Poverty Research Research Articles

Identifying Themes in Energy Poverty Research: Energy Justice Implications for Policy, Programs, and the Clean Energy Transition

Energy poverty affects numerous households across the globe and has several key implications and concerns for public health and social equity. Energy poverty is defined as “the lack of access to modern and affordable energy services”. Individuals or communities in energy poverty face limitations in accessing reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. This review paper examines a focused subset of recent research on energy poverty highlighted by the “NSF 2026: Priorities and Research Needs for an Equitable Energy Transition” workshop and the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Justice Policy and Analysis to help frame energy poverty’s impacts on policy, poverty alleviation, environmental impact, and social inequity. This review paper uses five themes to organize previous energy poverty work: (1) Energy Poverty and Justice Definitions and Metrics; (2) Behavioral Aspects of Energy Poverty; (3) Efficacy of Energy Assistance Programs; (4) Efficiency of Energy Efficiency Policy; (5) The Energy Transition and Environmental and Energy Justice. We found that the literature examined how comprehensive assessment of energy poverty requires going beyond standard statistics and metrics and must include an understanding of how underserved households interact with energy. We found strong optimism for the clean energy transition’s ability to significantly alleviate energy poverty, but only if policymakers include equity. Finally, we found that while there is plenty of work highlighting deficiencies there is a dearth of work examining successful implementations and how to replicate them which will be needed if the clean energy transition is to match its potential.

“I don’t like to ask for charity”: The possibilities of social inclusion among immigrant low-income Latina mothers via feminist action research

This Feminist Action Research (FAR) examines the impact of economic and societal exclusion on low-income Latina mothers. The study, conducted in an urban community in the Northeast U.S., aimed to foster social inclusion among low-income Latina mothers via a financial intervention. Data were collected from 12 participants, and the intervention emphasized curriculum negotiation and critical thinking. Descriptions and roles of positionality are considered and contextualized. Findings exemplified economic and societal exclusion in the form of economic deprivation and experiences of discrimination, along with experiences of personal agency, solidarity, and social inclusion. Conclusions include a discussion on the potential of FAR within poverty research, along with practical implications in developing community change.

What influence farmers’ relative poverty in China: A global analysis based on statistical and interpretable machine learning methods

Poverty eradication has always been a major challenge to global development and governance, which received widespread attention from each country. With the completion poverty alleviation task in 2020, relative poverty governance becomes an important issue to be solved in China urgently. Because of a large population, poor infrastructures, insufficient resources, and long-term uneven development raising the living standard of farmers in rural areas is critical to China's success in realizing moderate prosperity. Therefore, identifying the poor farmers, exploring the influence factors to relative poverty, and clarifying its effect mechanism in rural areas are significant for the subsequent poverty governance. Most of the previous studies adopted the method of apriori assuming the factor system and verifying the hypothesis. We innovatively constructed a relative poverty index system consistent with China's actual conditions, selecting all the possible variables that could affect relative poverty based on the existing literature, including individual characteristics, psychological endowment, and geographical environment, and rebuilt an experimental database. Then, through data processing and data analysis, the main factors influencing the relative poverty of farmers were systematically sorted out based on the machine learning method. Finally, 25 chosen influencing factors were discussed in detail. Research findings show that: 1) Machine learning algorithm is proved it could be well applied in relative poverty fields, especially XGBoost, which achieves 81.9% accuracy and the score of ROC_AUC reaches 0.819. 2) This study sheds light on many new research directions in applying machine learning for relative poverty research, besides, the paper offers an integral framework and beneficial reference for target identification using machine learning algorithms. 3) In addition, by utilizing the interpretable tools, the “black-box” of ML become transparent through PDP and SHAP explanation, it also reveals that machine learning models can readily handle the non-linear association relationship.

Open access publication of obstetrics and gynecology research in Africa: A dalliance between poverty and paywalls.

SynopsisOpen access publishing remains a challenge in Africa due to poverty and poor research funding. There is a need for global action.

Developing a guiding framework based on sustainable development to alleviate poverty, hunger and disease

PurposeSustainable development (SD) is vital in alleviating poverty, hunger and disease (PHD). The purpose of this study is to present a guiding framework with pathways targeting the sustainability challenges concerning PHD based on urban planning and design literature.Design/methodology/approachA narrative review and content analysis of 27 articles published by 11 journals indexed in Scopus were conducted using bibliometrics analysis.FindingsThe study’s findings discuss contemporary normative planning and design ideas and their ability to alleviate PHD. Considering these findings, the authors recommend that urban planning and design implementation processes carefully pursue the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Vision 2030 by tracking qualitative metrics that consider social, cultural and spiritual well-being.Originality/valueThe contribution is to propose a conceptual framework for alleviating hunger, poverty and disease through Vision 2030. Practitioners and policymakers can use this framework to assess the impact of their actions. Hunger, poverty and disease research could be guided by this framework to identify and prioritize best practices in cities of the Global South.

