Sets Of Households Research Articles

Cash-based aid distribution-Case study: Typhoon Yolanda.

Cash-based humanitarian responses tend to empower locally driven recoveries. However, in--country barriers can prevent that recovery stimulus from achieving its full potential for the impacted population. This study discusses issues surrounding cash-based responses, opposite traditional food, or material aid. Next, this project produced a pilot case study that focused on soliciting information from two sets of respondents, namely, community leaders and households located in the 2013 Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) disaster area to gauge sentiment of whether relief funds had a positive impact on recovery. Findings reveal that the lack of clarity in government and nongovernment stakeholders combined with an onerous bureaucratic process restricted the access to funds. Additionally, poor information dissemination and communication strategies resulted in inefficiencies in distributing funds. Recommendations to address the identified gaps, both in funding protocols and communication strategies, were made to help those areas still struggling from this disaster in the Philippines and as an example to forward the international body of knowledge on improving cash-based aid interventions. Practical implications include supporting global trends that cash-based aid can, indeed, support locally empowered and sustainable recoveries while noting that there are still improvements to be made to this type of disaster response.

How much consumption insurance in the U.S.?

We identify two sets of households in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) differing dramatically in their income and consumption dynamics, although both should be equally representative. The degree of consumption insurance in each subsample is consistent with the standard incomplete-markets model’s prediction. We contrast PSID and administrative earnings data and study the patterns in international datasets modeled on the PSID. We find an important role of differential attrition based on the dynamic properties of incomes in inducing the differences and identify PSID households providing a better guide to income dynamics and consumption insurance in the U.S.

Conditional cash transfers, uptake of maternal and child health services, and health outcomes in western rural China

BackgroundEmpirical evidence suggests that the uptake of maternal and child health (MCH) services is still low in poor rural areas of China. There is concern that this low uptake may detrimentally affect child health outcomes. Previous studies have not yet identified the exact nature of the impact that a conditional cash transfer (CCT) has on the uptake of MCH services and, ultimately, on child health outcomes. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between CCT, uptake of MCH services, and health outcomes among children in poor rural areas of western China.MethodsWe designated two different sets of villages and households that were used as comparisons against which outcomes of the treated households could be assessed. In 2014, we conducted a large-scale survey of 1522 households in 75 villages (including 25 treatment and 50 comparison) from nine nationally designated poverty counties in two provinces of China. In each village, 21 households were selected based on their eligibility status for the CCT program. Difference-in-difference analyses were used to assess the impact of CCT on outcomes in terms of both intention-to-treat (ITT) and average-treatment-effects-on-the-treated (ATT).ResultsOverall, the uptake of MCH services in the sample households were low, especially in terms of postpartum care visits, early breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, and physical examination of the baby. The uptake of the seven types of MCH services in the CCT treatment villages were significantly higher than that in the comparison villages. The results from both the ITT and ATT analyses showed that the CCT program had a positive, although small, impact on the uptake of MCH services and the knowledge of mothers of MCH health issues. Nonetheless, the CCT program had no noticeable effect on child health outcomes.ConclusionsThe CCT program generated modest improvements in the uptake of MCH services and mothers’ knowledge of MCH services in poor rural areas of Western China. These improvements, however, did not translate into substantial improvements in child health outcomes for two potential reasons: poor CCT implementation and the low quality of rural health facilities.

Methodical Aspects of Indirect Assessment of Household Incomes in Determining the Eligibility for Government Social Support

In present-day Ukraine, a large number of families and individuals are beneficiaries of programs for social support of the population. Economic and political crises, reforms in tariff and social policies, added by the pandemic of coronavirus infection in the latest time, result in the worsening life standards of a considerable share of the population in certain periods of time. In was in 2015–2018 that in some of the quite populated localities social programs covered as many as 70% of the population. This triggered a respective growth in the social support from the central and local budgets. Such situation aggravated the problem of targeting of the government social support, decreasing the number of cases when a social aid is assigned in an improper or baseless manner, and the scopes of fraud in this sphere.
 One of the ways for reforming the system of social support in the present days is to adopt the method of assigning all the categories of support with consideration of incomes and property status of applicants. The property status of families or individuals can be quite accurately measured given the access to the registers containing data on houses, land plots, transport vehicles etc. either possessed or disposed by them. However, given a high level of employment in the informal sector, large scales of the shadow economy and external labor migration, assessment of the actual income level of families constitutes a serious problem. Quite often the stated incomes do not correspond with actual ones, and applicants do not have stimuli to disclose their real life standards. 
 The article’s objective is to expose a methodological approach to operational assessment of potential incomes of applicants and recipients of social support. Approaches based on statistical models of correlation between life standards and sets of households’ or individuals’ characteristics have been constructed and used in many developing countries where the conditions for formation of the population incomes are similar to the ones in Ukraine. The article highlights methodological foundations for building up the models for operational assessment of the population income, with due account to issues of information support to modeling and use of income assessment results. Examples of computations by the proposed models are given.

