Income Poverty Research Articles

Impact of Income Inequality on Poverty Level in Nigeria: Evidence from ARDL Model

This study used the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to assess the effect of income disparity on the degree of poverty in Nigeria. Based on the association each income determinant showed with the Gini coefficient of income disparity in the Nigerian economy, the study's findings indicated that there is a long-run positive relationship between the poverty level and the Gini coefficient of income inequality in Nigeria. Therefore, it is advised to improve a more equitable distribution of wealth, which will effectively lessen income inequality and poverty in Nigeria. The government should concentrate its efforts on developing and implementing more realistic employment programs in Nigeria. Since the empirical results of this study have demonstrated that decreasing income disparity in Nigeria by an increase in the employment rate has not been sufficient. A more practical approach to employment would allow people to use their money to build wealth rather than just get by, which would increase the level of income distribution.

Association between systemic immune-inflammation index and post-stroke depression: a cross-sectional study of the national health and nutrition examination survey 2005-2020.

Less research has linked the Systemic Immune Inflammatory Index (SII) with post-stroke depression (PSD). This study aims to look at any potential connections between SII and PSD. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted in a population that embodied complete SII and stroke data from 2005 to 2020, was used to perform the current cross-sectional survey. A fitted smoothed curve was used to depict the nonlinear link between SII and PSD, and multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between SII and PSD. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that SII and PSD were markedly related [1.11(1.05, 1.17)]. Interaction tests showed that the association between SII and PSD was not statistically different between strata, and age, sex, BMI, income poverty ratio, education level, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, and heart failure did not have a significant effect on this positive association (p > 0.05 for interaction). In addition, a nonlinear association between SII and PSD was found using a two-stage linear regression model. The results of our research support the existence of a significant positive correlation between SII levels and PSD. Further prospective trials are required to comprehend SII, which is for the PSD thoroughly.

Large families and poverty in Austria: What explains their disproportionate risk of experiencing income poverty?

AbstractIn many countries, large families with three or more children have high income poverty rates. In this article, we aim to understand why this is the case by examining the relevance of family structure, socio‐economic characteristics, and welfare state transfers targeted at this family form. For our analyses, we use cross‐sectional data from three waves (2017–2019) of the Austrian European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions dataset. Our results, based on descriptive statistics, logistic regressions, and decomposition analyses, confirm the higher poverty risk of large families compared with smaller families. However, when differentiating between poor and non‐poor families, it is not the family type that seems to be relevant in explaining the poverty risk, but rather the parental work intensity, the age of the youngest child, the place of residence, being a single‐parent household, and the parental migration background. Moreover, cash transfers from the welfare state, in particular family benefits, contribute to reducing poverty for a significant number of large families. Policy makers are therefore well advised to either further increase the cash transfers targeted at large families, and/or to improve the employability and ultimately the work intensity of parents in large families in order to reduce their income poverty risk.

Identifying Gender-Specific Risk Factors for Income Poverty across Poverty Levels in Urban Mexico: A Model-Based Boosting Approach

This paper aims to identify income-poverty risk factors in urban Mexican households. Special emphasis is paid to examine differences between female- and male-headed families. To this, a dataset with 45 theoretical factors at the individual/household, community, and regional levels, integrating information from nine sources, is created. To these data, additive quantile models are estimated via the boosting algorithm. From a gender standpoint, the following main contributions come from this paper. First, educational lag is particularly relevant for female-headed households. Second, there is a gendered life cycle in the income trajectory for poor households with a head having a medium level of education. Third, some households, traditionally disregarded, are found to be even poorer: those lacking social connectedness, without credit cards, with an extended composition, in which the female head spends a large part of her time on housework, and families headed by young women with a medium level of education. Finally, communities and regions where families have a lower income-to-poverty ratio are characterized as having an unequal income distribution, lower human development, lower levels of women’s economic participation, poor quality of services, and lower gender-based violence levels in the public sphere but higher gender-based violence levels in the family context.

