Poverty Trends Research Articles

НАСТОЛНА КНИГА ПО СЪВРЕМЕННИ ПРОАКТИВНИ ПУБЛИЧНИ ПОЛИТИКИ ЗА НАМАЛЯВАНЕ НА БЕДНОСТТА В БЪЛГАРИЯ

Recently, the Publishing Complex - UNWE made available the interesting study of Dr. Ralitsa Veleva "Proactive Public Policies for Poverty Reduction". This monograph deserves attention mainly due to the still existing deficit in Bulgaria of complex analyses on the development and implementation of proactive public policies for poverty reduction. The work of the young author breaks the tradition in the Bulgarian social space to discuss extensively and in priority "welfare", and its antipode "poverty" - only as incidental touches and by the way. And it is brazenly "present on the table" of a significant part of the population, which lives this ingrained scarcity as its own social drama. What is clearly needed is, first, a professional identification of the level and trends of poverty in the country, and second, the development and implementation of credible radical instruments for its definite mitigation and containment.

Current research trends in child poverty and psychological resilience research: A bibliometric analysis approach

AbstractThe first of the sustainable development goals is to end poverty by 2030. Although many individual, social, and psychological resources have been proposed to reduce poverty, little is known about psychological resilience factors and related variables in reducing it. While the literature on childhood poverty and psychological resilience indicates that there was a relationship between these variables, it also draws attention to the fact that a growing interest in the need to consider psychological factors in reducing child poverty. Contextually, this study is bibliometric research that aims to reveal the current research trends about child poverty and psychological resilience. The researcher reviewed the Web of Science to highlight current trends in child poverty and resilience research and found 1065 relevant documents that met the inclusion criteria. The research used co‐occurrence, citation, and bibliographic coupling techniques from the bibliometric analysis type. Research results showed that poverty, resilience, children, protective factors, youth, parenting, COVID‐19, stress, and mental health were the nine significant clusters where the poverty and resilience keywords were gathered (items = 120, links = 988, total link strength = 1646). The United States had the most publications and was the most collaborative country. The most associated SDG target was good health and well‐being. Research trends underline that the five most studied keywords were resilience, poverty, children, health, and risk. Thematic map results indicated that socioeconomic status, childhood, and adjustment topics were important, well‐developed, and structuring themes, while resilience, poverty, and children topics were essential themes but still needed to be well‐developed. The research findings highlight the importance of resiliency factors that can potentially reduce child poverty. The results also give researchers essential insights into socioeconomic, mental, psychological, and environmental factors that they can use in their intervention practices holistically in reducing child poverty.

Spatiotemporal Trends of Poverty in the United States, 2006–2021

Spatiotemporal Trends of Poverty in the United States, 2006–2021

Estimating poverty for India after 2011 using private-sector survey data

The last expenditure survey released by India’s National Sample Survey organization dates back to 2011, which underpins the last official estimates of poverty and inequality. This paper adopts a new approach to estimate India’s poverty and inequality trajectory since 2011 using a newly available household panel survey conducted by the private sector. The results suggest that (1) extreme poverty is estimated to be lower in 2019 than in 2011, with greater poverty reductions likely in rural areas, and (2) coinciding with the demonetization event, urban poverty likely rose in 2016. The results should not be interpreted as definite proof. While the estimated trends in poverty sit well with a range of corroborative evidence, significant uncertainty remains stemming from sampling and non-sampling errors associated with the private-sector survey.

Exploring Alternative Approaches to Addressing Multidimensional Poverty in Northern Nigeria

Economists have increasingly recognized poverty as a complex phenomenon, particularly since the 1970s, viewing it as a multifaceted issue characterized by interrelated and interdependent dimensions. Understanding this complexity and the interconnectedness of various forms of deprivation is crucial for developing effective poverty eradication policies. This understanding was reflected in the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals and later the Sustainable Development Goals between 2000 and 2015. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the political and economic factors contributing to the high rates of multidimensional poverty in Nigeria's northern region. It will examine long-term poverty trends, assess the effectiveness of poverty alleviation interventions by successive administrations, and explore alternative strategies for poverty mitigation, considering the multifaceted nature of poverty and the need for holistic approaches to address this complex issue.