Household-level Prevalence and Poverty Penalties of Working in Non-teleworkable and Non-essential Occupations:Evidence from East and West Germany in 2019

AbstractHouseholds are prime locations of risk pooling and redistribution. Household constellations in terms of the number of earners and their occupations define households’ capacity to cushion crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or rising inflation. The occupational structure and the sociodemographic composition of households continue to vary widely between the former East and West German regions. Against the background of rising levels of in-work poverty in recent years, we extend the prevalence and penalties framework as used in poverty research to two occupational risks that gained significance in post-COVID-19 labour markets. Our study addresses two questions: 1) How prevalent were household constellations in which the sole earner or both earners worked in an occupation that was both non-teleworkable and non-essential (NTNE) in East and West Germany in 2019? 2) Did the poverty penalty associated with the sole or both earners working in NTNE occupations differ in East and West Germany in 2019? The most recent available data from the German Microcensus (2019, N=179,755 households) is linked to new data collected on the teleworkability of occupations and occupations’ classification as essential by German federal state decrees in the spring of 2020. Descriptive statistics and regression models show that the prevalence of household constellations where the sole earner or both earners worked in NTNE occupations was relatively similar across East and West Germany. In contrast to overall similar prevalence, in East Germany the poverty penalty associated with the sole or both earners working in NTNE occupations was substantially elevated. Controlling for known occupational disadvantages, including low education, fixed-term contracts, shift work and the lack of leadership responsibilities narrowed but did not eliminate the sizeable gap in poverty penalties associated with NTNE occupations between East and West Germany.

Review of application of high frequency smart meter data in energy economics and policy research

The rapid popularization of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) smart meters produces customer high-frequency energy consumption data. These data provide diverse options for energy economics and policy research. In this review, we examine studies applying high frequency smart meter data to explore the overall impact of household new technology adoption and COVID-19 on energy consumption patterns. We find that high frequency smart meter data boosts the accuracy of forecasting models with various data-driven algorithms. In addition, there is a lack of precise assessment and inclusive understanding of energy poverty in advanced economics. Smart meter data help expand and deepen the energy poverty research. Research on how vulnerable groups exhibit energy poverty can improve society's understanding of energy poverty and help implement related policy assistance programs.

Energy transition for the rich and energy poverty for the rest? Mapping and explaining district heating transition, energy poverty, and vulnerability in Czechia

This paper considers the planned transformation of the district heating sector as an opportunity to protect households from energy poverty, while also acknowledging the potential for increased susceptibility. We aim to contribute to energy vulnerability research through a two/phased sequential explanatory research design, which is uncommon in energy poverty research. In the first stage, we develop an index to reveal the detailed socio-spatial distribution of urban energy vulnerability in Czechia. This index can be used as a primary tool for targeted regional and local policies. In the second stage, we confirm the validity and disaggregation of the index through local research. In addition, this process uncovers vulnerabilities not captured by the index or that add meaning and depth to known vulnerability factors. We identify multiple pathways of energy vulnerability stemming from socioeconomic and material-technical factors, as well as combinations thereof. Our research shows that urban energy vulnerability is rooted at different levels, ranging from the household to the state, and is influenced both by past deregulation/liberalisation efforts and rising energy prices, which can jeopardize planned projects. Our analysis highlights the crucial role of district heating systems in urban energy vulnerability, their socio-economic fragility, and their inherently political nature.

Protecting Poor Rural Households from Health Shocks: Poverty Alleviation Practices in Chongqing, China

In certain low- and middle-income countries, information asymmetry, human capital damage and long-term economic decline are longstanding problems in health-related poverty alleviation. Notably, China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation program sheds new light on resolving these problems. Based on existing paradigms in the poverty research area, the purpose of this paper is to summarize and explore the roles of Chinese support policies in poor rural households coping with health shocks. Using a questionnaire survey of 4635 poor rural households in a municipality in Southwest China conducted from December 2018 to January 2019, this study examines the relationships between health shocks, human capital, support policies, and per capita household income. The results show that (1) apart from safety nets and cargo nets, monitoring nets are formed in China’s poverty alleviation practice, which could resolve the problem of information asymmetry. (2) Health shocks do not cause poor rural households to fall back into poverty. The reason for this is that safety net and cargo net policies are provided to relevant poor rural households by considering household human capital endowments and the information received from cargo nets. Through this method, patients can obtain effective support and caregivers can obtain off-farm employment opportunities. Thus, the ability of poor rural household human capital to resist health shocks is enhanced. (3) With the support of these policies, the negative effects of dependent family members and agricultural laborers on per capita household income are reversed. Thus, the long-term increase in poor rural household income is also ensured. These findings hold great value for other developing countries coping with health shocks and formulating anti-poverty policies.