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and periodontitis among adults: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Investigating the association between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and periodontitis and whether the awareness of diabetes modifies this relationship. Cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) data involving US adults aged 30-50. Periodontitis was classified according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Periodontology (CDC-AAP), and SSB consumption as dichotomous (<5 or ≥5, <7 or ≥7 and <14 or ≥14 times/week), ordinal and continuous variables. Confounders included family income poverty ratio, education, race/ethnicity, sex, age, food energy intake, smoking and alcohol. Odds ratios (ORs) were obtained by logistic regressions using inverse probability weighting. Effect modification analysis was performed considering self-reported diabetes. Among 4473 cases analysed, 198 self-reported diabetes. SSBs were associated with periodontitis when individuals consumed ≥5 (OR 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.30-2.06), ≥7 (OR 1.92; 95% CI = 1.50-2.46) and ≥14 (OR 2.19; 95% CI = 1.50-3.18) times/week. The combined effect of consuming SSBs (≥5 and ≥14 times/week) and self-reported diabetes had less impact than the cumulative effect. SSB consumption was associated with higher odds of periodontitis, and the estimates were reduced among those with awareness of diabetes.

Progress towards health equity in Vietnam: evidence from nationwide official health statistics, 2010-2020

IntroductionOne of the ultimate goals of strengthening the health system is to achieve health equity. Vietnam is considered one of the ‘fast-track countries’ to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals,...

Unravelling the relationship between employment, social transfers and income poverty: Policy and measurement

Despite the rise in employment, consistently high EU-average poverty rates continue to generate debates about the factors that explain the level and changes in the relative poverty rate, both within and across countries. Assuming a strong negative correlation between poverty and employment, the article investigates the role of four mechanisms responsible for this blurred relationship. Using decomposition analysis and macro-level regression analysis, we investigate the extent to which (i) the distribution of employment across households with different levels of work intensity, (ii) the expansion of non-standard work, (iii) the change in the effectiveness of social welfare systems, and (iv) the change in median income and the corresponding shift in the poverty threshold have contributed to changes in relative income poverty in the last decades. We found that employment growth benefits poverty reduction, but this positive effect was partially offset by the precarious characteristics of some newly created jobs. If the distribution of jobs had favoured the jobless more in the pre-crisis period, the relative income poverty rate would have been lower. Although the share of persons in jobless households decreased during the recovery years, their risk of poverty increased due to the retrenchment of social transfers during and after the Great Recession. Furthermore, the use of a floating threshold, which is linked to changes in median income, underestimates the strength of the relationships between poverty, employment and social transfers: when the poverty threshold is kept fixed, not only do the dynamics of poverty look different, but the estimated coefficients are considerably larger.

Impact of poverty and adversity on perceived family support in adolescence: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Emotional support from family members may have an important effect on adolescent health outcomes, and has been identified as a target for policy to protect against the impacts of poverty and other early life adversities. However, few studies have assessed the extent to which poverty and adversity themselves influence the nature of emotional support that parents can provide to adolescents. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the impact of trajectories of income poverty and family adversities, including parental mental ill health, alcohol misuse and domestic violence across childhood developmental stages on young people’s relationships with their families and perceived emotional support received. We analysed longitudinal data on 10,976 children from the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort study. Exposure trajectories of poverty and family adversities were characterised using group-based multi-trajectory models (age 9 months–14 years). The outcomes were perceived emotional support and quality of family relationships, measured by the three-item Short Social Provisions Scale (SPS-3) and levels of parent–adolescent closeness and conflict, measured at age 14. ORs and 95% CIs were estimated using multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for potential confounding factors. At age 14, the overall prevalence of low perceived emotional support was 13% (95% CI: 12, 14). Children of mothers with lower socioeconomic status (SES) were more likely to report low emotional support, with a clear social gradient (education—degree plus: 10.3% vs. no qualifications: 15.4%). Compared with children exposed to low levels of poverty and adversity, children in the persistent adversity trajectory groups experienced higher odds of low emotional support and low-quality parent–adolescent relationship; those exposed to both persistent poverty and poor parental mental health were particularly at increased risk of experiencing poor family relationships and low perceived emotional support (adjusted odds ratio 2·2; 95% CI 1·7–2·9). Low perceived emotional support and poor family relationships in adolescence are more prevalent among socially disadvantaged children and adolescents and those experiencing social adversity. Policies to improve levels of family support for UK adolescents should focus on improving modifiable determinants such as child poverty and family mental health.