Reaching the European 2030 poverty target: The imperative to balance the EU social agenda

Reaching the three targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) Action Plan is the litmus test for effective EPSR implementation. While the EPSR puts forward a prima facie balance between employment, equal opportunities and social protection, two important questions arise: a) whether and to what extent the resources available at EU level are sufficiently balanced across the different dimensions of the EPSR; and b) which implications this may have for achieving the 2030 poverty target. Analysing the three domains of the EPSR, its Action Plan and the wider EU legal framework of the principles contained in the EPSR, the paper argues that abundant EU resources are available for the areas of equality and employment, but fewer for social inclusion. The empirical evidence on poverty trends over the past decades, however, points to important successes in terms of employment and (gender) equality, but not with respect to social inclusion: a significant increase in employment and defeminisation of poverty have been accompanied by greater precarity for low-skilled men and women. Particularly striking is the rise in the risk of poverty among jobless households, linked with the weakening of the poverty reduction capacity of social protection for this group. Meeting the European social inclusion targets will thus require policies that duly focus on strengthening the framework for social inclusion and social protection.

The Role of Single Motherhood in America's High Child Poverty

Many claim a high prevalence of single motherhood plays a significant role in America's high child poverty. Using the Luxembourg Income Study, we compare the “prevalences and penalties” for child poverty across 30 rich democracies and within the United States over time (1979–2019). Several descriptive patterns contradict the importance of single motherhood. The U.S. prevalence of single motherhood is cross-nationally moderate and typical and is historically stable. Also, child poverty and the prevalence of single motherhood have trended in opposite directions in recent decades in the United States. More important than the prevalence of single motherhood, the United States stands out for having the highest penalty across 30 rich democracies. Counterfactual simulations demonstrate that reducing single motherhood would not substantially reduce child poverty. Even if there was zero single motherhood, (1) the United States would not change from having the fourth-highest child poverty rate, (2) the 41-year trend in child poverty would be very similar, and (3) the extreme racial inequalities in child poverty would not decline. Rather than the prevalence of single motherhood, the high penalty for single motherhood and extremely high Black and Latino child poverty rates, which exist regardless of single motherhood, are far more important to America's high child poverty.

Comparative Assessment of Poverty Trends and Socioeconomic Inequality in Nigerian States

Comparative Assessment of Poverty Trends and Socioeconomic Inequality in Nigerian States

Predictive stability study of poverty trend in Uganda using selected indicators

This study investigates poverty dynamics in Uganda, employing an extensive stability analysis of different socioeconomic indicators to understand long-term trends and likely drivers of poverty. An eighteen years yearly secondary data from 1992 to 2020 on poverty rates for the selected indicators under review sourced from World Bank site was utilized for all the data analysis. Outcomes from extensive data analysis shows considerable reductions in poverty rates over time, especially in outlying areas of eastern and northern Uganda despite increasing income inequality as suggested by the increasing Gini coefficient. All the metrics have a significant impact on Uganda's poverty rates, with the exception of the poverty headcount ratio, which stands at USD 6.85 per day (2017 PPP) as a percentage of the population. Particularly, the forecasted values also show a fluctuating trend movement, both downward and upward, suggesting possible variability in future poverty rates in Uganda. The necessity to carefully evaluate as well as monitor poverty dynamics to guide policy interventions aimed at reducing poverty is underlined by this information. Additionally, the stability analysis framework suggested in this research provides insights into the viability as well as resilience of Uganda's socioeconomic system in tackling poverty, enabling evidence based policies and interventions in poverty reduction. The study suggests more examination of various other dimensions of poverty and non-monetary indicators of well-being to better our understanding and support better poverty alleviation methods in Uganda along with other similar settings.

