Irregular Income Research Articles

Waiting for welfare: experiences of street traders from Delhi, India

ABSTRACT This article explores the nuances of the experiences of waiting for state-issued documents and state welfare. Waiting as an everyday experience forms an important aspect of the relationship between socio-economically marginalised groups and the state institutions. In order to examine this relationship, this paper draws upon eight interviews, conducted during December 2017 to February 2018 and in January 2019, among pheriwale. Pheriwale are self-employed traders, in Delhi, India, who collect huge amounts of second-hand/used-clothes and sell them forward to make a living. They largely work in highly precarious informal work environments, lack social security and depend on irregular income. However, as residents of India, they are also regulated through various state measures such as being registered within the national biometric database, as bank account holders and as recipients of public welfare provisions. By focusing on the experiences of pheriwale, findings show that waiting is shaped through intersecting hierarchies of gender, class and caste in the context of India. This article elucidates that a conceptualisation of waiting cannot overlook how the act of waiting for state-issued documents is tied into politics of recognition and redistribution.

Pre-paid meters and household electricity use behaviors: Evidence from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In low-income countries such as Ethiopia, pre-paid metering is often argued to alleviate several challenges with traditional electricity billing systems, including high non-payment rate, pilferage and fraud, administrative and enforcement costs for utilities, and inflexibility and incongruence of bills with poorer consumers' irregular income. Despite increasing adoption of this technology, few studies examine its causal impacts on household behaviour. This paper examines the impacts of pre-paid metering on electricity consumption, ownership of appliances, level of satisfaction, and cooking behaviour in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. We employ propensity score matching and instrumental variable techniques to control for the non-random selection into pre-paid metering. Results indicate that pre-paid customers have significantly lower electricity consumption compared to those with traditional meters, and express greater satisfaction with utility service. This technology also has a positive, but modest and statistically insignificant impact on total appliance ownership, and a positive and significant impact on ownership of energy-efficient lights. Impacts are heterogeneous across customers, however: those who are more educated, who have higher income, and who do not share meters tend to reduce electricity use more. The results suggest that pre-paid meters have had positive impacts on households and the utility in Addis Ababa.

Financial Inclusion in Rural South Africa: A Qualitative Approach

Financial inclusion efforts have resulted in a rapid increase in access to financial services. However, the usage of these financial services has not expanded at the same pace, especially in rural areas. The paper explores the factors that have caused usage to lag behind access using a qualitative approach. Data is collected from two predominantly rural provinces in South Africa using focus group discussions. While supply-side factors of distance and transaction costs are important, demand-side factors, including lack of employment, low and irregular incomes, financial illiteracy, and risk and trust perceptions, play a more significant role. We suggest that creating an enabling environment for the development of mobile money could overcome proximity barriers and result in better inclusion of rural communities. There is a need to invest in technology to improve network and Internet reception in rural areas. In addition, the government needs to reconsider the exclusive issuance of e-money by banks. Partnerships with supermarket money markets also have the potential to expand financial inclusion. Moreover, post-adoption financial education should complement efforts to expand financial inclusion. Simplified and transparent cost structures could help resolve the mistrust of banks.

MEMBANGUN JIWA PEKA ( PRODUKTIF, EDUKATIF, KOOPERATIF DAN AKSI) DALAM MENDORONG PEMULIHAN MASA PANDEMI DI KOTA BATAM

The pandemic period is not completely over and there are more and more people who are economically disadvantaged and need help. There is a problem related to the distribution of necessities, where students cannot go directly to the field. Regarding the distribution of necessities, which is one of the sensitive issues, which is happening at this time in the Tanjung Uncang village. Some people promise cheap groceries, but they never come. Even though people have paid for it, people are afraid of it. The purpose of community service is to help people who have irregular incomes. The method used is social service by providing food packages to people in need .

