Poor Individuals Research Articles

NEW EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE INEQUALITY – FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT NEXUS IN ROMANIA. A COINTEGRATION APPROACH

This paper revisits the ambiguous effect of financial development on income inequality in emerging countries by investigating the presence of cointegration between concepts in Romania. Since financial deepening seems to be beneficial in the income-disparities fight in advanced countries, opposite findings are found in the case of less developed or transition ones. Therefore, we employ a time-series model that accounts for inequality, financial deepening and economic growth as the main variables spanning more than 30 years of Romanian history. On average, a higher degree of financial development harms income distribution in the long term, while economic productivity manifests a non-significant influence on inequality. These outcomes are robust to other novel measures of finance that account for the global dimension of financial development: financial institutions, markets and private sector credits. To control for the potential bias of inequality’s transmission channels, we include a proxy for inflation in our specification. By capturing the impact of financial expansion on inequality in the presence of inflationary pressure, our results reflect the sensitivity of the low-income groups to this phenomenon. In this regard, policymakers should pay attention to inflation-targeting strategies to support the condition of poor individuals who often cannot take advantage of the benefits of financial development.

The effect of wrongdoer's status on observer punishment recommendations: the mediating role of envy and the moderating role of belief in a just world.

Our proposition postulates that the correlation between the wrongdoer's status and the punishment suggestions of onlookers is primarily influenced by group-oriented envy rather than the ascription of intentionality and is moderated by the belief in a just world. In three separate studies, 389 university students were asked to read scenarios describing a hit-and-run crime committed by either a rich or a poor individual and then report their opinions on intentionality attribution (Study 1 and Study 2), envy emotions (Study 2), punishment recommendations (all three studies), and belief in a just world (Study 3). Consistently, the findings indicated that those observing recommended harsher penalties to be imposed upon high-status perpetrators engaging in the same wrongdoing (such as hit-and-run) as their low-status equivalents. The effect of the rich receiving more severe punishment was predicted more strongly by envious emotions than by intentionality attributions to high-status wrongdoers and was only present for those observers who endorsed a lower belief in a just world.

The effects of social pensions on nutrition-related health outcomes of the poor: Quasi-experimental evidence from Peru.

This paper exploits the discontinuity around a welfare index of eligibility to assess the impact of Peru's social pension program Pension 65 on nutrition-related health outcomes among elderly poor individuals. Overall, we find evidence of how a relatively inexpensive program can produce improvements in anemia and nutrition-related mortality risk markers. The effects appear to be driven by plausible underlying mechanisms, including via improved nutritional quality as well as greater food expenditures and healthcare utilization. These positive effects are only modestly countered by tentative signs of an increased obesity risk among women in the short term (<2years), but not beyond this term. As the program evolves further, policymakers need to confront the challenge of continuing to ensure the health benefits in terms of reducing nutritional deficits while avoiding potential undesirable side effects in terms of over-nutrition in Peru. The findings may serve to highlight the wider benefits of similar pension policies for the poor also in other middle income countries, well beyond the immediate economic welfare effects that the policies have primarily been designed for.

Animal Density Estimation for Large Unmarked Populations Using a Spatially Explicit Model

AbstractObtaining abundance and density estimates is a particularly important aspect within wildlife conservation and management. To monitor wildlife populations, the use of motion-sensor camera traps is becoming increasing popular due to its non-invasive nature. However, animal identification is not always feasible in practice due to poor quality images and/or individuals not having uniquely identifiable physical characteristics. Spatially explicit models for unmarked individuals permit the estimation of animal density when individuals cannot be uniquely identified. Due to the structure of these models, a Bayesian super-population (data augmentation) approach is often used to fit the models to data, which involves specifying some reasonably large upper limit for the population. However, this approach presents substantial computational challenges for larger populations, as demonstrated by the motivating dataset relating to barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) collected in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia (with a population size in the low thousands). We develop a new and computationally efficient Bayesian algorithm for fitting the models to data that does not require specifying an upper population limit a priori. We apply the new algorithm to the large barking deer dataset, where the standard super-population approach is computationally expensive, and demonstrate a substantial improvement in computational efficiency.Supplementary material to this paper is provided online.