Misclassification Error, Binary Regression Bias, and Reliability in Multidimensional Poverty Measurement: An Estimation Approach Based on Bayesian Modelling

ABSTRACT Measurement error affects the quality of population orderings of an index and, hence, increases the misclassification of the poor and the non-poor groups and affects statistical inferences from binary regression models. Hence, the conclusions about the extent, profile, and distribution of poverty are likely to be misleading. However, the size and type (false positive/negatives) of classification error have remained untraceable in poverty research. This paper draws upon previous theoretical literature to develop a Bayesian-based estimator of population misclassification and binary-regression coefficient bias. The study uses the reliability values of existing poverty indices to set up a Monte Carlo study based on factor mixture models to illustrate the connections between measurement error, misclassification, and bias and evaluate the procedure and discusses its importance for real-world applications.

Patterns and determinants of multidimensional poverty in secondary cities: Implications for urban sustainability in African cities

Urban poverty research on African cities has focused mainly on megacities and large metropolitan areas. Despite their critical role in Africa's urbanization and development, secondary cities have received limited scholarly attention. Studies on secondary cities are unidimensional and rely mostly on secondary information from national census data. Using Wa, a secondary city in Ghana, this study assesses spatial patterns and determinants of multidimensional poverty, measured by two metrics: multidimensional poverty index (MPI) and multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI). Spatially explicit primary data were collected from 775 households differentiated into core and fringe neighbourhoods. Mean MPI was significantly lower in core neighbourhoods than in fringe neighbourhoods. However, we found no statistically significant difference in MEPI between core and fringe neighbourhoods. The distribution of MPI is variably influenced by location and space but not MEPI. Although MPI was generally low, most areas with low MPI still had high MEPI, suggesting that energy access may be major problem even in secondary cities with low poverty. MPI was largely influenced negatively by household size and education. There was a significant negative relationship between MEPI and the food consumption score, suggesting a strong inverse relationship between food security and energy poverty. Together, the findings imply that scaling up the adoption of clean cooking energy in secondary cities can play a key role in addressing multidimensional urban poverty and advancing urban sustainability.

Methodological Challenges in Energy Poverty Research

Energy poverty is an endemic phenomenon affecting millions of households around the world. An abundant literature, employing various single or combined methods, is dedicated to understanding its causes, symptoms, and the lived experiences of these households. This article explores the challenges raised when implementing qualitative research on energy poor households. We analyse a set of 33 research outputs - academic papers and reports - to identify methodological challenges raised by researchers and their possible resolves. By discussing the difficulties related to the operationalization of the concept of energy poverty, those linked to identifying and engaging energy poor households in research, or to the complex nature of their vulnerabilities, the study aims to develop a grounded theory articulated on the narrative of the findings and provide guidance for future qualitative work on energy poverty performed by researchers and stakeholders involved in alleviating it.

Developments and Trends in Energy Poverty Research—Literature Visualization Analysis Based on CiteSpace

The purpose of this paper is to help better understand the problem of energy poverty; to grasp the research context, evolution trends and research hotspots of energy poverty; and to find clues from research on energy poverty. In this paper, we use the scientific quantitative knowledge graph method and CiteSpace software to analyze 814 studies in the WOS (Web of Science) and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases, such as a literature characteristic analysis, a core author and research institution network analysis, a research hotspot analysis, research trends and a frontier analysis. The results show that the specific connotations of energy poverty are different between developed countries and developing countries. In developed countries, energy poverty is mainly manifested in the affordability of energy consumption, while in developing countries, energy poverty is manifested in the availability of energy. The causes, impacts and solutions of energy poverty are the focus of CNKI and WOS literature, and their perspectives of the impacts and solutions are relatively consistent. However, in terms of the causes, scholars of WOS discuss the energy supply side and the demand side, while scholars of CNKI mainly analyze the energy demand side. The quantitative evaluation system of energy poverty has not been unified, which restricts the depth and breadth of energy poverty research. Topics such as the expanding scope of research objects; the interaction among energy poverty, the “two-carbon” target and other macro factors; the complex and severe energy poverty situation following the COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine; and the ways to solve the energy poverty problem in the context of China may become the focus of research in the future. This study provides an overview for researchers who are not familiar with the field of energy poverty, and provides reference and inspiration for future research of scholars in the field of energy poverty research.