Objective and Subjective Measures of Child Poverty in Denmark

The relative poverty line has been criticized for being arbitrary since it is defined by purely statistical measures without any theory linking objective income poverty to subjectively experienced poverty. The objective-subjective poverty nexus is explored empirically by comparing poverty measures for Danish children using EU-SILC data from 2019. The objective measure is based on the 50 % poverty line, while the subjective measures cover deprivation, financial coping, and accumulation of deprivations. Results shows a far from perfect overlap between objective and subjective poverty, but the subjective poverty risk is much higher for income poor children compared to non-poor children.

Associations of Appetitive Traits and Parental Feeding Style With Diet Quality During Early Childhood

BackgroundAppetitive traits and parent feeding styles are associated with body mass index in children, yet their associations with child diet quality are unclear. ObjectiveThe objective was to examine relations of appetitive traits and parental feeding style with diet quality in 3.5-year-old children. DesignThe study was a secondary, cross-sectional analysis of data from Sprouts, a follow-up study of the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study (PEAS). Birthing parents completed the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire, Caregiver’s Feeding Styles Questionnaire, and proxy 24-hour dietary recalls for their children from February 2019 to December 2020. Participants/settingParticipants were 162 birthing parents (early pregnancy BMI ≥ 18.5 and absence of preexisting diabetes, any medical condition contraindicating study participation, self-reported eating disorder, or medications that could affect diet or weight) and their children living in North Carolina. Main outcome measuresHealthy Eating Index—2015 (HEI-2015) total scores were calculated. Statistical analyses performedPath modeling was conducted using PROC CALIS with full information maximum likelihood (FIML) to account for missing data (< 2% of all data in dataset). Associations of child appetitive traits and parental feeding style with child HEI-2015 scores, adjusting for exclusive breastfeeding duration and household income–poverty ratio, were examined. Tests of simple effects were conducted in subsamples split by parental feeding style. Hypotheses were formulated during data collection. ResultsA 1-standard deviation (SD) greater food fussiness was associated with a 2.4-point lower HEI-2015 total score (P = .02; 95% confidence interval [CI] [–4.32, –0.48]) in children. When parental feeding style was authoritarian, a 1-SD greater food responsiveness was associated with a 4.1-point higher HEI-2015 total score (P = .007; 95% CI [1.12, 7.01]) in children. When parental feeding style was authoritative, a 1-SD greater slowness in eating was associated with a 5.8-point lower HEI-2015 total score (P = .01; 95% CI [–10.26, –1.33]) in children. ConclusionsParental feeding style may modify the association of appetitive traits with diet quality in young children. Future research could determine whether matching parent feeding styles to child appetitive trait profiles improves child diet quality.

Population Growth as a Cause of Human Development in Zambia (1992-2022)

This article investigates population growth as a cause of human development in Zambia from 1992-2022, with the substantive objective being to examine whether population growth causes income inequality, poverty and unemployment in Zambia. The study was built on two theories: Malthusian theory of population and demographic transition theory. It employed a mixed research method, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. Using the granger causality as the estimation technique specifically utilized the Vector Autoregressive model and correlation tests; the results show that population growth causes human development and poverty. Furthermore, that population growth does not cause income inequality and unemployment in Zambia. The study recommends that the government of Zambia invests in Research, Development and Technology so as to be in touch with the needs of the people, equally investing in education and health infrastructure and human resource, and be deliberate about setting up manufacturing industries and revamping existing ones.

A Dynamic Analysis of Arrears and Income Poverty in Italy

AbstractWe explore the effects of income poverty on the probability of being in arrears in Italy. We account for endogeneity by using a bivariate discrete response model, which allows considering feedback effects from arrears to future poverty status and selection issues. We also offer an analysis by macro-region. We use longitudinal 2016–2019 EU-SILC data. Our results suggest that being in arrears is characterized by a significant trap effect, which, however, tends to decline over time. We also find the presence of feedback effects from arrears condition to future poverty status. Notably, current poverty status is negatively associated with current arrears status, but the correlation is positive in the medium term. This may suggest that income conditions need time to exert their effects on the probability of being in arrears. In the medium term, being in arrears increases the probability of being poor. We also note heterogeneity at the regional level.

