, while controlling for socio-economic factors. ResultsMaternal overweight (24.3%) and obesity (13.1%) were high. The median PDQS was 19 (IQR, 17–21). Households produced 2.0 food crops (SD ± 1.0) yearly. Food crop diversity was positively associated with PDQS (P < 0.001), but the association was strengthened by proximity to markets (P for interaction = 0.02). For women living close (<1.1 km) to markets, producing 1 additional food crop was associated with a 0.67 (95% CI, 0.22–1.12) increase in PDQS, versus a 0.40 (95% CI, 0.24–0.57) increase for women living farther away. The PDQS increased with women's salaried employment (estimate, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.26–1.67). ConclusionsHousehold food production may interact with access to markets for sales and purchases, while nonfarm income also improves women's diet quality in rural Tanzania. Programs to improve women's diet quality should consider improving market access and women's access to income (source of empowerment), in addition to diversifying production.

A Study on the Old-age Pension Beneficiaries who are engaged in Income-earning Activities

A Study on the Old-age Pension Beneficiaries who are engaged in Income-earning Activities

Changing Livelihoods in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa (2002–2016): Diminishing Employment and Expanding Social Protection

Despite long-standing patterns of agrarian change in South and Southern Africa, rural locales remain home to millions of people, characterised by widespread poverty and vulnerability. This is evident in South Africa’s former ‘homelands’, the site where this study examined changes in rural livelihoods over a 14-year period. Detailed survey data (collected in 2002 and 2016) from two villages in the Pondoland region of Eastern Cape province, and augmented by in-depth fieldwork, are analysed to explore the drivers of contemporary livelihood change. Key livelihood activities are examined, namely paid employment, social grant receipt, horticulture and livestock production, marine-resource and firewood harvesting. So too are changes within, and between, these diverse livelihood activities over time. Both monetised (income-earning) activities, and ‘unremunerated’ or unmonetised activities (for example, subsistence agriculture or marine-resource harvesting) are measured, aggregated and compared, in order to consider the drivers, consequences and prospective future trajectories of livelihood change. Key findings for impoverished households in the villages are that waged work has decreased significantly, while expanding social welfare provision has prevented plunges into deeper poverty. Agriculture and marine-resource harvesting remain dynamic, albeit unevenly engaged in by villagers. Amid these larger patterns, local-level variations are evident, with discrepant employment and agricultural production patterns across villages. The role of the state is ambiguous, being both a restrictor and enabler of local livelihoods. As jobs and other livelihood opportunities diminish, the villagers express frustration with the state, but remain simultaneously heavily reliant on state fiscal transfers, through grants and public employment schemes. The findings speak not only to the dynamics of rural livelihoods in South Africa’s former homelands; they also point to changes in rural dwellers’ livelihoods, within contexts of agrarian change, rural dispossession, inequality and receding prospects for employment, increasingly evident across the global south.

Microfinance and Peer Health Leadership Intervention Implementation for Men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A Qualitative Assessment of Perceived Economic and Health Outcomes.

Men in sub-Saharan Africa continue to experience health disparities that are exacerbated by low employment. This study qualitatively assessed men’s perceptions of the economic and health-care-seeking effects of participation in an integrated microfinance and peer health leadership intervention on violence and HIV risk reduction in Tanzania. Three focus group discussions with 27 men, aged 20 to 44 years, examined the perceived effects on income generation, employability, mental health, and uptake of HIV and related health services. All discussions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using deductive and inductive coding methods. Men reported that the benefits of the intervention included increased employability and income-earning activities due to greater access to entrepreneurial training, low-interest microfinancing, and male-oriented group supports to start or strengthen their businesses. Increased wages through business or other forms of employment were also attributed to men’s lower anxiety and distress as financial providers for their families. However, men indicated that apart from the uptake of free HIV testing services, there was limited change in overall health-care-seeking behavior given the high clinic fees and lost time to earn income when attending routine health visits. Men recommended that future microfinance and health promotion interventions provide larger loan amounts, less frequent repayment intervals, and access to health and social insurance. Microfinance and peer health leadership interventions may help to address economic and health disparities in poor, urban men. Efforts are needed to assist lower income men in accessing financial tools as well as fee-based preventive and health-care services.

Determinants of household use of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies in rural Ethiopia

The poor households living in low-income countries depend on traditional sources for basic energy service; which has a broader socio-economic and environmental adverse effect. To mitigate the problem policy measures were used to increase access to energy-efficient and renewable energy technology. However, there are few studies on demand-side particularly on the drivers of household joint technology adoption behavior. Against this backdrop, this paper examined the determinants of household behavior concerning the adoption decision of energy-efficient and renewable energy technology using cross-sectional data collected from 195 households in central Ethiopia. For identification, the generalized ordered probit model which is a more flexible discrete choice model was applied. The findings reveal that the richer the households, the more likely that they adopt both improved cookstoves and renewable energy technology because of the greater financial capacity to afford to pay the upfront cost of the technologies. Household size and assets such as landholding size and the number of cattle owned positively associated with the use of both technologies. Likewise, a high level of education attained by the head of the household likely reduces the likelihood of adoption of neither technology but increases the likelihood of adoption of renewable energy. Participation in off-farm income-earning activities likely increases the propensity to invest in renewable energy. Similarly, household membership in local cooperatives found to increase the propensity to invest in renewable energy technology. While access to credit found to increase the adoption of energy-efficient technology. The finding of this study implies that poverty reduction and education policies increase the propensity to invest in energy-efficient and renewable energy technology. Likewise, better access to credit, off-farm employment opportunities, and cooperatives are also important.

