National Survey Of Households Research Articles

Herding behavior in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in rural Zimbabwe: The moderating role of health information under heterogeneous household risk perceptions

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy poses a global health threat by potentially delaying the attainment of herd immunity to attenuate infection and transmission. Most governments across the world are engrossed with formulating strategies to surmount conservative group behavior such as vaccine hesitancy typical under risky and uncertain situations such as in the case of COVID-19. This paper examines herding behavior in vaccine hesitancy with a special focus on the moderating role of household access to health information from village health workers under different risk perceptions. We use the 2021 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee cross-section household national survey consisting of 13, 583 valid observations. Our major findings indicate that herding behavior plays a role in rural households’ hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccine inoculation. Furthermore, whilst access to health information from village health workers reduces herding behavior in vaccine hesitancy, it does so more when the household perceives itself to be at high risk of contracting COVID-19. Analysing herding behavior in vaccine hesitancy can help policymakers develop more targeted vaccination strategies, such as promoting access to health information through channels like village health workers, especially for households at high risk of contracting COVID-19.

A bivariate relative poverty line for leisure time and income poverty: Detecting intersectional differences using distributional copulas

Empirical research on poverty today often goes beyond a focus on income to consider other dimensions of well‐being. However, relatively few multidimensional poverty measures explicitly consider time‐use, despite its particular relevance to women's double burden of paid and unpaid work. We construct a bivariate relative poverty line between income and leisure, based on their joint distribution in the population. Because the strength of the dependence between income and leisure influences the vulnerability to poverty, we incorporate distributional regression into copula models. Utilizing the 2018 Mexican National Survey of Households, Income and Expenses, we investigate differences in bidimensional poverty with respect to gender and ethnicity. We find that the fraction defined as bidimensional poor is 18 percent points higher than the poverty rate computed from separate time and income measures. Those below the relative but above the absolute poverty line are primarily non‐indigenous women whose poverty is made visible by our approach.

The Association among Alcohol Consumption Patterns, Drink-Driving Behaviors, and the Harm from Alcohol-Related Road Traffic Injuries Due to the Drinking of Others in Thailand

Thailand has one of the highest rates of traffic-related fatalities and alcohol-related road traffic injuries globally. Previous studies focused on alcohol consumption and road traffic injuries. However, no existing studies investigate the association between drink-driving behaviors and road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others. This study aims to explore any potential associations among alcohol drinking patterns, drink-driving behaviors, and the harm from alcohol-related road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others. The Thai Tobacco and Alcohol Use Household National Survey data in 2017 (n = 80,797) were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. This study found that current drinkers and binge drinkers were more likely to suffer from road traffic injuries due to others' drink-driving behavior, i.e., 1.50 times (95% CI: 1.49-1.51) and 2.31 times (95% CI: 2.30-2.33), respectively, compared with non-drinkers. In addition, we found that drink-driving behavior was associated with harm from road traffic injuries due to others' drink-driving behavior by 2.12 times (95% CI: 2.10-2.14) compared with the non-drinker group. This study calls for effective measures to reduce drink-driving behaviors to prevent road traffic injuries due to the drinking of others.

Experimental Effects of Advance Postcards, Survey Title, Questionnaire Length, and Questionnaire Content on Response Rates and Incentive Costs in a Mail Non-Response Follow-Up Survey

A non-response follow-up study by mail in a national sample of U.S. households had five embedded experiments to test the effects of an advance mailing, alternate survey titles, 1- or 2-page questionnaire length, the inclusion or exclusion of political questions on the 1-page questionnaire, and the position of political content on the first or second page of the 2-page questionnaire. None of these design elements affected the payout of escalated postpaid incentives. Advance mailings had no effect on response rate. A short title (National Survey of Households) had a slightly higher response rate than a longer, more descriptive one (National Survey of Households, Families, and Covid-19). Political question content, whether by inclusion, exclusion, or position, had no discernable effect on response, even among prior-study non-respondents. Questionnaire length was inversely related to response: the 2-page questionnaire depressed the overall response rate by 3.7 points (58.5 compared to 54.8 percent, weighted) and depressed response for the critical sample group of prior non-respondents by 6.9 points (36.9 compared to 29.9).