Protecting environmental defenders to prevent pandemics

Protecting environmental defenders to prevent pandemics

Factors that determine paratransit drivers’ willingness to participate in formal bus services in an African city

Small and medium-sized buses that operate in an unscheduled manner, called paratransit, have become the primary means of public transportation in African cities. Despite the stress and unfair labour conditions that paratransit drivers endure, it is unclear why some drivers are willing to join formal bus services such as bus rapid transit while others resist. Whereas paratransit drivers have the autonomy to make daily decisions, formal drivers follow strict schedules. We surveyed paratransit drivers in Accra to examine how they respond to losing control of daily decisions to identify the factors that influence their participation in formal transportation under different financial incentives. The results show that although increasing financial incentives attract most drivers, the desire to control their own decisions and unpleasant past experiences with formal services influence participation. Our models show that age, ownership of vehicles, and preference for regular or irregular income are important factors influencing their participation. Policymakers and bus reform implementation agencies should consider that some paratransit drivers are not interested in the benefits of formal services but prefer the autonomy associated with their daily decisions.

Labour/Employment Relations of Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa

The economic hardships, dire poverty, political persecution among other reasons faced by Zimbabweans in recent years acted as push factors for them to migrate to South Africa in search of greener pastures. There are no pellucid statistics of the total number of illegal Zimbabweans residing in South Africa. Some of the undocumented Zimbabweans have been exposed to forced labour as well as underpayment in the labour industry due to lack of legal work documents. This research sought to examine the labour/ employment relations of Zimbabweans in South Africa. Two theories were examined and these are Stouffer’s Theory of Mobility, and E. Ravenstein's laws of migration. A qualitative approach was used and the findings were drawn from the documentary analysis. The findings proved that the key challenges faced in the labour sector by Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa are fear of deportation, difficulties in securing working visas, lack of access to legal help, accommodation issues, xenophobia, marginalisation, segregation, discrimination, irregular incomes, short maternity leave, zero maternity leave benefits, non -payment of salaries, under payment of wages as well lack of work permits. In terms of policy recommendations, it was suggested that, regional cooperation on Zimbabwe Reconstruction, monitoring of the labour market, legal assistance and human rights groups, improvement in bilateral relations and diplomacy can be helpful to alleviate some of the challenges faced by Zimbabweans on South Africa.

Precarious Employment amongst Low Income Single Mothers in Malaysia: The Implications on Family Wellbeing

Single motherhood has been well documented to have adverse impacts on financial wellbeing and they are prone to fall into poverty trap. In Malaysia, the term single mother generally refers to widowed and divorced mothers. Income earned from employment is one of the main sources of livelihood for single mothers, which is sometimes supplemented by child support and other transfers such as pension, welfare assistance, tithe (zakat) and hands out. The types of employment held by low income single mothers are rather limited due to their level of educational attainment, locality, mobility and childcare responsibility. These barriers seem to restrict their work choices and they have to find ways around it, usually by entering informal employment or self-employment sectors. This study discusses employment characteristics of single mothers from the lowest quantile of the society. It is important to explore this issue as these mothers are likely raising their children in constant hardship. This study employs a qualitative quest to gain a deeper understanding of this issue. The respondents of this study come from different states in Peninsular Malaysia. Upon completion of this study, we could suggest that precarious employment of single mothers posed a real threat for the wellbeing of their family. Those involved in informal sectors are the most vulnerable. Without a proper employment contract as in formal sectors, they have no work benefits or protection against unforeseen circumstances. Insufficient and irregular income worry them endlessly as the survival of their family is at stake. Moreover, worries about financial situations could also lead to other health concerns. The findings of this study emphasize the urgency of government intervention that is well planned and targeted. The society at large should also be more sensitive and empathetic towards single mothers and their children. Indeed, children living in poverty should not be tolerated at all.

Motivational Factors to Join SHGs among the Fisher Folk Community of Kerala

Microfinance is a financial model specially designed for serving the poor. Microfinance programs provide tiny loans to poor people for self- employment projects. The conception of microfinance is as an income- producing tool rather than a consumption aid, thereby, it is an appropriate way of bringing social changes and transforming the society into a progressive one. Irregular income and social and economic backwardness are the main reason for the lack of sustainable development of fisherfolk. SHGs have played a crucial role in the intervention of microcredit given to the fisherfolk communities. Therefore, the researcher intended to study the motivational factors to join the SHGs among the fisherfolk community of Kerala. The study was experimental. The study found that members of the SHGs joined intending to obtain credit and meet their domestic expenses. Hence, they are not considering the objective of micro finance while utilizing the fund. They have used their micro-credit amount for meeting their expenses.