Analysis of material deprivation in Poland: a machine learning approach

The material deprivation indicators refer to the inability to afford some items considered by most people to be desirable or even necessary to lead an adequate life. Their analysis enables measuring living standards directly by means of looking at the enforced lack of necessities. Therefore, it has recently been gaining much attention in poverty research. The study aims to examine the risk of material deprivation in Poland. It is based on recent Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2020 data. The study applies Logistic Regression and commonly used machine learning algorithms, such as Random Forests, Extra Trees Classifier, Gradient Boosting, XGBoost algorithm and AdaBoost algorithm. Due to the easy access to free software and the great advances in computational speed, machine learning methods are gaining popularity in many fields, particularly in poverty research. The analyses performed for various sets of indicators have shown that the best goodness of fit measured by AUC and accuracy has Gradient Boosting. It is found that the essential characteristics affecting the occurrence of material deprivation are income, age and level of education of household members, type of household, and presence of disabled or unemployed people.

Perspectives in the Measurement of Poverty: A Systematic Review

Poverty research is controversial by researchers and institutions; In Peru since 2010, the Advisory Committee for the Estimation of Poverty and Other Related Indicators is created; however, the country's official monetary method persists as an official measure, even though many countries in the region have changed their official poverty measurements. This review article allows us to share current information on poverty and develop the bibliographic review table, which will allow us to develop the topic and conclude that the official method for measuring poverty in Peru remains monetary; the Advisory Committee on the Estimation of Poverty and other indicators is inactive; measuring poverty by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MMA) has proven to be the most reliable and used method; rural people are at a disadvantage of suffering from poverty relative to the inhabitants of the cities; several researchers agree that poverty is intimately associated with the level of education, age and occupation of the head of the household; the objective well-being represented by the multidimensional poverty index does not necessarily correlate with the subjective well-being represented by happiness; and finally, there is a shortage of research and publication on poverty in Peru.

Twenty‐five years of management research on poverty: A systematic review of the literature and a research agenda

AbstractDespite significant economic growth in both developed and emerging markets, several disadvantaged and marginalized segments of the global population still live in poverty. Recognizing the important role of business in alleviating poverty, management scholars have been increasingly investigating the topic of poverty. Although reviews of the extant literature have provided overviews of select poverty‐related themes, such as that of the base of the pyramid, no one study has reviewed the topic of poverty across the management literature. The present systematic literature review collects, organizes and analyzes several hundred articles on poverty research, published in business and management journals during the past 25 years. The study identifies major themes in poverty research, reveals thematic overlaps among subdisciplines, summarizes adopted research methodologies, and recognizes opportunities for future research. We find that, despite the wide variation of research topics and approaches, the studied themes remain relatively insulated within each subdiscipline of management research. Drawing on United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, we conclude that, although the number of articles on poverty has increased considerably during the last decade, there are several research niches that future management scholars can investigate to alleviate one of the most pressing global challenges of our time.

Typology of Poverty and Its Implications for Poverty Reduction Policies

The purpose of this study is to identify conditions, characteristics, access, social environment, and opportunities that can be utilized by the poor based on regional typology in Gorontalo Province. From the results of this study, it is hoped that various policies can be formulated to help the poor get out of the poverty trap. Poverty research based on analysis of three regional typologies, namely urban, rural and coastal areas, has never been done before in Gorontalo Province. The method used in this study is descriptive-qualitative method. The types of data used are primary data and secondary data. The study will be carried out in three regional typologies, namely urban, rural and coastal areas, according to the regional characteristics of the Gorontalo Province. The location sampling technique was carried out by taking area samples in stages (multistage area sampling) to determine the research location villages. The population in this study is all poor households living in the six selected sub-districts/villages. Sampling in the six sub-districts/villages surveyed was carried out using a simple random sampling technique. The results of the study show that in general, household vulnerability to poverty seems to be associated with regional aspects, where households living in rural areas have a higher vulnerability than households in urban and coastal areas. From the survey results in three regional typologies (urban, rural, and coastal) in Gorontalo Province, it can be generally concluded that income poverty and non-income poverty are more dominant in poor households in rural areas compared to urban and coastal areas. In other words, those who live in rural areas live in poorer conditions than those who live in urban and coastal areas. From a policy perspective, this means that efforts to reduce poverty in rural areas will be relatively more difficult than the other two regions. The implication of this research is that efforts to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner need to focus more on aspects of improving the quality of human resources for poor households in all regional typologies. The government needs to design various programs that aim to: (i) reduce the number of illiterate poor people and improve their skills; (ii) increasing access of the poor to public services (especially education and health) and economic resources (especially business capital); and (iii) intensifying programs to empower the poor, through the provision of micro credit, assistance with business equipment, work-intensive programs, and others.