Medicaid and household savings behavior: New evidence from tax refunds

Using data on over 57,000 low-income tax filers, we estimate the effect of Medicaid access on the propensity of households to save or repay debt from their tax refunds. We instrument for Medicaid access using variation in state eligibility rules. We find substanital heterogeneity across households in the savings response to Medicaid. Households that are not experiencing financial hardship behave in a manner consistent with a precautionary savings model, meaning they save less under Medicaid. In contrast, among households experiencing financial hardship, Medicaid eligibility increases refund savings rates by roughly 5 percentage points or $102. For both sets of households, effects are stronger in states with lower bankruptcy exemption limits—consistent with uninsured, financially constrained households using bankruptcy to manage health expenditure risk. Our results imply that expansions to the social safety net may affect the magnitude of the consumption response to tax rebates.

Medicaid and Household Savings Behavior: New Evidence from Tax Refunds

Using data on over 57,000 low-income tax filers, we estimate the effect of Medicaid access on the propensity of households to save or repay debt from their tax refunds. We instrument for Medicaid access using variation in state eligibility rules. We find substantial heterogeneity across households in the savings response to Medicaid. Households that are not experiencing financial hardship behave in a manner consistent with a precautionary savings model, meaning they save less under Medicaid. In contrast, among households experiencing financial hardship, Medicaid eligibility increases refund savings rates by roughly 5 percentage points or $102. For both sets of households, effects are stronger in states with lower bankruptcy exemption limits – consistent with uninsured, financially constrained households using bankruptcy to manage health expenditure risk. Our results imply that expansions to the social safety net may affect the magnitude of the consumption response to tax rebates.

Urban development-induced displacement and quality of life in Kolkata

This paper draws together issues of urban development-induced displacement and resettlement and the quality of life of the affected population over the longer term. It reviews settlement strategies related to the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Project, exploring residents’ recollection of the relocation process and comparing and contrasting the situation over time of two groups of low-income households: those who refused a resettlement package and chose to continue to reside in their canalside huts; and those who accepted the package and moved into new flats provided by the government. The paper highlights issues of livelihoods, social cohesion and sanitation among both sets of households to find out whether those who were resettled experienced improvement in these aspects of their lives. Findings point to resettled households’ overall satisfaction with sanitation despite periodic lapses in functioning, and a modicum of social support, but significant livelihood problems among the poorest households, and dissatisfaction with the small size of units.

On the Heterogeneity in Family Earnings and Income Dynamics in the PSID

A large body of knowledge on income dynamics in the United States is based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We find two sets of households in the PSID that differ dramatically in the dynamics of their income. Households headed by the sons of original PSID members have a highly persistent income process, whereas households headed by males who marry daughters of the original PSID members have a much less persistent income process. Using a variety of methods for identification of the persistence of income shocks, we show that these differences, albeit surprising, are highly robust.

Health improvement for disadvantaged people in Nepal – an evaluation

BackgroundAn evaluation of progress with participatory approaches for improvement of health knowledge and health experiences of disadvantaged people in eight Districts of Eastern Nepal has been undertaken.MethodsA random selection of Village Development Committees and households, within the eight Districts where participation and a Rights-based Approach had been promoted specifically by local NGOs were compared with similar villages and households in eight Districts where this approach had not been promoted. Information was sought by structured interview and observation by experienced enumerators from both groups of householders. Health knowledge and experiences were compared between the two sets of households. Adjustments were made for demographic confounders.ResultsComplete data sets were available for 628 of the 640 households. Health knowledge and experiences were low for both sets of households. However, health knowledge and experiences were greater in the participatory households compared with the non-participatory households. These differences remained after adjustment for confounders.ConclusionsThe study was designed to evaluate progress with participatory processes delivered by non-governmental organisations over a five year period. Improvements in health knowledge and experiences of disadvantaged people were demonstrated in a consistent and robust manner where interventions had taken place.