Managing livelihood risks: Income diversification and the livelihood strategies of households in pastoral settlements in Isiolo County, Kenya

Research in northern Kenya presents evidence that livestock herding remains the most important income activity for households in pastoral settlements, even though non-livestock income activities constitute a significant proportion of household income. This paper explores the socio-economic determinants of pastoral income diversification using rural household data collected from three pastoral settlement in Isiolo County, northern Kenya. This study is concerned with the patterns and determinants of participation in non-pastoral income-earning activities (NPIs), including emerging household strategies and their impact on pastoral livestock production with particular reference to household dependence on livestock income. The results show that the intensity and proportion of NPIs in household incomes are determined by household demographic factors and mobility status. This study concludes that the increase in NPIs that accompanies pastoral livestock production points to the growing importance of livelihood security derived from both managing pastoral livestock production risks and optimizing incentives for non-livestock livelihoods. This finding implies that NPIs are not a substitute for pastoral livelihood, at least not as the base livelihood, in the study area.

Female Faces in Informal ‘Spaces’: Women and Artisanal and Small-scale Mining in sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACTThis paper critically examines how women employed in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) – low-tech mineral extraction and processing – in sub-Saharan Africa could be affected by moves made to formalize and support their activities under the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), ‘Africa’s own response to tackling the paradox of great mineral wealth existing side by side with pervasive poverty’. One of the main goals of the AMV is Boosting Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, which requires signatories to devise strategies for ‘Harnessing the potential of small scale mining to improve rural livelihoods and integration into the rural and national economy’. Moves being made to achieve this, however, could have an adverse impact on many of the women working in ASM in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings from the literature and research being undertaken by the authors in Sierra Leone and Zambia suggest that whilst most women engaged in ASM in the region work informally and, as a result, face very challenging circumstances daily, many have adapted to their surroundings and now earn far more money than they would from any other income-earning activity. Governments must study these dynamics before taking action under the auspices of the AMV to formalize and support women in ASM.

Climate change adaptation in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania: women’s decision-making participation in small-scale farm households

This article estimates factors influencing the adoption of 18 household and individual-level adaptation practices among small-scale farmers in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania. Using a unique dataset of 343 married women, logistic regression analysis is used to examine adaptation practices ranging from agricultural to coping and livelihood diversification strategies. Specifically, we investigate the role of wives’ intrahousehold decision-making participation in adaptation decisions. Drawing on the literatures of intrahousehold bargaining and agricultural technology adoption, we argue that although extrahousehold factors are important determinants of households’ adaptation behaviour, adaptation outcomes can also be different when decided by husbands or by wives. We find that when wives are more involved in intrahousehold adaptation decision-making, they are also more likely to choose to be engaged in non-farm income-earning activities, and their households are more likely to plant cover crops and drought-resistant crops. We argue that in general Tanzanian smallholders’ adaptation options are limited and their intrahousehold bargaining sets relatively narrow, leaving little room for differing intrahousehold adaptation preferences, especially in the case of quasi-public household goods.

Women’s Experiences of Intimate Partner Economic Abuse in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Despite its prevalence, intimate partner economic abuse has received less scholarly attention in sub-Saharan Africa. Using qualitative enquiry, this study describes the experiences of economic abuse among 18 women in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Economic abuse occurred in a variety of forms, including extortion, denial of income-earning activity, and attempts to deny women’s economic independence and financial self-sufficiency. Findings point to the pervasiveness of economic abuse among both high- and low-income women. While economic dependency among nonworking women was associated with sexual violence, working and independent women experienced physical and emotional violence on questioning intimate partner’s economic abuse.

Income diversification of Chinese rural households after they rent out land

AbstractEconomic reforms in China have created opportunities for rural households pursue different types of livelihood strategies to source income from a combination of income-earning activities. A number of rural households rent out their land and choose income diversification strategies. It is speculated that these strategies might be closely interrelated, but proper statistical tests are lacking. Using China Family Panel Studies data, we identify influencing determinants of income diversification activities of Chinese rural households. This paper first examines the factors that determine the participation of farm households in one business activity, using three separate logit regressions. Seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression (SURBP) is used to examine the factors that determine the participation of farm households in two income activities, and investigates whether the participation in them influences one another. This paper uses a multivariate probit model (MVP) to reflect the fact that in p...