Income Position Research Articles

Childhood socioeconomic differences in type 2 diabetes: longitudinal results of The Maastricht study

Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease that disproportionally affects disadvantaged groups. People with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) have an increased risk of developing T2DM. Knowing the potential influence of early life on T2DM risk later in life, this study aims to examine longitudinal associations between childhood SEP and type 2 diabetes, independent of adult SEP. Methods Longitudinal data was used from 6,727 participants of The Maastricht Study without T2DM at baseline (participants with prediabetes were included in the study sample). T2DM status was determined by a standardized oral glucose test. Sample mean (SD) age was 58.7 (8.7) years and 55.2% was female. Childhood SEP was determined by the highest level of completed education for father and mother and a measurement for childhood income inadequacy. Adult SEP was determined by the highest completed level of education, equivalent household income and occupational position. Incident T2DM was self-reported yearly. Associations were studied annually over a 12-year period (median (IQR) 8.2 (4.9) years) with Cox regression analyses. Results A total of 247 participants (3.7%) without T2DM at baseline reported incident T2DM. Incident T2DM was more common in people with low childhood SEP versus high childhood SEP (4.5% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.008) and for people with low adult SEP versus high adult SEP (5.2% vs. 2.1%, p < 0.001). The impact of parental education on incident T2DM is mitigated by adult SEP. Childhood income inadequacy did predict T2DM independently of adult SEP, with a HR of 1.22 (1.01, 1.45). Conclusions Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood and adulthood are both predictive for incident T2DM. Experiencing income inadequacy in childhood increases the risk of developing T2DM in later life, independent of adulthood SEP. More attention is needed for deprivation in childhood and its impact on T2DM. Key messages • People who have experienced income inadequacy as a child have a higher risk of developing T2DM in later life, independent of their adult SEP. • More attention and research is needed for the impact of childhood poverty on developing T2DM in later life.

Does redistribution affect cooperation and trust?

We experimentally investigate the degree to which redistribution, the act of taking money from some individuals and giving it to others, affects social capital in groups. We measure social capital as the degree to which group members exhibit cooperativeness, trust and trustworthiness toward one another. Our experiment involves several rounds of real-effort production, in which we vary the degree to which individual income is redistributed at the end of each round according to either progressive or regressive redistributive policies. We find no statistically significant impacts of such experience with redistribution on any of our primary measures of social capital. Exploratory work considering heterogeneous impacts by relative income positions and using alternative measures of social capital also yields no reliable impacts. We observe some impacts of redistribution on productivity.

THE INFLUENCE OF INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM LICENSED SPECIALIZED BANKS IN SRI LANKA

As the knowledge-based economy developed, businesses transformed their emphasis from physical to intellectual capital. Numerous studies have looked into how intellectual capital affects a company's value. The study's goal is to investigate, from 2010 to 2022, the connection between five licensed specialized banks' financial performance and their intellectual capital. The statements of comprehensive income and financial position for the pertinent years were the main sources of the data that were collected from the banks' annual reports available on their individual websites. The study's results were analysed and secondary quantitative data screened using EViews version 9 statistical software. The value-added intellectual coefficient method was used to measure the banks' performance based on their intellectual capital. The return on equity and return on assets are two indicators of the bank's performance. The value of intellectual capital was analyzed in three categories: structural, intellectual, and physical. Both simple and multiple regression techniques were used to assess the effect of intellectual capital on equity and assets. The study found a significant correlation between the value-added intellectual coefficient, its components, and financial performance. In both multiple regression models, the structural capital efficiency was statistically insignificant but positively correlated. Both multiple regression models showed statistical insignificance and negative correlation for the capital employed efficiency. Human capital efficiency was statistically significant and positively correlated in both multiple regression models. The most crucial value-added intellectual coefficient factor for generating value in Sri Lankan specialty banks operating in the banking industry is human capital efficiency. Additionally, this study will give stakeholders and possible investors some information to evaluate the value-creating potential of particular banks. The findings of the study help to increase decision-makers' understanding of the importance of intellectual capital as a crucial element that can enhance a business's ability to maintain its competitive position. This study is the first to examine the impact of intellectual capital on the financial performance of Sri Lankan licensed specialized banks through 2023. The study emphasizes how critical it is to investigate the relationship between intellectual capital and the banking industry's financial performance in greater detail.