From Policy to Impact: Advancing Economic Development and Tackling Social Inequities in Central and Eastern Europe

This study challenges the traditional reliance on GDP as the sole indicator of the success of the EU’s cohesion policy, aligning with the evolving academic discourse that calls for a broader spectrum of metrics incorporating social factors. The research aims to assess the impact of cohesion on economic performance and social progress at the regional level in Central and Eastern European countries, using regression analysis on panel data. Inspired by the call to move beyond GDP-focused assessments, this research re-evaluates cohesion policy within an expanded framework that prioritizes economic and social dimensions. Specifically, it addresses the escalating concerns of income disparity and poverty in Central and Eastern European nations. Utilizing panel data regression models, this study scrutinizes data from 2007 to 2018, covering two recent programming periods, to offer a comprehensive, multifaceted analysis of the impact of cohesion policy. It underscores the policy’s dual role in spurring economic growth and fostering social progress, particularly in mitigating income inequality and reducing poverty. The findings reveal that cohesion policies positively affect both economic performance and social progress, with notable impacts on narrowing the income gap and alleviating poverty in these regions. However, the economic benefits for poverty reduction materialize over a prolonged period, reflecting the gradual nature of policy impact and the time needed for investments to materialize. The study emphasizes the need for a long-term strategic vision in implementing cohesion policies. This includes enhanced data collection, a deeper focus on the social ramifications of policies, streamlined policy processes, capacity building, institutional strengthening, and prioritizing equitable opportunities to bridge income gaps effectively. This comprehensive approach aims to maximize the dual benefits of cohesion policies, promoting balanced economic and social progress across Central and Eastern Europe.

Assessing the spatial variation of water poverty determinants in Maharashtra, India

Abstract Water scarcity is an emerging multidimensional issue concerning not only the physical availability of resources but also is linked with poverty. The existing literature has established a relationship between income poverty and water poverty. In the Indian context, various studies have explored such issues using the Water Poverty Index (WPI), but only a few have analyzed downscale spatial units. This paper constructs district-level water poverty measures and maps its spatial heterogeneity for Maharashtra, India. Using an indicator-based approach, we aggregate various dimensions of water poverty into a single index. This composite index is formulated by normalizing the indicators and assigning weights using principal component analysis. After rescaling, the aggregate WPI score varies from 0 to 1, denoting lower to higher water poverty. The overall WPI estimate of Maharashtra is 0.47, implying high water stress. The study presents district-wise WPI information by combining the results with Geographic Information System (GIS). Our findings suggest that along with the physical abundance and accessibility to water, improvement in the determinants of capacity and environment is essential to tackle water poverty. Results highlight the intra-district variations among components of water poverty, indicating the importance of local-scale policy-making for better water resource management.

Do older adults with disability face home care poverty? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Home care poverty is the inability of older people to access adequate home care services and their unmet needs for home care. With the increasing number of older adults (60 years old and above) with disability in China, the Chinese government pays more and more attention to home care. In this case, it is of great significance to explore whether older adults with the disability face home care poverty and its influencing factors. The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) data in 2018 were utilized. SPSS 22.0 was used as a data analysis tool to conduct descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis on the sample (n = 1932). The study found that in 2018, 48.0% of older adults with disability faced home care poverty. Multiple logistic regression results showed that degree of disability, age, rural and non-eastern regions, income poverty, family caregiver, and reluctant caregivers were positive factors that increased the risk of home care poverty in disabled older adults (p < .05). But care duration, care expenditure, social pensions insurance, community daily life care and community medical services are the positive factors to eliminate the home care poverty for older adults with disability (p < .05). In order to solve the problem of home care poverty of older adults with disability, based on the research conclusions, the study proposed to establish a long-term care insurance system, formulate supportive policies for family caregivers or their families, and establish a wide variety of community care services.

Age-driven energy poverty in urban household: Evidence from Guangzhou in China

Energy poverty occurs when a household cannot fulfill its energy needs. Despite its widespread occurrence, Chinese cities have yet to formally recognize energy poverty as distinct from general poverty at the national level, thereby limiting the effectiveness of countermeasures. Guangzhou, a subtropical first-tier city in China, has a complex population comprising diverse migrants and locals of all ages. This age diversity greatly affects energy demand and poverty sensitivity, so analyzing age's impact on energy poverty is crucial. Thus, this paper surveyed 1072 households in 2020 to measure the extent of energy poverty. The energy poverty rate was found to be 13.85 %. Additionally, a U-shaped relationship was discovered between age and energy poverty, with a turning point at age 44. The adults in Guangzhou who are in energy poverty are not in income poverty. Higher education levels were found to impact energy consumption in households of both younger and older adults. For individuals older than 42—or 46 with a higher education level—the likelihood of experiencing energy poverty gradually decreases with age. Our findings indicate a unique pattern in which both younger and older individuals are susceptible to energy poverty in a humid subtropical climate. To achieve the UN's 2030 clean energy goals, policymakers must focus on tailored skill training, enhanced social welfare, and effective affordable housing policies to alleviate energy poverty.