From the Henderson Poverty Inquiry to the Cashless Debit Card: Alternatives to the Reframing of Poverty as Welfare Dependency in Australia

The recent announcement of a Senate inquiry into the ‘extent and nature of poverty in Australia’ reminds us that poverty policy in Australia has long been a contested concept in terms of identification of causes and potential solutions. The 1972–1975 Henderson Commission of Inquiry into Poverty led by Ronald Henderson arguably represented the high point of Australian poverty research and policy discourse. That inquiry established a framework for measuring poverty based on a link to the minimum wage, and incorporating housing costs which has informed all subsequent research.

Barriers and Facilitators to Career Advancement of Women in Infectious Diseases of Poverty Research in Nigeria

Women scientists are commonly under-represented in all stages of their research career, thus resulting in fewer women in leadership and decision-making positions. The dearth of women scientists in infectious diseases of poverty research often results in a lack of diverse perspectives necessary for addressing gender dimensions and the burden of the diseases. This study, therefore, aimed to look at barriers and facilitators to the career growth of women scientists in infectious diseases of poverty research in Nigeria. It also aimed at highlighting the importance of positive actions such as research mentorship and adequate funding to ensure that women achieve their full potential in their research careers. This was a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in six higher institutions in the South-West, North-Central, and North-West geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The institutions were the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, and its Kainji out station in Niger State; University Teaching Hospital, Lagos; Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis and Onchocerciasis Research, Kaduna, University of Lagos; and the University of Ibadan. The study population was made up of 134 participants, which included fifty-six (56) women scientists in infectious diseases of poverty research within the age range of 20 to 50 years. They held a minimum of master’s degrees in biomedical, socio-behavioral, and life sciences. Other participants were seventy-eight (78) graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in biomedical and life sciences, aged between 20 and 40 years. Family issues, which included balancing life and career and raising children, and gender stereotyping, such as having full responsibility for caregiving within the family, were some barriers to their career growth. Suggested facilitators to their career growth were adequate funding opportunities, including career re-entry grants, continuous and periodic participation in training, short courses, seminars, and webinars to enable them to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and techniques in their various research fields.

Editors' Introduction

Review of Income and WealthVolume 68, Issue S2 p. S261-S263 Editor’s Introduction Editors' Introduction Dean Jolliffe, Corresponding Author Dean Jolliffe [email protected] World Bank, Washington, DC, USACorrespondence to: Dean Jolliffe, World Bank, Development Data Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA ([email protected]).Search for more papers by this authorGrazia Pittau, Grazia Pittau Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorJohn Gibson, John Gibson University of Waikato, Hamilton, New ZealandSearch for more papers by this author Dean Jolliffe, Corresponding Author Dean Jolliffe [email protected] World Bank, Washington, DC, USACorrespondence to: Dean Jolliffe, World Bank, Development Data Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA ([email protected]).Search for more papers by this authorGrazia Pittau, Grazia Pittau Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorJohn Gibson, John Gibson University of Waikato, Hamilton, New ZealandSearch for more papers by this author First published: 07 November 2022 https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12623 Note: The coeditors of this special issue would like to acknowledge the contributions of the cochair of the conference organizing committee, Andrew Sharpe, as well as the work of the program committee, comprising John Gibson, Dean Jolliffe, Grazia Pittau, Stephen Jenkins, and Tim Smeeding. The conference was made possible through financial support from the UK government through the Data and Evidence for Tackling Extreme Poverty (DEEP) research program. The coeditors thank the regular editors of the Review, Conchita D'Ambrosio and Prasada Rao, for their support; the referees for their work that enabled this issue; and Sandra Stevens for excellent conference support. Finally, a special thanks to Muhammad Abdullah Ali Malik for his numerous contributions to the conference and for coordinating the review of the papers in this issue. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume68, IssueS2Special Issue: “New Approaches to Defining and Measuring Poverty in a Growing World,” held on November 7–8, 2019 in Washington, D.C.December 2022Pages S261-S263 RelatedInformation