CHALLENGES AND ISSUES OF MICROFINANCE IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world, yet unemployment and poverty run deeply all over the country. In addition, the Northeastern States of India is considered the most economically backward region of the country, which lack basic banking outreach with low investment prospect. Likewise, despite the rich natural resources and diverse socio-culture, Arunachal Pradesh has failed to grow on par with the other states of the country in terms of education, infrastructure, financial services, and other overall development. The present study attempts to analyze the challenges and issues of microfinance in Arunachal Pradesh and examine the existing scenario of microfinance in the state. The study focuses on the various problems faced by poor individuals and the authorities, which restrict the growth of the microfinance sector. The paper concludes that, despite the slow growth it is an undeniable fact that microfinance has been acknowledged as an effective measure to overcome poverty and attain balanced regional development. Further, the government can add a new dimension to the fight against underdevelopment in rural Arunachal Pradesh by implementing adequate measures to overcome several challenges. KEYWORDS: Poverty, Unemployment, Microfinance, Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme (SHG-BLP)

Socioeconomic inequalities associated with Geriatric syndrome in Thailand: The results of Fifth National Health Examination Survey.

Geriatric syndrome (GS) is the prevalence of a group of phenotypes in older people. Functional decline, cognitive impairment, and frailty are common phenotypes that burden individuals, families, and the healthcare system. Policies targeting GS require information on socioeconomic background of older people, which is scarce in Thailand. We investigated socioeconomic inequality associated with GS using the concentration index and further explained the contributions of socioeconomic status and sociodemographic variables to inequality. Nationally representative data of 7,365 individuals aged 60 years and above from the 5th National Health Examination Survey of 2013 were analyzed. The survey used a physical examination, blood test, and questionnaire interviews to elicit personal information, health status, and household assets. The wealth index was used as the main indicator of socioeconomic status, and participants with missing wealth index data were excluded. Three GS phenotypes-frailty, functional impairment (FI) and neurocognitive dysfunction (NCD)-were included. An indirectly standardized concentration index (Cis) and a 95% confidence interval were used to represent the horizontal equity of the three phenotypes. Contributions to the concentration index (CC)-contribution to a more or less equitable GS distribution-were decomposed and shown in terms of percentage and direction. All GS phenotypes were found to be concentrated in the elderly poor (Cis of FI, frailty, and NCD = -0.068, -0.092, and -0.182, respectively). Work status contributes to a more equitable GS distribution in all the phenotypes (%CC in FI, frailty, and NCD = -1.7%, -5.1%, and -2.0%, respectively), whereas types of insurance schemes made bidirectional contributions to the equity of GS. Policies should be adopted to help prevent GS among poor individuals, provide them with an equal opportunity of access to health schemes and ensure opportunities for older Thai individuals to work.

Synergizing Sustainable Solutions: Exploring the Nexus of Food Security and Social Forestry in Bangladesh

Social forestry is centered on managing forests with a focus on the well-being of nearby communities, aiming to elevate impoverished populations by offering employment opportunities and addressing basic needs such as food, fodder, fuel, furniture, and resources. Through these efforts, social forestry not only fosters self-reliance among disadvantaged groups but also contributes to broader developmental goals. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of social forestry in improving the lives of rural poor individuals. We conducted a review using secondary data, selecting articles based on specific criteria and analyzing information from 16 chosen articles. Our investigation revealed that factors such as income, household size, education, staple food costs, and the gender of the household head significantly influence household food security, and social forestry initiatives can lead to considerable benefits. Our findings indicate that individuals without land are particularly engaged in social forestry projects, resulting in increased income levels, with some experiencing earnings exceeding $666. This approach also supports shifting cultivators, enhancing their livelihoods and expanding forested areas in the region. Furthermore, the adoption of agroforestry within social forestry plots has led to a notable shift, with approximately 64% of people transitioning to agroforestry practices, thereby augmenting rural women's incomes by up to $300. Overall, social forestry has contributed to a 31% increase in forested areas in Bangladesh. However, challenges such as confusion and high interest rates deter farmers from participating in social forestry initiatives. Addressing these issues could significantly enhance the popularity and income-generating potential of social forestry for rural communities.

Identification of factors affecting the cases of under-age female marriage using geographically weighted panel regression approach in south kalimantan province.

The topic of this study was chosen because the percentage of underage female marriages in South Kalimantan Province was the highest in Indonesia over the last five years, from 2018 to 2022. This signifies that there are social issues in the local community that the government must address. One possible answer is to identify the factors that contribute to the creation of these conditions in each region. Using the Geographically Weighted Panel Regression (GWPR) method, this study attempts to determine the factors that influence the rise of underage female marriage instances in South Kalimantan Province. The number of poor individuals, population density, average duration of schooling, adjusted per capita expenditure, and total population were chosen as independent variables. Data acquired from South Kalimantan Province's Central Bureau of Statistics' periodic releases. Because there was high spatial heterogeneity between each location in this study, it was quite practical to employ the GWPR approach in developing a conjectural model. The results of evaluating the GWPR model with adaptive Gaussian kernel weights provide significant results and the model can explain the variance of data by 55 percent. Testing the parameters of the GWPR model reveals two (two) regional groupings with distinct influencing variables. The first group consists of ten (ten) regions that are considerably impacted by both the number of impoverished people and the average length of schooling, whereas the second group consists of three (three) regions that are impacted solely by the average length of schooling.