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gardening in the United States: Postpandemic Expectations

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the way many consumers and businesses transacted business. Concerning the green industry, many households began gardening and/or purchased more green industry products. As the pandemic ends and households begin to return to normal, green industry firms need to understand this new normal. Using an online national survey of households, we assessed which households were more likely to remain in the market after entering during the height of the pandemic (2020). Findings indicated that younger consumers (i.e., Millennials and younger individuals who were born in 1985 or after) were less likely to indicate they always garden (before the pandemic) but more likely to have started gardening during the pandemic and perceived that they would not continue to garden as states returned to normal (2021). This age group was also more likely to not have gardened in 2020, but they intended to garden in 2021. This finding shows a dichotomy in gardening preferences in this young age group. Further findings indicated that race, household income, number of children in the household, and the impact of the pandemic on the household also help explain the household’s decision to garden or not.

A decomposition analysis for socioeconomic inequalities in health status associated with the COVID-19 diagnosis and related symptoms during Brazil's first wave of infections

Recent studies have shown that COVID-19 affects different population groups asymmetrically. This work uses data from the National Survey of Households—PNAD COVID-19/IBGE—to quantify the socioeconomic inequality in health during the first wave of COVID-19 infections in Brazil. We use the concentration curve, the concentration index, and a decomposition analysis to verify the factors that most influence the inequalities in the specified health variables. We find a positive concentration index for the incidence rate, indicating a greater concentration of diagnoses (number of tests) among groups with higher income levels. When considering symptoms similar to a COVID-19 infection, inequality practically disappears. Among people with higher income, a pre-existing disease has a more significant contribution to the concentration of COVID-19 in the presence of correlated symptoms than in its diagnosis. Tests of dominance support the findings. Moreover, the decomposition results show that if the inequalities were explained only by race (non-white) and place of living (North and Northeast), there would be a concentration of COVID-19 among the poorest.

Migration and Mental Health in Mexico: Domestic Migrants, Return U.S. Migrants, and Non-Migrants.

In this paper, we use survey data from the Mexican Retrospective Demographic Survey (Encuesta Demográfica Retrospectiva) and National Survey of Households (Encuesta Nacional de Hogares) collected in 2017 to examine self-reports of depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, and pain among domestic migrants, returned U.S. migrants, and non-migrants. Although self-reports do not always correspond to clinical diagnoses, they offer some insight into mental health, especially for those without a diagnosis because of limited access to services or stigma. Regression results reveal that domestic migrants, e.g., those who moved within Mexico, reported more anxiety, chronic fatigue, and pain, but risks for U.S. migrants were comparable to non-migrants, controlling for other characteristics. Findings from the decomposition analysis helps explain these findings. While domestic migrant vs. non-migrant differences result both from different migrant demographic attributes, such as age and gender, and differences in the effects of these characteristics between the groups, U.S. migrant vs. non-migrant differences in anxiety and pain emerge only after allowing for the relationship between each observed characteristic and the mental health outcome to vary. Thus, compared to domestic migrants, U.S. migrants are selected on characteristics associated with good mental health—they are positively selected—but those characteristics are not protective for them.

Remittances and healthcare expenditure: Human capital investment or responses to shocks? Evidence from Peru

AbstractThis paper estimates the effect of international remittances on healthcare expenditures, taking into account both the interdependence with other consumption goods and the effects of health shocks. More precisely, we assess whether the budget allocation decisions of remittance‐receiving households reveal different preferences to invest in health capital, even when the simultaneous effect that health shocks may have on the demand of remittances and on other types of nondurable expenditures is accounted for. Using data from the “Peruvian National Survey of Households,” we find that remittances have a positive impact on healthcare budget shares, net of the remittance‐related income effect and independently of the occurrance of a health shock. They also have a positive impact on housing and a negative one on other expenditure items, that is, clothing, transport, and education. Hence, our results indicate a “pure” tendency of remittance‐receiving households to devote larger shares of their budget to health capital investment, rather than to other types of consumption goods.

CREDIT CARD ADOPTION AND USAGE IN CHINA: URBAN–RURAL COMPARISONS

This study examines the differences in credit card behaviors between rural and urban households in China. Using data from a national survey of Chinese households, results show distinct differences between rural and urban respondents in credit card adoption and usage even after controlling for relevant demographic, financial, attitude, and expectation variables. Rural households are less likely to possess a credit card, possibly due to supply side limitations such as lack of financial institutions and low rate of credit card acceptance in rural areas. No urban–rural difference is found in credit card payment behavior. Implications for policymakers and credit card issuers are discussed.