High Household Economic Burden Caused by Hospitalization of Patients with Severe Dengue Fever Cases in Can Tho Province, Vietnam

During 2006-2007, a cohort of 144 confirmed dengue cases in Can Tho Province, Vietnam were compared with a matching set of 144 households that had no dengue cases. Approximately 6-9 months after sickness, there were no significant differences in terms of knowledge of the etiology of dengue, mosquito breeding habitats, and prevention measures in respondents from both sets of households. There was also no difference in the abundance of Aedes aegypti (Linn.) adults but the average numbers of late instar and pupal Ae. aegypti per household were greater in the negative control houses. Thus, the risk seemed to be no higher in case households, although it is conceivable that changes may have occurred in either group over the intervening period. The average cost for a dengue patient was 2,798,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) (US$167.77), 2,154,000 VND for direct costs, and 644,000 VND for indirect costs. There was a 22% difference in cost for those with and without health insurance. In terms of impact on family economies, 47.2% had to borrow money for treatment, and after 6 months, 71.7% had not begun or had only managed part repayments. Approximately 72.9% indicated that the cost of supporting a dengue patient had impacted on the family economy, with the loss averaging 36% of the annual income in the lowest economic quartile.

The Role of Labor Markets and Human Capital in Poverty Reduction: Evidence from Asia and Africa

Using long-term panel data sets of rural households in the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Tamil Nadu (India), a short-term panel data set in Mozambique, and cross-section data sets in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, the roles of labor markets in the long-term process of poverty reduction in Asia were examined in comparison with the current situation in Africa. There are three main findings. First, reliance on agricultural labor markets alone will not reduce poverty to a significant extent, in view of the declining share of agricultural wage income in Asia and its negligibly low level in Africa. Second, an increased non-farm income is a decisive factor in reducing rural poverty because it has become the major source of the rise in household income. Third, labor markets are clearly segmented in accordance with the schooling levels, where the younger and more educated children are engaged in lucrative non-farm labor employment in order to capture the high returns in schooling in this sector.

Personal Residential Real Estate Investment in Australia: Investor Characteristics and Investment Parameters

To date our understanding of the factors affecting the housing supply stem from the private provision of new units through real estate development. This article investigates a different aspect of housing supply, the private provision of rental housing through investment in existing properties. Using logistic regression and a series of micro data sets of Australian households, we examine the investment decision of residential rental property investors over the period 1990–2004. The sample period incorporates a full real estate cycle. Our results indicate that wealth‐related factors are the dominant factors driving these investments. Life‐cycle factors such as marriage and children play a less important role. Most of the determinants of income property investment do not vary with the property cycle. Marriage is an exception. It became more important as house prices rose.

The Home and the World: Domestic Service and International Networks of Caring Labor

The employment of immigrant domestic workers is a valuable entry point for examining the construction of class and racial-ethnic differences among women in a global economy. It also reveals the complex ways that social reproduction, like production, is shaped by international connections and flows. This article draws on interviews with thirty-two immigrant domestic workers and twenty-nine employers of domestic workers in San Diego to examine the organization of caring labor in the two sets of households. The interview data show that employers of domestic workers rely on paid service workers to supply additional labor, while domestic workers rely on the unpaid labor of family members. Neither group relies primarily on government support, although differences in citizenship status influence the strategies of the two groups. The article draws on the interviews to make two related points. First, it argues that social reproduction has come, in some places, to involve networks that cross international borders. Second, it argues that the interrelated strategies the two groups of women use to access caring labor are informed by and contribute to class and racial-ethnic differences among women and their households, and that citizenship is of particular importance in constructing and solidifying these differences.

Working Hard and Making Do: Surviving in Small Town America

The economic recovery of the 1990s brought with it a surge of new jobs, but the prospects for most working Americans improved little. Family income rose only slightly and the period witnessed a significant degradation of the quality of work as well as in what people could expect from their waged employment. In this book, Margaret K. Nelson and Joan Smith take a look inside the households of working-class Americans to consider how they are coping with large-scale structural changes in the economy, specifically how the downgrading of jobs has affected survival strategies, gender dynamics, and political attitudes. Drawing on both randomly distributed telephone surveys and in-depth interviews, Nelson and Smith explore the differences in the survival strategies of two groups of working-class households in a rural county: those in which at least one family member has been able to hold on to good work (a year-round, full-time job that carries benefits) and those in which nobody has been able to secure or retain steady employment. They find that households with good jobs are able to effectively use all of their labor power--they rely on two workers; they engage in on-the-side businesses; and they barter with friends and neighbors. In contrast, those living in families without at least one good job find themselves considerably less capable of deploying a complex, multi-faceted survival strategy. The authors further demonstrate that this difference between the two sets of households is accompanied by differences in the gender division of labor within the household and the manner in which individuals make sense of, and respond to, their employment.