Assessment of Psychological Treatments and Its Affordability Among Students with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Scoping Review

PTSD is a common mental health disorder among students across the globe that manifests after encountering traumatic events. This study explored the nexus between poverty and PTSD among students. This review employed a scoping review lens to examine the nexus between PTSD and poverty among students. Literature search was conducted in online databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Semantic Scholar. This study followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-SCR) for study selection and data extraction. Poverty is a significant factor that predisposes individuals to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder after experiencing a traumatic event, as determined by this review. In addition, this review discloses that psychological treatments such as Trauma Focused Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for PTSD, narrative exposure therapy among others have been identified as effective for treating PTSD; however, the cost of treatment has been found to be unaffordable among poor individuals. This study also revealed that there is a dearth of empirical studies that focus specifically on students' PTSD and Poverty or studies conducted in educational settings with reference to PTSD and poverty. In light of this, this study recommends that future research should investigate the relationships between PTSD and poverty among students.

The impact of sufferers' wealth status on pain perceptions: Its development and relation to allocation of healthcare resources.

Wealth-based disparities in health care wherein the poor receive undertreatment in painful conditions are a prominent issue that requires immediate attention. Research with adults suggests that these disparities are partly rooted in stereotypes associating poor individuals with pain insensitivity. However, whether and how children consider a sufferer's wealth status in their pain perceptions remains unknown. The present work addressed this question by testing 4- to 9-year-olds from the US and China. In Study 1 (N=108, 56 girls, 79% White), US participants saw rich and poor White children experiencing identical injuries and indicated who they thought felt more pain. Although 4- to 6-year-olds responded at chance, children aged seven and above attributed more pain to the poor than to the rich. Study 2 with a new sample of US children (N=111, 56 girls, 69% White) extended this effect to judgments of White adults' pain. Pain judgments also informed children's prosocial behaviors, leading them to provide medical resources to the poor. Studies 3 (N=118, 59 girls, 100% Asian) and 4 (N=80, 40 girls, 100% Asian) found that, when evaluating White and Asian people's suffering, Chinese children began to attribute more pain to the poor than to the rich earlier than US children. Thus, unlike US adults, US children and Chinese children recognize the poor's pain from early on. These findings add to our knowledge of group-based beliefs about pain sensitivity and have broad implications on ways to promote equitable health care. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Four studies examined whether 4- to 9-year-old children's pain perceptions were influenced by sufferers' wealth status. US children attributed more pain to White individuals of low wealth status than those of high wealth status by age seven. Chinese children demonstrated an earlier tendency to attribute more pain to the poor (versus the rich) compared to US children. Children's wealth-based pain judgments underlied their tendency to provide healthcare resources to people of low wealth status.

Les pauvres et le droit civil : essai sur la production du savoir juridique

À partir de l’analyse des sources du droit des obligations et du droit des biens, cet article examine comment les sources du droit civil, malgré la vocation universaliste de ce dernier, reflètent avant tout les enjeux juridiques vécus par les personnes morales et les personnes physiques aisées. Il propose que cette tendance s’explique principalement par des inégalités structurelles et épistémiques dans la production du savoir juridique. Effectivement, les procédés de constitution du savoir juridique, les inégalités d’accès aux tribunaux, de même que le statut social des personnes autorisées à produire les normes civilistes ainsi que le savoir sur ces normes sont des contraintes. Ces dernières façonnent considérablement le type d’enjeux, de protagonistes et de visions du monde susceptibles de percoler afin de constituer ce savoir. En découle alors une invisibilité marquée des personnes pauvres en son sein. Nous proposons ultimement une réflexion en droit civil sur les manières de mieux refléter leurs expériences en dépit des contraintes socioéconomiques et épistémiques exposées.

