Groups Of Rural Households Research Articles

INCOME INEQUALITY OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN POLAND – ANALYSIS BY SOURCE OF INCOME

Rural households live on income much lower than the national average and experience income inequality much higher than the general population. This excess inequality is primarily due to the internal heterogeneity caused by the different nature of household income sources. The purpose of the study was then to assess the level of rural household income inequality and to decompose the inequality index by the main sources of income. The chosen inequality index was Theil-T. The research drew on unidentifiable microdata from the Household Budget Survey conducted by the CSO in 2019-2021.The study found that rural household inequality was slightly higher than that of all Polish households over the analyzed period. Among the various income-source groups, the highest inequality affected farmer households. This group also contributed most to the overall level of inequality in rural areas (44% in 2019 and over 46% in 2021). The pandemic saw an increase in inequality for all identified groups of rural households (the largest – for farmer households) and a decrease in between-group inequality.

A Study on Income Inequality and Nutritional Status of Children in Rural Areas of Jammu and Kashmir: Evidence from Jammu District, India

Children nutritional status is a powerful indicator of nutrition security and well-being of individual and reflects the nutritional and poverty situation of household. Good nutritional status of children under five years of age is very crucial for the foundation of a healthy life. This study is a small attempt to highlight the extent of malnutrition in rural areas of Jammu district on the basis of households’ economic status. It empirically investigates the relationship between income inequality and nutritional status of children under age of five years of age (stunting) in the rural areas of Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir. To determine the prevalence of undernutrition among different income groups of rural households, the study uses the data of a primary household survey. In order to measure the level of undernutrition (stunting), gender-specific anthropometric z-scores for height-for-age are calculated by using new child growth standards which are developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The study finds that children from households in the poorest quintile have significantly higher odds of stunting compared to those in the highest income quintile. The study revealed a negative association between income and the prevalence of stunting in the study area. It means the proportion of stunted children under five years of age decreases as the level of income increases among rural households. The study suggests that the government can help improve the nutritional status of children by taking important policy initiatives that addresses income inequality and poverty in rural areas.

The Impact of Collective Forestland Tenure Reform on Rural Household Income: The Background of Rural Households’ Divergence

As the direct subject of collective forestland tenure reform, increasing farmers’ income is an important goal of collective forestland tenure reform and the key to sustainable management of forest resources. Based on the survey data of 1276 rural households in 18 counties in 9 provinces, we construct a theoretical analysis framework of the impact of collective forestland tenure reform on household income from the perspective of rural household differentiation and elucidate the mechanism of the effect of collective forestland tenure reform on household income in the context of the rural household differentiation. The results of the empirical analysis show that, firstly, the collective forestland tenure reform significantly increases the total income, forestry income, and off-farm income of rural households, but the effect of income increase differs significantly among different groups of rural households with different income levels, showing the characteristic of “benefitting the rich more than the poor”. Secondly, as rural household differentiation deepens, there is a moderating effect of rural household differentiation in the income-raising effect of collective forestland tenure reform, i.e., collective forestland tenure reform has a stronger marginal effect on the forestry income of shallowly differentiated rural households and a weaker marginal effect on their off-farm income compared to deeply differentiated rural households. Finally, the income increase effect of collective forestland tenure reform shows significant situational dependence in both forestland operation scale and human capital endowment. The income-raising effect of collective forestland tenure reform is stronger for forestry income of large operation scale farmers, while it is stronger for off-farm income of small operation scale farmers; the income-raising effect of collective forestland tenure reform is stronger for farmers with high quantity and quality human capital endowment than for farmers with low quantity and quality human capital endowment. Therefore, this paper attempts to provide a policy adjustment idea to deepen the policies related to collective forestland tenure reform by starting from the farmer differentiation side.

In-use stocks dynamic of durable goods in rural Chinese households: Spatial-temporal patterns and influencing factors

The in-use material stocks (MS) of durable household goods provide various functions or services, reflecting society's well-being. However, research on rural households is scarce. This study attempts to bridge this gap by analyzing rural households’ long-term in-use stock dynamics using follow-up survey data of more than 2000 rural households in five provinces in China from 2007 to 2018. Results reveal that by 2018, the MS of durable goods in rural China households reached 230.8 t per household, with an average annual growth rate of 5.3%, with residential buildings accounting for the largest proportion. From 2007 to 2015, the MS of buildings and home appliances revealed a trend of rapid growth initially, and then witnessed a slowdown. However, the MS of transportation tools is still growing rapidly. The east-west gap has been replaced by the north–south gap of MS. Moreover, high inequality exists between different rural household groups.