The Paradox of High Economic Growth Under Social Unrest Between 2000 and 2015 in Peru: An Institutional Approach

During the 2000-2015 period, after having overcome economic crisis and armed conflict, Peru experienced high economic growth rates and a reduction in recorded poverty. Nevertheless, this positive economic development was accompanied by increased social unrest. Peru at the dawn of the new millennium became an arena for new types and intensities of social conflicts that reflected the limitations of the economic, social and political systems due to institutional precariousness. This paper studies the causes of the economic growth-conflict paradox by examining the Peruvian public sector and its institutional development. To this end, based on data from the National Survey of Households (ENAHO), an institutional quality index is calculated for each local region and analyzed along with data at a regional level about social conflicts provided by the Peruvian Ombudsman Office. An important finding is that those regions with lower institutional quality, despite their economic growth rate, tend to have more conflict. This suggests that the public sector was incapable of reinventing itself and making the most of the macro-economic success for the sake of the poorest. In this context, social unrest was the symptom of the detrimental outcomes of weak and poor quality of public institutions that could not arbitrate between the needs of private investment that fosters economic growth and the demands of wider society.

The Grocery Purchase Quality Index-2016 Performs Similarly to the Healthy Eating Index-2015 in a National Survey of Household Food Purchases

BackgroundHousehold food purchases are potential indicators of the quality of the home food environment, and grocery purchase behavior is a main focus of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition education programs; therefore, objective measures of grocery purchases are needed. ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to evaluate the Grocery Purchase Quality Index-2016 (GPQI-2016) as a tool for assessing grocery food purchase quality by using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) as the reference standard. DesignIn 2012, the USDA Economic Research Service conducted the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey. Members of participating households recorded all foods acquired for a week. Foods purchased at stores were mapped to the 29 food categories used in USDA Food Plans, expenditure shares were estimated, and GPQI-2016 scores were calculated. USDA food codes, provided in the survey database, were used to calculate the HEI-2015. Participants/settingAll households in the 48 coterminous states were eligible for the survey. The analytic sample size was 4,276 households. Main outcome measuresGPQI-2016 and HEI-2015 scores were compared. Statistical analyses performedCorrelation of scores was assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Linear regression models with fixed effects were used to determine differences among various subgroups of households. ResultsThe correlation coefficient for the total GPQI-2016 score and the total HEI-2015 score was 0.70. For the component scores, the strongest correlations were for Total and Whole Fruit (0.89 to 0.90); the weakest were for Dairy (0.67), Refined Grains (0.66), and Sweets and Sodas/Added Sugars (0.65) (all, P<0.01). Both the GPQI-2016 and HEI-2015 were significantly different among subgroups in expected directions. ConclusionsOverall, the GPQI-2016, estimated from a national survey of households, performed similarly to the HEI-2015. The tool has potential for evaluating nutrition education programs and retail-oriented interventions when the nutrient content and gram weights of foods purchased are not available.

Household wellbeing and health risks in Mexican households with and without migrants: a cross-sectional analysis

BackgroundMigration between Mexico and the USA constitutes the world’s largest migration corridor with more than 13 million movements of people in 2016. Furthermore, Mexico has a complex migration profile, being a country of origin, transit, destination, and return. While there has been discussion on the relationship between migration and development of origin communities, evidence on social and health issues faced by origin households is limited. This case study is a first attempt at documenting, through analyzing a national representative health survey of Mexican households (n = 9474), the relationship between international migration from Mexico and origin household health characteristics.Case presentationMexican international migration moves largely (90% of migrants) toward the USA. Migration has passed from being mostly circular (from the early to late 1990s) to a permanent pattern of residence in the destination country due to changes in migration policies that have progressively restricted the irregular entrance of immigrants making re-entry more difficult.The present case study compares the socioeconomic, demographic, and health characteristics of households in Mexico with and without emigrants using data from a national representative health survey. Accordingly, in 2016, 5.8% (n = 1,802,980) of all Mexican households reported having a member living abroad.Households with members living abroad were found to more likely be headed by a female (45.8%), have Seguro Popular health insurance, and not to be among the poorest household population. In terms of health profile, a higher frequency of adults with a reported diagnosis of diabetes and/or hypertension (33.9 vs 21.7% for households with vs without emigrants, respectively; p = 0.067), and a higher severity of diabetes reflected a higher probability of hospitalization.ConclusionsResults showed that socioeconomic, demographic, and health conditions differed between households with and without emigrants. These differences were determined as not being attributable to migration and cannot be considered as predisposing factors of migration.