Reducing energy poverty by nearly universal pension coverage of rural China

This paper estimates the causal effect of income change on reducing energy poverty by exploiting age-based eligibility for China’s New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) through a regression discontinuity (RD) design. More than one billion people worldwide live in energy poverty, and the situation is even more difficult in developing world. It is an important development challenge to reduce energy poverty, which could be further associated with health outcome, labor productivity, and educational achievements. While public policies that increase income for poor households are the most direct ways to reduce energy poverty, the reverse causality makes establishing a convincing causal link between income and energy poverty challenging. Using the quasi-experimental variation in income induced by NRPS, this paper addresses the endogeneity of income and examines the impact of exogenous sharp changes in income on energy consumption behaviors. The findings indicate substantial increases in modern energy consumption and sizable reductions in solid fuels (e.g., straw and fuelwood), suggesting that “windfall income” by pension coverage alleviates energy poverty. Although individuals could anticipate the income shocks by pension coverage, the evidence suggests that they do not engage in anticipatory responses to smooth their consumption. Further evidence shows that liquidity constraints may be the underlying mechanism for the lack of anticipatory responses in household energy consumption. Besides reducing energy poverty, the results demonstrate that pension coverage leads to a decrease in elderly labor supply, an increase in subjective health and life satisfaction, and an increase in non-energy consumption, all of which are positively associated with the well-beings of senior citizens. We anticipate that the findings of this paper in the context of China may be extended to developing world which has been expected to set up targeted measures to tackle energy poverty in upcoming decades.

Pobreza multidimensional no Brasil: evidências para as áreas rurais e urbanas

Abstract This paper studied the behavior of multidimensional and income poverty, as well as its determinants in Brazil, in addition to rural and urban areas, based on information from the 2019 National Continuous Household Sample Survey (PNADC). The Alkire-Foster methodology was used in the construction of a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), in addition to the logit model to estimate the impacts of determinants related to household characteristics on poverty. The health and sanitation dimension was the one that contributed the most to the MPI, followed by the education and housing dimensions. Unidimensional poverty was greater than multidimensional and rural poverty was also greater. Among the determinants of poverty, being in households with non-white heads, younger, unmarried, unemployed, less educated and in the North and Northeast regions increased the chances of poverty. In addition, while female heads reduced the chances of multidimensional poverty, it increased the chances of the unidimensional one.

The Importance of The Natural Resource ‘Palm Oil’ for The Malaysian Economy and Its Role in Sustainable Development

The research has indicated the manner in which the Malaysian economy moved from a purely exporter of primary goods to one which has become a major world exporter of processed palm oil. The emphasis on this product helped the economy in achieving success in major economic goals like reduction in poverty, inequality and enhancement of income of the marginalized. The impact on the environment is being successfully addressed by following certain steps.

Minimalna zarada - pravilo umesto izuzetka na tržištu rada

The issue of the minimum wage has been attracting attention for many years, not only from experts, but also from the general public. Determining the minimum wage in every country, including Serbia, aims to establish minimum standards for personal income and combat poverty. The basic feature of the minimum wage is that it is a temporary measure, lasting up to 6 months, as a response to an employer's poor financial performance, and as such it represents an extraordinary measure, which should be abolished upon returning to the normal economic conditions. Upon resuming normal business operations, the employer is required to compensate employees for the shortfall, ensuring they receive their contracted salary in full. However, instead of the minimum wage being an exception, used only in extraordinary circumstances, it has now become commonplace in the labor market, challenging the original concept of the minimum wage and raising questions about its effectiveness. This paper aims to examine the concept of wage and minimum wage in Serbia, along with its practical implications in the domestic labor market.