The impact of digital financial development on rural household income mobility

We explore the mechanisms through which the development of digital finance affects income mobility among rural households. By synthesizing existing literature and empirical data, this paper finds that digital financial development significantly enhances income mobility among rural households, leading to improved income growth and position. Furthermore, developing digital finance promotes entrepreneurial activities among low-income households, thereby enhancing income mobility.

Exploring Challenges Faced by Teenage Mothers: A Comprehensive Analysis

The study examines growingly prevalent situation of teenage pregnancy and maternity, focusing on emergent social, economic, and health dimensional issues. The research is given in a careful analysis of global and regional trends, which showed a high rate of teenage births in industrialized countries, with four countries, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, being at the top of the list. Sub-Saharan Africa is currently under the lightning of teenage mothers' pregnancy which is a result of the early marriage and fertility customs of the region. The health concerns of teenage parenthood obviously are immediate, but can also influence the educational attainment, economic prosperity and marital patterns in future. While the newly conducted experiments show a gradual and narrowing in disparity in students' performance, the hurdles of income position and employment opportunities setbacks for young mothers have a narrowing in the labor share and the economic welfare. In the study the health outcomes of adolescent mothers have been a focus point and the program talked about the impacts of poverty and bad prenatal care. Evaluation of the "sexuality" and the "pregnancy-reduction" programs published different levels of effectiveness, the need for integrated and multi-dimensional strategies to parent’s real concerns. Summing up, this particular research serves as a platform to share challenges that teenage mothers face and hence formulating an intelligent system which serves as a guide for targeted interventions necessary for reducing the fundamental consequences of teenage motherhood in a society and among individuals. Keywords: Fourier analysis, Modern World, Social Impact, Education, Life Status and Measures of Prevention.

Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Academic Performance A Gender-Based Study among University Students

The study examined the effect of gender and socioeconomic characteristics on the academic performance of university students, as measured by their academic scores. The study aimed to i) examine the socioeconomic factors affecting undergraduates, ii) investigate the academic performance of undergraduates, and iii) analyze the comparative impact of socioeconomic factors on the academic scores of undergraduates. Data from 480 students enrolled in the BS program at three selected universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was collected using a questionnaire that investigated the socioeconomic status of their parents. The data analysis indicated that factors such as parental qualifications, parental income, parental work type, and the family's social position do not influence academic performance based on gender. Regardless of parents’ social class, the quality of learning facilities impacts student’s academic success, indicative of parents’ involvement in the studies. It is suggested to provide scholarships and establish assistance programs aimed at enhancing the academic performance of undergraduates whose parents possess fewer resources due to poor income and job positions.

Evaluating the Distributive Incidence of Growth Using Cross‐sections and Panels

We study decennial anonymous and non‐anonymous growth incidence curves in the United States during the past 50 years. The former show income growth by quantile independent of initial incomes and are typically upward sloping, reflecting increasing inequality. The latter are conditional on initial ranks and are flat or downward sloping. This suggests distributional neutrality of growth when accounting for initial income positions. We explain this difference by decomposing the non‐anonymous curves into mobility and shape components. The former is always downward sloping, whereas the latter is upward sloping in periods of increasing inequality. Thus, flat non‐anonymous curves can be observed even with increasing inequality. We exploit the decomposition to show that the slope of non‐anonymous curves in the United States is determined by the evolution of cross‐sectional income distributions. This enables inferring the shape of non‐anonymous curves from cross‐sectional data and test them for a generalized pro‐poorness social welfare criterion.