Childhood circumstances, social mobility and the obesity transition: Evidence from South Africa

The distribution of obesity tends to shift from rich to poor individuals as countries develop, in a process of shifting sociodemographic patterns of obesity that has been called the ‘obesity transition’. This change tends to happen with economic development, but little is known about the specific mechanisms that drive the change. We propose that improvements in childhood circumstances with economic development may be one of the drivers of the obesity transition. We explore whether the social gradient in body weight differs by childhood socioeconomic status (SES), proxied by the respondent’s mother having Grade 12, using South Africa’s nationally representative panel National Income Dynamics Study. In support of our hypothesis, we find that the social gradient in body weight is less positive for adults who had a high childhood SES, and already appears to have reversed among high-SES women who also had a high childhood SES. Upward social mobility over an individual’s life course or across a single generation is associated with higher body weight compared to a stable high SES. But a high SES sustained in childhood and adulthood – or across more than one generation – may decrease adult obesity risk, and result in a reversal of the social gradient in body weight. Random effects within-between models show that the social gradient in body weight and its interaction with childhood SES are driven more by differences in income between individuals than by short-run changes in income within individuals, again suggesting that the obesity transition is driven by long-run changes rather than by very short-run changes. Our results are broadly robust to using several alternative measures of body weight, childhood SES and adult SES. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that widespread improvements in childhood circumstances and nutrition with economic development may contribute to the shift to later stages of the obesity transition.

Challenges to achieving the social forestry goal of alleviating poverty in Eastern Indonesia

Around 1.3 million rural poor individuals reside in Eastern Indonesia, where the government, via the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, aims to enhance the economy by granting access to forest management through social forestry (SF) programs. This study focuses on identifying challenges in implementing SF to alleviate poverty in the region, which remains understudied. Desk research through a literature review of secondary data was conducted to analyze in order to propose recommendations. The primary challenge faced by farmers is the marketing of forest products, due to geographical constraints and limited infrastructure. To address this, a strategy for developing export-oriented forest products is crucial to increase their value and offset high transportation costs. Empowering farmers with market knowledge and skills through training, technical assistance, and access to market information is urgently needed. Successful implementation of SF programs requires collaboration among the government, communities, companies, and other stakeholders. Additionally, improving transportation infrastructure is vital to overcome logistical barriers. Supportive policies from the government, such as simplifying export procedures, tax exemptions, and promotion of international trade, play a crucial role in facilitating the export of forest products. These collective efforts can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation in Eastern Indonesia through SF initiatives.

The Impact of East Cashew Social Entrepreneurship On Pro-Poor Tour-ism In Karangasem Regency

Based on data, there are more than 28 thousand residents in Karangasem, Bali, who live below the poverty line. This poverty occurs because residents who were previously in-volved in the tourism industry cannot meet their basic needs, with the average monthly per capita expenditure below the poverty line. Karangasem was chosen deliberately as a research location because it has the lowest human development index in Bali. The re-search sample was taken randomly from poor households who previously worked in the tourism sector and are now laid off as informants. Further data was collected through structured interviews and observations. The results of data analysis and discussion show that the entrepreneurial welfare project in East Bali identified two strategies for reducing poverty. First, cluster one is a strategy for poor households who are very poor and have a low level of education. In situations of economic and social limitations, it is necessary to channel employment opportunities through a job placement system for this type of house-hold. They are given the opportunity to produce goods for certain companies, involving three parties: poor individuals, companies, and the government. Second, cluster two is a strategy for poor individuals who work independently to increase their income. For entre-preneurial households, are advised to develop their businesses into micro, small and me-dium businesses to increase sales. This strategy focuses on improving quality in the pro-duction, marketing and financing processes. The second cluster strategy is a model of rural community empowerment based on partnerships.

The challenge of youth unemployment in Nigeria

AbstractNigeria is home to a significant and growing “youth” population, over a third of it below 24 years of age. The demographic potential for productivity and growth this group represents occurs alongside large-scale unemployment among young people of working age. The “unemployment crisis” has deep historical roots and exists within a wider context of poor governance, insecurity, conflict, and poverty. Policy norms and practices to address youth unemployment in Nigeria largely centre on skill development and job creation, with complementary schemes selectively targeted to specific groups of vulnerable and poor individuals. Measures are typically ad hoc, detached from a coherent programme of sustainable reform. Pre-existing structural factors and capacity constraints also shape the effectiveness of these programmes. While a productivist focus within current policy is potentially empowering in giving young Nigerians “worker” status, it also detracts from attending to deep-rooted structural problems seen to affect young people in disproportionate ways. Securing meaningful choices and lives for Nigerian youth requires reframing youth unemployment beyond labour markets alone, and embedded in ideas of equality and collective action.