Inclusive economic growth and fiscal intervention: could it reduce poverty, inequality, and unemployment in East Java?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, East Java Province (then abbreviated to East Java) made remarkable achievements in economic growth accompanied by a continuing downward trend in poverty. Then, after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, it had a detrimental impact in terms of health, economics and social aspects. Specifically for East Java, the outbreak caused a severe contraction in the economy and significantly increased the number of local unemployed. However, long before COVID-19, East Java was facing wide inequality. Based on these problems, this study evaluates whether inclusive growth and local government fiscal intervention are solutions. These two factors have been recommended by economist as an effective strategies for reducing the triple problem in East Java. Fiscal intervention is interpreted as expenditure policies in economic, education, and health functions. Using panel data regression during 2015-2021, the study documents that economic growth in East Java still needs to be fully inclusive. This is based on the finding that inclusive economic growth does not simultaneously reduce triple problems (poverty, inequality and unemployment). Inclusive growth reduces poverty in East Java, but it has the opposite effect on unemployment and inequality. On the one hand, positive findings are documented in which fiscal intervention in education spending plays a significant role in reducing poverty. Unfortunately, this study failed to find the determining factors that provide a solution to inequality and unemployment in East Java. These evidences certainly have implications for reviewing the quality of inclusive growth and local government expenditure policies.

Weighty Evidence? Poverty Estimation with Missing Data

Attempts have been made to estimate poverty in India using a biased dataset, by adjusting household weights to remove or reduce the bias. The effectiveness of this method, however, is uncertain. Simulation exercises suggest that its ability to correct poverty estimates varies wildly depending on the nature of the underlying bias, which may be hard to guess—there lies the rub. When the bias changes over time, estimating poverty trends becomes truly problematic. There are wider lessons for poverty estimation with biased or missing data. JEL Classifications: C83, I32

Shifts at the margin of European welfare states: How important is food aid in complementing inadequate minimum incomes?

In recent decades, disappointing poverty trends and welfare state limitations in many European countries – including constraints on minimum income benefits – have paved the way for a larger role of the third sector. An interesting but controversial form of third-sector in-kind support is food aid provision. In Europe, food aid is, so far, a non-rights-based practice displaying worrisome discretionary and stigmatizing characteristics. Yet, the phenomenon of food aid in Europe has spread, professionalized, and penetrated the institutions of the welfare state. This raises the question if, how and to what extent food aid plays a role in bypassing structural constraints on minimum income protection. This article applies an exploratory case study approach to estimate the monetary value of food aid in relation to statutory minimum incomes in four EU-countries. We use cross-nationally comparable food reference budgets to price food aid packages in Belgium, Finland, Hungary and Spain. The results show that food aid, although not sufficient to close the at-risk-of-poverty gap, is non-trivial for some European households. In Spain and Belgium food aid packages can reach up to €100 a month (expressing 7% to 11% of respective minimum income benefit levels). Importantly, we perceive (formalized) cooperation and interaction between local welfare agencies and food charities in all countries, suggesting that welfare state actors use non-rights-based food aid for filling gaps in the social safety net. The large between- and within-country variation of the monetary values of food aid packages points, however, to food aid as a problematic discretionary practice.

Health‐Poverty Inequality in Australia from 2001 to 2018

AbstractWhile established measures gauge poverty across diverse aspects of life, a definitive metric for health poverty in Australia remains absent. This study examines health poverty trends, identifying priorities for interventions to improve overall population health. We define health poverty as the state of falling below a specified minimum threshold in any critical health aspect, encompassing physical function, role function, social function, pain, mental health and vitality. Additionally, mortality (i.e., dying within 1 year) is integrated into the health poverty measure. The percentage of the overall adult population grappling with health poverty was 42 percent in 2001, falling to 37 percent in 2009 before ascending to 43 percent in 2018. The level of health poverty was more prevalent among women, older age groups and Indigenous individuals than in men, younger age groups or non‐Indigenous people, respectively. By meticulously monitoring health poverty trends across various dimensions, this study unveils the sociodemographic group susceptible to health poverty and quantifies its impact on overall population well‐being. The investigation highlights poor role functioning and vitality deficiency as pivotal components contributing to health poverty.