Opportunities for Tax Culture Formation of Self-Employed

Self-employment in Russia characterized by a high level of shadow employment. The special tax regime was designed to carry out this activity from shadow. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the taxpayers behavior and their tax culture. The purpose of the article is to study the tax culture, factors influencing its demonstration in the taxpayers behavior, as well as to identify the features of tax culture in the field of self-employment. The information base of the article composed documents regulating the activities of self-employed, statistical data on the quantity, structure and dynamics of self-employment in the Russia and other countries, sociological surveys of self-employed. The main difference in the interpretation of tax culture is associated with the definition of its subjects. Therefore, the role of subjective factors in the taxpayers behavior is often overestimated. It is concluded that it is necessary to consider the issue of the tax culture of the self-employed not only from the point of view of their mentality, but first of all from the point of view of the external conditions of their activity. Low and irregular incomes, lack of social guarantees and financial support lead to the formation of the self-employed tax culture in the conditions of «survival». In this regard, actions to improve the tax culture by influencing internal factors are ineffective.

BARRIERS TO FINANCIAL INCLUSION: AN ISM MICMAC ANALYSIS

The policymakers should take a series of immediate actions to address the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in the path of the sustainable economy by reaching to every segment of the society to return the economy on track, financial inclusion (FI) is the only way to achieve the target. The study analyzes the obstacles in the path to achieve sustainable growth, which has been partitioned into two stages; the identification of barriers and investigation. The study has divided into three diverse stages: identification of barriers, interviews with specialists from industry, and framing an ISM model. Fifteen barriers have been identified in the achievement of goals of financial inclusion with four levels in ISM designed model. Not enough money, Lack of trust, High cost, Financial Illiteracy, Gender issues, Age factor, and Terms and conditions are factors of prime importance as they have very high driving as well as dependence power. Factors like Irregular income, Distance, and Legal identity are not showing a direct impact on other variables in the system, so these three factors may overlook by decision takers. Psychological and cultural barriers and Bank charges are very important barriers to high dependent driving power. These obstacles must require proper attention.

Социальное значение денег для пенсионеров в российской деревне

Статья посвящена способам социальной дифференциации денег пенсионерами в российской деревне. В условиях относительно низкого уровня жизни в сельской местности ее жители уделяют повышенное внимание источникам доходов. Еще бо́льшую актуальность этот вопрос имеет для пенсионеров, чье финансовое положение значительно хуже, чем у трудоспособного населения. В качестве теоретического подхода авторами выбрана теория социальной множественности денег Вивианы Зелизер, отвергающая ценностную нейтральность денежных средств в пользу их социальной дифференцированности в зависимости от источников получения и целей использования, а также от механизмов принятия финансовых решений. На основе интервью с пенсионерами в одной из деревень Вологодской области получены результаты, демонстрирующие различные способы социальной дифференциации денег. В зависимости от источника дохода пенсионеры на смысловом уровне разделяют свои доходы на пять основных типов: доходы, носящие экзистенциальный характер; высокоценные заработки; доходы от народных промыслов; деньги, являющиеся носителями сакрального смысла; случайные доходы. Если принятие финансовых решений по базовым расходам пенсионеров происходит практически автоматически, без глубокой рефлексии по данному вопросу, то денежные средства, полученные из прочих источников дохода, использующиеся для удовлетворения потребностей более высокого уровня, представляют собой предмет для глубокого осмысления. Целевое предназначение денег проявляется в использовании гарантированных источников дохода для обеспечения базового уровня жизни, в то время как нерегулярные денежные поступления уходят на финансирование необязательных расходов.