The best of times for some and the worst of times for others? Gender and class divisions in urban Britain today

This paper explores the mutual constitution of gender and class in urban Britain in the light of economic trends of the last 10–15 years. We examine spatialities of gender and class relations, pointing to the centrality of inequalities in post-Fordist restructuring. In this context we draw on evidence from two intensive studies, one concerned with gender and gentrification in Edinburgh and the other concerned with households in mortgage arrears in Swindon. The results highlight both similarities and differences in the gender-based practices adopted by the two sets of households. Egalitarian gender relations were closely associated with lifestyle and consumption choices available to higher income and highly mobile women. Convergent gender relations occurred under a range of different employment and household circumstances, relating principally to the presence or absence of children, responsibility for the household budget, and stress relating to housing insecurity. The research examines the material basis of these gender-based practices and cautions against attempts to evaluate general trends in gender relations. Instead, the paper argues that convergences and divergences in the experiences of women and men are inextricably bound up with deeply gendered forms of inequality that take particular spatial forms.

Testing exact aggregation in income and household characteristics: the effects of aggregation across goods

Exact aggregation in income and household characteristics are tested using Canadian cross-sectional microdata. Over 100 data sets of homogeneous households are used, making it possible to conduct a large number of independent hypothesis tests. Tests are also conducted to determine whether the homogeneous household groups can be grouped into more heterogeneous data sets. Six different kinds of demand systems are estimated to ensure the robustness of the results to separability/aggregation structure. Exact aggregation in income, family size, region of residence and housing tenure status are strongly rejected, but exact aggregation in age of head of household is not. Restrictions which would allow pooling of households of different sizes, regions and tenure status are also strongly rejected. The test results exhibit a little sensitivity to the expenditure aggregates used, but not to the extent that the results would be different. The results imply that aggregate demand functions which use time series data should include many statistics from the joint distribution of income and household characteristics. In addition, when using data at the micro-level, the amount of heterogeneity in households' behaviour is much greater than usually assumed. This calls for the use of much more homogeneous household groups in the estimation of demand models than are typically employed.

Rejoinder to casetti’s “critical notes on an alleged operationalization of the concept of spatial utility”

In a paper completed some three years ago, "On Place Utility and the Normative Allocation of Intra-Urban Migrants" (Brown, Horton, and Wittick, 1970), a linear programming model of intra-urban migration was presented. This model was designed to operationalize concepts put forth in an earlier conceptual model (Brown and Moore, 1970); these are principally ones relating to the role of aspirations and search in the residential site selection process. The interpretation of the dual of this model proved to be interesting in that it linked household aspiration and search behaviors to place utility, a concept that has received much attention in the intraurban migration literature but has proved difficult to operationalize (Brown and Longbrake, 1970). Casetti objects to this work on two accounts, the more noteworthy of which concerns the interpretation of the model's dual variables as place utilities. This needs to be examined more closely since in our view the model is a useful and informative one, and its elaboration constitutes the major thrust of our paper. The primal portion of the model allocates migrant households to va.cancies so as to minimize the "search effort for a place i household to identify (or find) a vacancy at place j" (p. 178) (.aij*), while maximizing "the level of return or satisfaction which is likely to accrue to a place i household were it to relocate to a vacancy in place j" (p. 178), both for the total migrant population. In operationalization the aspiration factor is measured by an index (dij) in which "lower numbers indicate combinations of origin and destination zone types which are more satisfactory in terms of the aspiration sets of migrant households" (p. 180), so that the model actually minimizes the total cost (c+j), aij*dij. "Thus migrant households will be allocated among O-D zones such as to minimize their search effort and their dissatisfaction with respect to a new residence site" (p. 180). Clearly, there is some confusion in the Brown-Horton-Wittick article over the definition of dij. Casetti interprets it as a measure of satisfaction ("the smaller the dij the more the aspirations of a migrant from zone i match the characteristics of zone j"), rather than as an aspiration factor. We feel similarly, except that because of the way in which dij varies, the model is made most clear by interpreting it as measuring the "dissatisfaction with respect to a new residence site". This will be used below in our response to Casetti's comments on the model's dual variables. A useful rationale for our interpretation of the dual is presented in Stevens's (1961) treatment of location rent in a linear programming context. Paraphrasing his argument, let pij be the gain or the increase in place utility in migrating from i to j and