State dependence of labour force participation of married Australian women

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of labour force participation behaviour of married Australian women, with a focus on identifying the sources of observed inter-temporal labour force participation persistence.Design/methodology/approachA dynamic Probit model is applied to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, a national representative panel survey of Australian households. The model used accounts for observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity and serially correlated transitory shocks to labour supply.FindingsThe results show that both observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity contributes to observed inter-temporal persistence of labour force participation of married Australian women, but the persistence remains even after controlling for these factors. It is also found that failing to control for serially correlated unobserved transitory shocks would lead to underestimation of genuine state dependence of labour force participation; and that state dependence of labour force participation varies with age, education, health, immigration status and the number of children under the school age.Originality/valueThis study adds to the international literature on labour force dynamics of women by providing Australian empirical evidence and through a flexible modelling framework. The result that there exists genuine positive state dependence in married Australian women’s labour force participation suggests that policy intervention that increases married women’s labour supply would have a long-lasting effect.

Decomposing inequality in financial protection situation in Iran after implementing the health reform plan: What does the evidence show based on national survey of households' budget?

Lack of well-designed healthcare financing mechanisms and high level of out-of-pocket payments in Iran over the last decades led to implementing Health Transformation Plan, in 2014. This study aims to decompose inequality in financial protection of Iranian households after the implementation of the Health Transformation Plan. The data of Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) Survey on Rural and Urban Households Income-Expenditure in 2015 to 2016 were used. The headcount ratio of catastrophic health expenditures was calculated. The corrected concentration index was estimated. The role of contributors on inequality in the exposure to catastrophic health expenditures among poor and nonpoor households was calculated using Farelie's model. The headcount ratio of the exposure to catastrophic health expenditures in urban and rural households was 2.5% (2.43% - 2.64%) and 3.6% (3.48% - 3.76%), respectively. The difference in households' income levels was the main contributor in explaining the inequality in facing catastrophic health expenditures between poor and nonpoor households. [Correction added on 02 June 2018, after first online publication: The "Results" section of the Abstract of the published article has been correctly updated on this version.] CONCLUSION: Even after implementing the HTP, the headcount ratios of catastrophic health expenditure are still considerable. The results show that income is the greatest determinant of inequality in facing catastrophic health expenditure and in urban households.

EMPREGO E DESIGUALDADE DE RENDIMENTOS NO BRASIL: UMA ANÁLISE A PARTIR DA ESTRUTURA DE OCUPAÇÕES

O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir o emprego e a desigualdade de rendimentos entre as ocupações, buscando identificar também diferenças entre homens e mulheres na estrutura de emprego. Considerando-se a reestruturação ocorrida na Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio (PNAD) em 2002, com base na Classificação Brasileira das Ocupações (CBO), as informações desse ano são comparadas às de 2012. O emprego se alterou entre as ocupações, com destaque, de um lado, para o crescimento daqueles ocupados nas ciências e artes e, de outro lado, para a queda do emprego dos trabalhadores agrícolas. Na análise individual de cada determinante, os resultados da pesquisa sugerem queda da desigualdade como um todo e da parcela explicada pela ocupação, que se firma como um dos principais determinantes da desigualdade de rendimentos no Brasil. As mulheres possuem os menores rendimentos e níveis de desigualdade, e, entre as ocupações, há diferenciais maiores entre elas que entre os homens. Por fim, é possível constatar que a queda dos diferenciais de rendimento entre as ocupações ocorreu devido à melhoria em outros determinantes, como a maior homogeneidade no capital humano dos indivíduos, que ficaram mais qualificados, e às quedas dos diferenciais intersetoriais e entre homens e mulheres.