Friends or Foes? Mobile money interaction with formal and informal finance

Access to formal financial services is a key determinant of financial inclusion and yet, informal mechanisms still dominate the financial system in developing countries. In this context, the purpose of our article is to investigate how the growing effort to harness mobile money designed for unbanked individuals may help to overcome barriers to access formal financial services. Using a unique dataset obtained from an individual-level survey conducted in Burkina Faso, we explore the interplay between mobile money innovation and pre-existing formal and informal financial instruments. Our main findings show that, overall there are no differences in the inclination of mobile money users and non-users to make deposits in formal or informal deposit instruments. However, a closer investigation reveals suggestive evidence that it may increase the probability of participants in informal mechanisms to make deposits in formal financial instruments, especially using a bank account. Moreover, considering disadvantaged groups, we find for women, irregular income and less educated individuals that mobile money may increase their probability to make deposits in a bank and/or credit union accounts. Our results are robust to using instrumental variables and propensity score matching techniques that mitigate the endogeneity problem. They also pass a number of robustness checks as well as considering an alternative dataset. Given the low access to formal financial services in developing countries, our findings taken together indicate how the increasing adoption of mobile money may act as a stepping-stone towards financial inclusion. (JEL Classification C83, D14, G21)

Comments on Default Probability by Employment Status in South Korea

Comments on Default Probability by Employment Status in South Korea

Demand-Supply Disparity: How to Design Smallholder Farmers-Friendly Microcredit?

Criticisms are aplenty that formal credit system such as microcredit is not inclusive to cater for the need of smallholder farmers. This paper analyses the existing literature to find out the limitation of microcredit to fulfil the need of smallholder farmers. The paper found that microcredit for smallholder farmers encompasses either ex ante flexibility or ex post flexibility. However, smallholder farmers need both ex ante and ex post flexibility due to their small, irregular and uncertain income. The current paper suggests that there is a need to revise existing microcredit modality by including both ex ante and ex post flexibility in order to make microcredit more inclusive for smallholder farmers.

Contested values and climate change mitigation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Contested values and climate change mitigation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

The drivers of sustained use of liquified petroleum gas in India.

Ninety-five per cent of Indian households now have access to liquified petroleum gas (LPG), with 80 million acquiring it under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) since 2016. Still, having a connection is not enough to eliminate household air pollution. Studying panel data from rural households in six major states from 2014-2015 and 2018, we assess the determinants of cooking energy transition from solid fuels to LPG. We find that PMUY beneficiaries have much lower odds of using LPG as the primary or exclusive fuel compared with general customers, irrespective of their economic status. Village-level penetration of LPG as a primary fuel and the years of LPG use positively influence its sustained use, while ease of access to freely available biomass and reliance on uncertain and irregular income sources hinder LPG use. The findings highlight the need to interlace cooking fuel policies with rural development, to enable a complete transition towards cleaner cooking fuels.

Analysis Of Perception Of Rural People Towards Socio-Economic Impact Of Financial Inclusion – A Case Study Analysis

The governments of India and other developing countries have made Financial Inclusion a priority – evidenced by policy development, regulatory reform and new funding vehicles. The government of India has set a target of reaching full inclusion by 2015. These objectives will be achieved through financial instruments, such as micro credit, which has achieved positive results, helping thousands of the world’s poor to lift themselves out of poverty. This paper examines the socio-economic impact of financial inclusion on rural people in Goa.
 
 It is now well understood that financial inclusion helps the poor in more viable and profitable way by providing them ability to do business with banks and other financial institutions. The provision of uncomplicated, small, affordable products can help bring low-income families into the formal financial sector. Taking into account their seasonal inflow of income from agricultural operations, migration from one place to another, and seasonal and irregular work availability and income, the existing financial system needs to be designed to suit their requirements. Mainstream financial institutions such as banks have an important role to play in this effort, not as a social obligation, but as a pure business proposition.