Consumption and Income Poverty in Rural China: 1995–2018

AbstractThis paper studies consumption and income poverty in rural China during the period from 1995 to 2018 using Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP) data. It finds that the wellbeing of Chinese rural residents has improved significantly during this period as part of China's rapid industrialization and economic growth. The incidence of poverty has fallen substantially, either measured in terms of income or consumption. However, consumption poverty is not consistent with income poverty. It was the substantial growth of consumption or income that brought about the sharp fall in poverty, whereas the redistribution of consumption or income in particular during the period from 2002 to 2018 was unfavorable for poverty reduction. A large number of rural household workers moved away from household farming to participate in local or urban non‐farming activities, resulting in a fall in poverty in the households that engaged purely in farming, and economic growth led to a sharp fall in poverty within different rural household groups.

Grassland Subsidies Increase the Number of Livestock on the Tibetan Plateau: Why Does the “Payment for Ecosystem Services” Policy Have the Opposite Outcome?

The Grassland Ecological Protection Award Policy was implemented to address severe grassland degradation in China. This policy utilizes grassland subsidies as an incentive to control the number of livestock and has become the largest payment for ecosystem services program. Although many studies have analyzed the performance of this policy, it remains controversial as to whether grassland subsidies are effective at reducing the number of livestock; moreover, there is still a lack of quantitative studies on the roles of household livelihood assets and livelihood strategies in reducing the number of livestock. On the basis of the sustainable livelihood framework, this paper constructed an analytical framework to research how grassland subsidies affect the number of livestock under the effects of different livelihood capitals and local socioecological contexts. After choosing the Pumqu River Basin of the Tibetan Plateau as the research area, this study classified sample households on the basis of grassland sizes and then examined the effects of grassland subsidies on the number of livestock of different groups of rural households by considering livelihood capital. The results showed that (1) for all the sample households, grassland subsidies caused herdsmen to raise more livestock, which was contrary to the expectation of the grassland protection policy. The invalidation of grassland subsidies was mainly caused by the poor design and implementation of the policy at the local level. (2) In addition, for rural households with different grassland sizes, the subsidies could be effective in reducing the number of livestock for households with small grassland sizes while increasing the number of livestock for households with large grassland sizes. This indicates that some supporting policies and measures for households with smaller grassland sizes should be provided to stimulate the reduction in the number of livestock, and for households with large grassland areas, grassland circulation should be encouraged to promote the large-scale production of livestock husbandry. The finding of this study can help governments to formulate policies tailored towards appropriate subsidies for addressing grassland degradation.

Does empowering women benefit poverty reduction? Evidence from a multi-component program in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China

Ending poverty is a top priority of the international development agenda, and governments worldwide have attached great importance to poverty alleviation measures. However, poverty reduction policies have mostly focused on men, which has widened the gap in productivity and income between men and women and increased gender inequality. This paper aims to determine the impacts of a multi-component program on women’s empowerment and poverty reduction, and explore the role empowered women play in poverty reduction. The dataset used in this study was collected in nine poor counties of Ulanqab City in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China at the end of 2014, yielding a sample of 900 households. Recall questions were used to reconstruct the baseline data and build a panel dataset. Smaller groups of rural households were further identified to better target the women in the beneficiary group. To control the selection bias, propensity score matching, inverse probability weighting, and the difference-in-differences matching method were used to analyze the effect of the program and undertake robust checks. The results show that the program has positive effects on women’s empowerment and poverty reduction simultaneously. Empowering women also has positive effects on poverty reduction, and the women who were the beneficiaries have contributed to increasing the incomes and living standards of households. Training, microfinance, and associations are common means or strategies to empower women to address poverty. This paper provides new empirical evidence that women can benefit from a gender-focus program through portfolio intervention such as training, cooperatives, and credit. Empowered women further improve the livelihoods of poor households and help lift them out of poverty. The results suggest that researchers and policymakers need to pay more attention to poverty issues from the perspective of gender.

Scissors Difference of Socioeconomics, Travel and Space Consumption Behavior of Rural and Urban Households and Its Impact on Modeling Accuracy and Data Requirements

It is believed that the “scissors difference” of socioeconomics between rural and urban households in typical municipalities of China is significant. This may result in differences in their behavior and has important implications for urban land use and transportation planning policies, as well as related modeling accuracy and data requirements. However, detailed analyses regarding such “scissors differences” between rural and urban groups in China have not been done before. In this study, travel survey data collected from the City of Wuhan in 2008 is used to study if rural and urban households are statistically different in terms of household income, household size, space consumption, highest household mobility and travel distance. A set of statistical tests, such as the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis H test, are applied to the study data. The study results show that the “scissors difference” is found to be statistically significant in terms of household size (HS), household income (HI), building area (BA) consumed and household mobility (except for travel distance) between rural and urban households. Conversely, analyses applied to travel distance of urban and rural household subgroups (categorized by HS and HI) reveal that the urban and rural counterparts show almost exactly opposite behavior. The study results also suggest that such differences should be explicitly considered in relevant modeling exercises by separately setting up urban and rural household groups, but the number of household groups used should be determined based on a balance between modeling accuracy and data required/modeling workload.