Measuring Upward Mobility

We conceptualize and measure upward mobility over income or wealth. At the core of our exercise is the Growth Progressivity Axiom: transfers of instantaneous growth rates from relatively rich to poor individuals increases upward mobility. This axiom, along with mild auxiliary restrictions, identifies an “upward mobility kernel” with a single free parameter, in which mobility is linear in individual growth rates, with geometrically declining weights on baseline incomes. We extend this kernel to trajectories over intervals. The analysis delivers an upward mobility index that does not rely on panel data. That significantly expands our analytical scope to data-poor settings. (JEL D31, D63, I32, O15, O40)

SISTEM PENDUKUNG KEPUTUSAN PENERIMA PKH MENGGUNAKAN METODE SAW

The Family Hope Program is a conditional social assistance program for poor and vulnerable families and/or individuals. The current problem is that the process of determining PKH beneficiaries by PKH administrators and assistants in Bendolo Village is still done manually and has not been supported by an optimal system. Decision Support System In determining beneficiaries, there are 6 criteria used. Problems often occur in the selection of beneficiaries, one of which is the long process of determining beneficiaries and the emergence of community prejudice regarding beneficiaries of the program. The result of this study is the formation of a decision support system to determine eligible and ineligible PKH beneficiary candidates using the SAW method.

The emergence of social inequality: A Co-Evolutionary analysis

Social inequality is an important issue at the core of economic thought. Based on a stylized pie-sharing game, this article proposes a co-evolutionary computational model to study the interaction between social classes, aiming to answer the following questions: Why do social classes exist, and how do they affect social efficiency and individual effectiveness? Why are wealth inequality and social exclusion persistent? From a methodological perspective, this article extends the pie-sharing game to include a network of interactions and classes, social mobility, evolving wealth, and learning agents. The results show that social inequality is self-emergent. Surprisingly, in the simulations, the existence of social classes increases individual effectiveness, mainly benefiting the poor. Nonetheless, flatter societies (where social classes exist) have a higher average individual effectiveness. As expected, it was observed that wealth inequality is persistent in hierarchical societies, and the upper classes keep a higher proportion of wealth. Furthermore, the analysis extends the bargaining game to include social mobility, showing that, surprisingly, it increases the robustness of the class system and wealth inequality. Finally, the simulation of dual societies shows that these are an evolutionary equilibrium: social exclusion is persistent and accepted by wealthy and poor individuals, and resources are efficiently used.

Long-Term Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 and Hospitalizations for Myocardial Infarction Among US Residents: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis.

Background Air pollution has been recognized as an untraditional risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI). However, the MI risk attributable to long-term exposure to fine particulate matter ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) is unclear, especially in younger populations, and few studies have represented the general population or had power to examine comorbidities. Methods and Results We applied the difference-in-differences approach to estimate the relationship between annual PM2.5 exposure and hospitalizations for MI among US residents and further identified potential susceptible subpopulations. All hospital admissions for MI in 10 US states over the period 2002 to 2016 were obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database. In total, 1 914 684 MI hospital admissions from 8106 zip codes were included in this study. We observed a 1.35% (95% CI, 1.11-1.59) increase in MI hospitalization rate for 1-μg/m3 increase in annual PM2.5 exposure. The estimate was robust to adjustment for surface pressure, relative humidity, and copollutants. In the population exposed to ≤12 μg/m3, there was a larger increment of 2.17% (95% CI, 1.79-2.56) in hospitalization rate associated with 1-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. Young people (0-34 years of age) and elderly people (≥75 years of age) were the 2 most susceptible age groups. Residents living in more densely populated or poorer areas and individuals with comorbidities were observed to be at a greater risk. Conclusions This study indicates long-term residential exposure to PM2.5 could increase risk of MI among the general US population, people with comorbidities, and poorer individuals. The association persists below current standards.

How much capital should be taxed? A review of the quantitative and empirical literature

AbstractThis paper reviews the literature providing quantitative and empirical results on capital taxation. In doing this, we differentiate between individual and corporate taxes, respectively. From existing literature, it emerges that capital income taxes for individuals increase with the degree of heterogeneity within the population, market competition, and the economy's maturity, being negative (i.e., subsidy) in the presence of monopolistic competition or developing countries, no higher than 15% in Mirrleesian economies and as high as 45% when coupled with incomplete insurance markets and labor income taxes in competitive‐closed economies. Excessively high wealth tax rates for redistributive purposes, however, are prevented by the larger tax elasticity of rich (−1.15) with respect to poor (−0.09) individuals. Negative tax elasticities concerning employment (from −0.5 to −0.2), innovation (from −2.8 to −1.3), and investments (−4.7) suggest low corporate taxes, whose magnitude should be negatively related to the degree of the economy's openness, given also the possibility for firms to relocate abroad. Finally, although still inconclusive, the main conclusions concerning dividend taxes suggest that tax rates increase with the firm's size and, thus, be set at low levels for start‐ups.