Will the people of Ngawi be able to solve the stunting problem this year

Stunting in the middle to lower class population in Ngawi Regency only relies on agriculture as their main livelihood. Socio-economic conditions experienced by people living in Ngawi Regency affect the high stunting rate in Ngawi Regency. The majority of the people of Ngawi Regency live their livelihoods and only rely on agriculture, so the poverty rate is still high. Ngawi Regency must be able to look for other opportunities that can support improvements in the economic standard for the community. Families with low socioeconomic status will prioritize the need for foods that contain carbohydrates on the grounds of being full, regardless of the quality of food that supports growth (Priyanti and Syalfina, 2018). The ability of families to meet food needs, both in quantity and nutritional quality, dramatically influences the nutritional status of children. Families with relatively fixed incomes, an underweight prevalence, and a lower prevalence of shortness compared to families with irregular incomes (Ministry of Health, 2010). Mistakes in adopting healthy behavior will affect people's beliefs of the hereditary nature of short stature. This belief can cause parents of children and society at large into a passive attitude, namely only accepting the existing conditions; so they are forced to bear all the consequences of stunting until the child grows up. Whereas if there is no improvement within the 1000 days of the first life period, then the long-term impact will be attached to the child when he grows up because the damage during this critical period cannot be corrected after that period has passed. The belief that there is caused by a lack of messages of health promotion on the prevention of stunting risk that makes communities continue adhering to the social perception blame heredity as the cause of stunting (Liem et al.,2019) The nutritional status of children under five can influence the occurrence of stunting and is influenced by the social environment as indications of socio-economic disparities in society, the existence of differences in the location of residence (ecosystem environment) where they live and develop will produce different behavior. Situations like this can have consequences in patterns and widespread malnutrition problems that lead to stunting child-rearing and implications for the development and quality of life of children (Manongga, 2013). The community is also unable to deal with the environmental conditions in which they live because of the economic limitations they experience. Nutritionists must implement a sensitive nutrition intervention framework to address the problem of stunting. This intervention is carried out through various development activities outside the health sector and contributes to 70% of stunting interventions. To overcome the problem of stunting in socio-economic conditions, local governments can do it by looking for other opportunities that can improve the community’s economic level by increasing market-oriented agribusiness activities (quantity, quality, and continuity (Mangowal, 2013). Resolution of health problems in environmental factors then it can be done by providing and ensuring access to clean water through the PAMSIMAS program (Archda and Tumangger, 2019) Stunting pada penduduk kalangan menengah ke bawah di Kabupaten Ngawi yang hanya mengandalkan pertanian sebagai mata pencaharian utama. Kondisi sosial ekonomi yang dialami oleh masyarakat yang tinggal di Kabupaten Ngawi mempengaruhi tingginya angka stunting di Kabupaten Ngawi. Keluarga dengan sosial ekonomi rendah akan lebih mengutamakan kebutuhan pada makanan yang mengandung karbohidrat dengan alasan hanya supaya kenyang, tanpa melihat kualitas makanan yang menunjang pertumbuhan. Kesalahan dalam mengadopsi perilaku sehat akan akan memperngaruhi keyakinan masyarakat bahwa postur pendek merupakan keturunan. Keyakinan tersebut dapat menyebabkan orangtua anak maupun masyarakat secara luas ke dalam sikap pasif, yaitu hanya menerima kondisi yang ada. Kerangka intervensi gizi sensitif harus dilakukan untuk mengatasi permasalahan stunting. Intervensi ini dilakukan melalui berbagai kegiatan pembangunan di luar sektor kesehatan dan berkontribusi pada 70% Intervensi stunting.

“HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NOTHING”: THE RISKS AND RESILIENCE OF DAY LABOURERS IN CAPE TOWN

People are seen as resilient when they respond better than expected in the face of adversity. The aim of the article is to provide a description of the risks the unemployed day labourers waiting at a street corner in Cape Town experience daily and the resilience they display. An ethnographic approach was used to gather data. The results show that day labourers experience difficulties related to insufficient and irregular income to care for those dependent on them, friction between local and foreign day labourers, and uncertain working conditions. Hope of obtaining employment to look after their families and caring individuals and groups enhance their resilience.