Analysis of Income Determinants of Rural Households in Border Districts of Punjab

Pattern of income distribution of the rural households depends on the various factors like occupation of the head of the household, education of the head of the household as well as education level of its family members, assets and demographic factors. It is necessary to have a skewed pattern of income distribution for the smooth working of the economy. In this context, an attempt has been made in this paper to analyze the various sources and pattern of income in the rural households of border districts of Punjab to understand the changes that is taking place among the different occupational groups in rural households, so as to assess the recent policy initiatives for the equal distribution of income. Sample of 360 households is taken from different occupational groups of rural households for the period 2016. The paper is divided into seven sections. The introductory section is followed by a section of Data Base and Methodology adopted for the sample size of the surveyed farm households. Objectives of the study are defined in the third section and fourth section deals with general features of the study followed by the section of sources and pattern of income. Effect of various factors on the income determination is shown in the sixth section followed by the conclusions and policy implications.

Is Land‐based Resettlement Still Appropriate for Rural People in China? A Longitudinal Study of Displacement at the Three Gorges Dam

ABSTRACTNow complete, the effects of the Three Gorges Dam on rural livelihoods can be observed. This article presents the first longitudinal analysis of the livelihoods of two groups of rural households that were first surveyed in 2003, just after inundation, and again in 2011. It finds remarkable gains in income and social well‐being along with moderate improvements in food security and income equality. This study explores the livelihood strategies associated with these outcomes, namely land consolidation, agricultural specialization, livelihood diversification and migration. These strategies are discussed in the context of the dramatic changes that have taken place in the Three Gorges Resettlement Area over the last decade and across China more broadly. The article concludes that while non‐farm jobs are increasingly important, land remains an essential resource in the reconstruction of rural livelihoods, allowing rural households to respond to their drastically altered environment more effectively and at a pace of their own choosing.

Agriculture and Poverty Responses to High Agricultural Commodity Prices

A rise in global agricultural commodity prices negatively affects the wellbeing of poor people, especially in developing countries and inversely for a decline in prices of these commodities. On the other hand, they may gain or lose from high or low prices especially those groups that work in production of these commodities. This study, by applying a computable general equilibrium approach, aims to investigate the impacts of high and low agricultural commodity prices on agricultural sector and poverty across nine household groups in an unemployment situation of factors of production. It is found that, as a whole, a 45% increase and decrease in agricultural commodity prices negatively influences the economic performance of Malaysia, in real terms, by 0.24 and 0.91%, respectively. While high agricultural price stimulates the investment and export of agricultural sectors and aggregate household consumption, lower agricultural commodity prices declines investment and export in these sectors and causes a decrease in aggregate household consumption. Although both high- and low-price scenarios increase the poverty level of all household groups, with greater magnitude for lower-price scenario, all rural household groups compared to urban groups experience more increase in their poverty.

Classification of rural households due to directions and types of outgoings

The aim of the study is to isolate groups of rural households with similar outgoings and to describe them by socio-demographic and economic characteristics. It was carried out using multivariate statistical methods such as k-means cluster and discriminant function analysis. Data from the CSO survey of household budgets for the years 2004 and 2012 were used for the research purpose. The research resulted in the division of rural households into four groups considering the outgoings, where one group covered more than 2/3 of the households. Variables which discriminated the membership of rural households to certain groups to the largest extent were the number of people in the household and disposable income per capita.

Why are Informal Loans Still a Big Deal? Evidence from North-east Thailand

This article examines the use and benefit of informal loans for different income groups of rural households in north-east Thailand. Using a difference-in-differences estimation approach, which is later complemented by propensity score matching, the article shows that different household groups profit from informal loans in different ways. Poor households increase their asset endowment, and in particular farming assets, whereas rich households’ (food) consumption rises, especially if households borrow due to a shock. By showing that informal loans serve different households for different purposes, this article provides an explanation why they still play an important role.