CRIME, FEAR, AND MENTAL HEALTH IN MEXICO

AbstractThis article examines the effect of exposure to criminal violence on fear of crime and mental health in Mexico, a country that has experienced a dramatic rise in violent events resulting from the operation of drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). Data are drawn from more than 30,000 respondents to a national longitudinal survey of Mexican households. We use fixed‐effects models which allow us to control for time‐invariant individual and municipal characteristics affecting both exposure to violence and mental health. The results indicate a substantial increase in fear and psychological distress for individuals living in communities that suffered a rise in the local homicide rate even when exposure to other forms of victimization and more personal experiences with crime are taken into account. Because DTO killings occur in response to factors external to a specific neighborhood, they generate fear and psychological distress at a larger geographical scale. They also seem to create a generalized sense of insecurity, leading to increased fear of other types of crimes. We examine the effect of large surges in homicide and the presence of military and paramilitary groups combatting DTOs as these conditions may approximate those in conflict zones elsewhere in the world. We also explore differences in the relative sensitivity to homicide rates between sociodemographic groups.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Emergency Food Pantry Use

ObjectiveTo determine the association between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and pantry use. DesignA pretest–posttest design that compared pantry use at program enrollment and after 6 months of participation while controlling for household, economic, and geographic characteristics. SettingSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Food Security Survey: a national telephone survey of SNAP new-entrant households conducted in 2011–2012. ParticipantsA total of 3,191 households that completed baseline interviews and were still participating in SNAP approximately 6 months later. Main Outcome MeasureReceived emergency food from pantries in the past 30 days. AnalysisLogistic regression analysis of pantry use with SNAP participation and time-varying household characteristics as independent variables. Statistical significance was assessed using t tests. The authors applied a Bonferroni adjustment to account for multiple comparisons performed. ResultsParticipating in SNAP for 6 months was associated with a decrease in pantry use by 5.2 percentage points (P < .001), representing a 24% reduction (from 21.8% to 16.6%). Conclusions and ImplicationsSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit allotments are sufficient for some households, but 76% of SNAP households that enter the program while using pantries continue to do so about 6 months later, which underscores the need to assess the adequacy of SNAP benefit allotments in ensuring access to sufficient food for a healthy, active life.

Informal Loans in Russia: Why Not to Borrow from a Bank?

After the 2008 crisis, the Russian consumer loan market shows high growth rates, accompanied by the quality deteriorating even faster. At the same time, a great proportion of households are not attracted by the banks and borrow informally. In this paper, we aim to learn why households refuse to become bank clients, using the data from a 2009–2010 national survey of Russian households. Our results suggest that household's choice of the informal credit market is based not only on credit rationing, but also on a lack of financial literacy, credit discipline and trust in the banking sector as a whole.

Single Motherhood and Children's Health and School Performance in Japan

This article examines the well-being of Japanese children in single-mother families relative to children living with both parents. Using data from three rounds of the National Survey of Households with Children, I first demonstrate that single mothers report their children to have significantly worse health and lower academic performance. I then estimate regression models to assess the extent to which these differences reflect single mothers’ economic disadvantage, difficult work circumstances, and worse health and experience of stressful life events. Results indicate that economic disadvantage is particularly important for understanding lower levels of well-being among the children of single mothers. I conclude by discussing potential implications of these results for linkages between family behavior and inequality in Japan and for the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.

Pro-environmental Households and Energy Efficiency in Spain

The residential building sector is a major driver of current and future energy consumption and associated emissions, which can be potentially mitigated through significant energy-efficiency (EE) improvements in both emerging and developed countries. Yet, there are several persistent barriers that hinder the attainment of EE improvements in this area. Using data from a 2008 national representative survey of Spanish households, this paper is interested in the determinants of EE-related decisions. In particular, a discrete-choice model empirically analyzes whether pro-environmental households are more likely to invest in EE and to adopt daily energy-saving habits. We show that households with eco-friendly behaviors are more likely to investment in well-differentiated EE measures as well as to steer daily habits towards energy savings. However, no effects are found for households with environmental attitudes based on stated willingness to pay to protect the environment. In addition to this, households belonging to higher income groups and education levels are more likely to invest in EE but not to adopt energy-saving habits; while households with older members are less likely to invest in EE and show fewer eco-friendly habits.