Social benefits for European Union immigrants? A survey experiment on misperceptions

Using new experimental panel data for Germany, I investigate the role of income misperceptions for welfare restrictive preferences toward European Union immigrants. A majority of respondents misperceive their relative income position in Germany and the European Union and demand that European Union immigrants work and pay taxes before obtaining equal rights to social benefits. Randomized treatments inform subjects about their position in the national and European Union income distribution. My results provide evidence that welfare restrictive preferences are formed in the context of misperceived own income positions: Respondents become more welfare restrictive when they learn about a higher national or lower European Union income position. Information about European Union misperceptions has a persistent treatment effect after 3 months, driven by respondents with larger initial misperceptions, but becomes insignificant after one year.

The distributive politics of the green transition: a conjoint experiment on EU climate change mitigation policy

ABSTRACT In the fight against climate change, the European Union has developed a new growth strategy to transform Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To support EU member states in their transition towards greener economies, climate change mitigation policies are being implemented at the EU-level. However, such policies can be designed in different ways, and gaining citizens’ support is crucial for the political feasibility of the European green transition. Drawing on data from an original conjoint experiment conducted in Germany (N = 5,796), this article investigates how policy design shapes public support for EU climate change mitigation. To this end, the study theoretically and empirically distinguishes four policy dimensions that address the distributive politics of the European green transition: sectoral scope, social spending, financing structure and cross-country distribution. The results confirm that all four policy dimensions significantly impact public support. Specifically, the study reveals that support is greatest for EU policy packages that target financial support at the renewable energy sector, include social investment policies, are financed by increasing taxes on the rich, and distribute resources across EU member states based on population size. Furthermore, citizens’ sensitivity to the policy design varies slightly by income position, left-right ideology and climate attitudes.

The three eras of global inequality, 1820–2020 with the focus on the past thirty years

The paper reestimates global inequality between 1820 and 1980, reappraises the results up to 2013, and presents new inequality estimates for 2018. It shows that historically, global inequality has followed three eras: the first, from 1820 until 1950, characterized by rising income differences both between and within countries; the second, from 1950 to the last decade of the 20th century, with very high global and between-country inequality; and the current one of decreasing inequality thanks to the rise of Asian incomes, and especially so Chinese. The present era has seen the emergence of the global “median” class (people with per capita annual incomes ranging between $PPP 3,000 and $PPP 5,000) and the greatest reshuffling in income positions between the West and China since the Industrial Revolution. Absolute income differences in the past 30 years have however increased, and the income gap between the “core” and the poor “periphery” (if China is excluded) remains large: the ratio between median income in the core and periphery in 2018 exceeds 8 to 1 in PPP terms, and 22 to 1 in nominal dollars. The evolution of global inequality in the future will much more depend on what happens to the growth rates and inequality in India and large African countries than on China, as well as on the negative impact of climate change.

Binary-Tree-Fed Mixnet: An Efficient Symmetric Encryption Solution

Mixnets are an instrument to achieve anonymity. They are generally a sequence of servers that apply a cryptographic process and a permutation to a batch of user messages. Most use asymmetric cryptography, with the high computational cost that this entails. The main objective of this study is to reduce delay in mixnet nodes. In this sense, this paper presents a new scheme that is based only on symmetric cryptography. The novelty of this scheme is the use of binary graphs built by mixnet nodes. The root node collects user keys and labels without knowing their owners. After feeding each node by its graph, they can establish a random permutation and relate their keys to the incoming batch positions through labels. The differences with previous symmetric schemes are that users do not need long headers and nodes avoid the searching process. The outcomes are security and efficiency improvements. As far as we know, it is the fastest mixnet system. Therefore, it is appropriate for high-throughput applications like national polls (many users) or debates (many messages).

Unequal perspectives? Income inequality as a benchmark for support for European integration

Despite growing attention to income inequality in debates about European integration, our understanding of its effect on European Union support remains limited. Using European Social Survey data from 2002 to 2020, we analyse how income inequality and pro-redistribution attitudes shape diffuse and specific forms of support for the European Union. We find no direct effect of country-level income inequality, while individual support for redistribution has a negative effect on both. In line with benchmarking theory, inequality emerges as a contextual moderator: in unequal national settings, egalitarian citizens are comparatively more supportive of further integration than in more equal countries. This effect persists when we control for income position, suggesting an ideological rather than utilitarian basis for benchmarking European Union attitudes. We discuss implications in light of debates about a social Europe.