Agricultural Trade Liberalisation and Growth in Income of Rural Household in Bangladesh: A Quintile-Growth Approach to the Analysis of Distributional Consequences

The study has investigated the growth in income of rural households in Bangladesh with a view to analysing distributional consequences in the post-liberalisation era. Using data from secondary sources, it has applied a quintile-growth approach by dividing each group of households into five income clusters (quintiles) to analyse the incidence of growth in real income. It has found that although all groups of rural households experienced a moderate to high increase in real income, non-farm households experienced a larger increase than farm households due to a large reduction in consumer price. Farm households gained from the increase in productivity but experienced losses from producer price reduction. The two opposite forces – increase in productivity and reduction in producer price – offset the effects of each other, thereby affecting the income growth of farm households. Amongst the farm households, large and medium farmers gained the most and small farmers gained the least from the growth in real income, indicating that rich households experienced a much higher increase in real income than poor households – thereby adversely affecting the distribution of income and widening the income gap between rich and poor households. These findings demonstrated that while agricultural trade liberalisation benefited rural households generally, the benefits were not distributed equally and in fact, inequality increased amongst rural households. This study argues that the growth in real income of rural household was not pro-poor during 1985- 86 to 2005. This study suggests that agricultural trade liberalisation contributed to higher growth in the rural economy but it contributed to greater inequality in income distribution amongst the rich and poor income groups (quintiles). Government should reduce inequality through policy interventions with income transfer from the rich to the poor.

Organizing the Tourism Line from Chenar Village to Tar Lake of Damavand, Iran

This article deals with organizing the tourism line from Chenar Village to Tar Lake of Damavand, Iran. In order to achieve the research objectives, the survey method (with purposes of description and exploration) and descriptive-analytic method were applied by reviewing and analyzing the economic, social, cultural and environmental effects in East Chenar village to the lake of Tar. The population of this study includes three groups of rural households living in the East Chenar Village, tourists who are traveling to the region and officials of relevant organizations and institutions. The research showed that by organizing the tourism aspect of Chenar village to Tr lake, the development in this region can be acheived.

Does Agricultural Trade Liberalization Reduce Rural Welfare in Less Developed Countries? The Case of CAFTA

AbstractFindings from aggregate economy‐wide models suggest that removing tariffs on agricultural imports is detrimental to rural welfare in less developed countries. This paper explores the rural welfare effects of agricultural trade liberalization called for under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), using a disaggregated rural economy‐wide model nesting a series of agricultural household models. Lower tariffs reduce nominal incomes for nearly all rural household groups in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. However, they also lower consumption costs substantially. The net effect on rural households' welfare is positive in most cases, implying that pre‐CAFTA agricultural protection policies are disadvantageous for most rural household groups.

Competitive Pressure on the Indian Households: A General Equilibrium Approach

ABSTRACT How would competitive pressure impact upon the income distribution and the poverty of household groups? We analyse the gains in efficiency and productivity due to competitive pressure, and its distributional effects using a general equilibrium input–output framework. Efficient utilization of the available resources, technical progress and free trade constitute our sources of growth. Welfare would increase under competition, but the income distribution would become more skewed. Rural household groups would stand to lose relative to the urban ones. Urban poverty would be reduced significantly more than rural. In fact, the agricultural worker would even suffer from an increase in poverty. The study shows that competitive pressure has a positive effect on efficiency, productivity and poverty, but an adverse effect on the income distribution in the Indian economy.

REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND ITS IMPACTS ON GROWTH, POVERTY AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION: THE CASE OF VIETNAM

Trade liberalization and regional economic integration have recently accelerated in East Asia, where several free trade areas have been established or are under negotiation. Vietnam, after acquiring Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) membership in 1995, has signed a bilateral trade package with the United States and participated in the China‐ASEAN free trade area. This paper attempts to analyze the impact on Vietnam of ongoing regional economic integration, focusing on growth, poverty reduction and income distribution. For this purpose, we have constructed a globally linked Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model and made use of Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database version 6.0 and Vietnam's living standards surveys. The simulation analysis shows that the regional economic integration generally has a positive impact. It both enhances welfare and improves income‐distribution for Vietnam. Household income and consumption increase, and poor and rural household groups benefit more than urban high income groups.

Disaggregated Rural Economywide Models for Policy Analysis

Summary This paper presents a disaggregated rural economywide modeling (DREM) approach to explore how agricultural and trade policy reforms play out within rural economies of less developed countries (LDCs). DREMS combine the strengths of aggregate, computable-general equilibrium (CGE), and microagricultural household models. We calibrate our model with new microsurvey data from Central Mexico, and we use the model to explore the impacts of policy changes on individual rural household groups as well as on the rural economy as a whole. Simulations highlight how rural market constraints and heterogeneous household responses shape the outcomes of policy reforms.

Exclusion Isn’t Easy: Lessons from a Leasehold Forest

Nepal’s Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project leases forestland to small, organized groups of rural households. Effective community management of forestland requires the capacity to exclude other potential resource claimants. Through institutional analysis of a single leasehold forest case study, we argue that exclusion by small groups is difficult, especially for the poorest of the poor. We recommend ensuring adequate provisions for meeting the forest product needs of the poorest within the context of community forestry as a more effective poverty alleviation and conservation strategy. In addition to community forestry-based forest access, poor farmers need a leasehold program for farmland that would enable food self-sufficiency.