Factors Affecting Parents’ Choice of Early Childhood Education in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study

In Hong Kong, children’s education has become an increasingly important issue for families; parents prefer to provide their children with early childhood education because it is vital for children’s comprehensive development and lifelong learning (Cheung, 2019). While previous studies have focused on the influence of parents’ socio-demographic factors and institutional factors on parents’ choice of early childhood education in Hong Kong (Fung & Lam, 2011; Yuen & Grieshaber, 2009), few studies have looked into other factors such as birth order position of the child within the family and length of residency in Hong Kong. This quantitative research aims to investigate factors affecting parents’ choice of early childhood education in Hong Kong. This paper summarizes factors that parents are concerned with while choosing a school, including parents’ socio-demographic factors and institutional factors. Birth order position of the child within the family and length of residency in Hong Kong are also analyzed in this study. The sample consisted of 2000 parents whose children received or are enrolling in early childhood education in Hong Kong. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire; descriptive analysis was used to analyze the socio-demographic characteristics of sampling, and chi-square test and binary logistic regression were carried out to identify factors affecting parents’ choice of early childhood education in Hong Kong. The statistical results reveal that family monthly income and birth order position of the child within the family are main factors affecting parents’ choice, and school hardware and school background have a slightly significant trend with parents’ choice of early childhood education in Hong Kong.

Analisis Pengaruh Risiko Pasar, Risiko Kredit, Risiko Likuiditas dan Risiko Operasional terhadap Kinerja Keuangan Perbankan pada Bank Pembangunan Daerah

Profitability is the bank's ability to gain profits through efficient use of assets. High bank profitability shows good bank performance. This research aims to determine the effect of Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR), Non-Performing Loans (NPL), Operational Costs, Operating Income (BOPO), and Net Open Position (PDN) on Profitability as measured by Return on Assets (ROA) of Regional Development Banks (BPD) in Indonesia. This research took a sample of BPDs that had complete annual financial reports at the Financial Services Authority for the 2018-2021 period, namely 10 BPDs. Panel data regression analysis (combination of cross section and time series) Random Effect Model. The research results show that LDR has a positive and significant effect on ROA as hypothesized by theory. Likewise, BOPO has a negative and significant effect on ROA as hypothesized by theory. Meanwhile, NPL and PDN do not have a significant effect on ROA. This can be interpreted as meaning that the risk has less influence on BPD's operations as a regional government banking bank.

Misperceptions, Income Positions, and Attitudes Toward EU Inequality: A Cross-Country Survey Experiment

AbstractWe examine the relationship between misperceptions, income positions, and attitudes toward inequality at the supranational level of the EU. Conducting surveys in four EU member states (Germany, Italy, Poland, and Sweden), we confirm that Europeans misperceive their own income position in the EU. Once we account for these misperceptions, we find for all four countries that the lower their income rank, the more citizens assess EU income differences as unjust and are supportive of an EU minimum wage. When we inform a randomized subsample about their misperceived EU income position, those who learn that they are richer than they initially thought assess EU income differences as less unjust. The experiment unveils differences across countries: The general result is driven by respondents in Italy, Poland, and Sweden, whereas information on income misperceptions has opposing effects in Germany. This difference in the treatment reactions of the Germans is very robust and cannot be explained by their identification with the EU, trust in the EU, altruistic motives, political orientation, or socio-demographics.

Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the Netherlands: A nationwide registry-based study

Abstract Introduction By September 2022, uptake of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the Dutch adult population was 84%. Ecological studies indicated lower uptake in certain population groups. We aimed to investigate determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the Netherlands at individual level to evaluate and optimize implementation of the vaccination programme and generate hypotheses for research on drivers and barriers of vaccination. Methods A retrospective database study was performed including the entire Dutch population >18 years. Vaccination data (5 January 2021-18 November 2021) were at individual level linked to sociodemographic data. Voting proportions for political parties were added at neighbourhood level. Random forest analyses ranked sociodemographic determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Results The most important determinant for COVID-19 vaccine uptake was age; uptake increased until the age of 80 (67% in 18-35 years, 92% in 67-79 years and 88% in those >80). Personal income and socioeconomic position ranked second and third, followed by migration status. Uptake was lower in individuals in the lowest income group (69%), receiving social benefits (56%), and individuals with two parents born abroad (59%). Conclusions Our finding that age is the most important determinant for uptake likely reflects the prioritisation of elderly in the programme and the general understanding of their increased vulnerability. However, our findings also reveal important other disparities in vaccine uptake. Lower uptake was found in individuals with lower income, lower socioeconomic status and a migration background. How to best address these inequalities for future vaccination campaigns requires further research. Key messages • COVID-19 vaccination likely contributed to increasing health inequity in the Netherlands. • Targeting vaccination efforts towards elderly aiming to maximise the impact of vaccination in reducing the burden of COVID-19 seems to be effective.

Taxed fairly? How differences in perception shape attitudes towards progressive taxation

Abstract Empirically, the poor are more likely to support increases in the level of tax progressivity than the rich. Such income-stratified tax preferences can result from differences in preferences of what should be taxed as argued by previous literature. However, it may also result from income-stratified perceptions of what is taxed. This paper argues that the rich perceive higher levels of tax progressivity than the poor and that tax perceptions affect individuals’ support for progressive taxation. Using data from an Austrian survey experiment, we test this argument in three steps: First, in line with past research, we show that individuals’ income positions are connected to individuals’ tax preferences as a self-interest rationale would predict. However, second, we show that this variation is mainly driven by income-stratified tax perceptions. Third, randomly informing a subset of the sample about actual tax rates, we find that changing tax perceptions causally affects support for redistributive taxation among those who initially overestimated the level of tax progressivity. Our results indicate that tax perceptions are relevant for forming tax preferences and suggest that individuals are more polarized in their perceptions of who pays how much taxes than in their support for who should pay how much tax.

State international income position, trade openness, and mass antigovernment protests

This research provides a state-level systemic explanation for antigovernment insurgencies. We posit that state international income position influences antigovernment movements, which effect, however, hinges on the level of trade openness. By analyzing 157 states from 1990 through 2018, it is found that for a state having an unclosed market, its internationally relative income level is negatively associated with mass antigovernment protests. This study implies that trade liberalization may exert a context-specific impact on domestic political insurgency, which helps understand why trade liberalization seems to be a reason for mass anti-government movements in some contexts while enhancing a regime in other cases.

Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in The Netherlands: A Nationwide Registry-Based Study.

By September 2022, the uptake of at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the Dutch adult population was 84%. Ecological studies have indicated a lower uptake in certain population groups. We aimed to investigate determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the Netherlands at individual level to evaluate and optimize implementation of the vaccination program and generate hypotheses for research on drivers of, and barriers to, vaccination. A retrospective database study was performed including the entire Dutch population ≥ 18. Vaccination data (5 January 2021-18 November 2021) were at individual levels linked to sociodemographic data. Random forest analyses ranked sociodemographic determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The most important determinant was age; uptake increased until the age of 80 (67% in 18-35 years, 92% in 67-79 years, and 88% in those > 80). Personal income and socioeconomic position ranked second and third, followed by migration status. Uptake was lower among individuals in the lowest income group (69%), those receiving social benefits (56%), and individuals with two parents born abroad (59%). Our finding that age is the most important determinant for uptake likely reflects the prioritisation of elderly in the programme and the general understanding of their increased vulnerability. However, our findings also reveal important other disparities in vaccine uptake. How to best address this inequity in future vaccination campaigns requires further research.

Review of the Fund’s Income Position for FY2023 and FY2024

Review of the Fund’s Income Position for FY2023 and FY2024