Inequalities in out-of-home care rates in England: Does local party politics matter?

BackgroundInequalities in the proportion of children experiencing abuse and neglect or a children's social care intervention have become a research focus in the last decade. One almost unexplored factor of growth in rates of children in out-of-home care is local party politics. ObjectiveWe assessed whether growth in rates of out-of-home care in England varied by local authority party political control. MethodsWe collated administrative data on the 152 local authorities in England between 2015 and 2021. We used Bayesian parallel process latent growth models to assess whether growth in rates of children in care in English local authorities has been equal across Labour, Conservative, No Overall Control, and no political majority councils before and after adjusting for trends in child poverty, household income from employment, and expenditure on preventative services. ResultsPrior to adjusting for trends in child poverty, average household income, and expenditure, we find little evidence for differences in trends; once adjusted, we find that trends in Labour authorities were lower (−1.125 children looked after per 10,000 per year) than in Conservative authorities. Had growth in family and local authority economic factors remained constant, our findings suggested out-of-home care rates would have, on average, been stable or decreasing in Labour local authorities but would have continued to rise elsewhere. ConclusionsThe contribution of local party politics to growing rates of out-of-home care remains under-theorised and under-researched, but there are potentially substantial differences along party lines that are masked by unequal exposure to changes in poverty.

The Effects of Disability Grant Termination on the Livelihoods of Rural Women Aged between 25-30 Living with HIV. A Case of Wellness Clinic at Vhembe District in Limpopo

Orientation: The termination of the disability grant is identified as one of the determinants contributing to non-adherence to Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) by rural women living with HIV aged between 25-30 attending a Wellness Clinic in Vhembe District. The study has established that once the disability grant is terminated upon improved health outcomes as a result from adhering adequately to ART, the livelihoods of rural women living with HIV are adversely interrupted. Research Purpose: The paper sought to explore and examine the effects of disability grant termination on the livelihoods of rural women living with HIV aged between 25-30 attending a Wellness Clinic in Vhembe District Research Approach: The paper adopted a qualitative approach and individual in-depth semi-structured interviews as a data collection technique. A purposive sampling technique was utilised to draw a sample of 20 rural women living with HIV attending a Wellness Clinic in Vhembe District who were enrolled on ART and whose disability grant was terminated upon improved health outcomes. The purpose was to elicit the participants’ views on their experiences on how the termination of the disability grant interferes with their livelihoods towards adhering effectively to ART. Main Findings: The findings revealed that the termination of the disability grant for rural women living with HIV has adverse implications on their livelihoods towards adhering effectively to ART as access to the disability plays an important role to incentivise the adequate uptake of ART. Policy Implications: Economic incentives for rural women living with HIV with little or no education has proven to contribute to optimal adherence to ART. However, the manner in which these economic incentives are provided for is a cause for concern in areas where poverty trends are prevalent. Therefore, policy makers should consider different modalities of access to the disability grant.

The Effects of Disability Grant Termination on The Livelihoods of Rural Women Aged Between 25-30 Living With HIV. A Case of Wellness Clinic at Vhembe District in Limpopo

Introduction: The termination of the disability grant is identified as one of the determinants contributing to non-adherence to Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) by rural women living with HIV aged between 25-30 attending a Wellness Clinic in Vhembe District. The study has established that once the disability grant is terminated upon improved health outcomes as a result from adhering adequately to ART, the livelihoods of rural women living with HIV are adversely interrupted. Research purpose: The paper sought to explore and examine the effects of disability grant termination on the livelihoods of rural women living with HIV aged between 25-30 attending a Wellness Clinic in Vhembe District Research Approach: The paper adopted a qualitative approach and individual in-depth semi-structured interviews as a data collection technique. A purposive sampling technique was utilised to draw a sample of 20 rural women living with HIV attending a Wellness Clinic in Vhembe District who were enrolled on ART and whose disability grant was terminated upon improved health outcomes. The purpose was to elicit the participants’ views on their experiences on how the termination of the disability grant interferes with their livelihoods towards adhering effectively to ART. Main findings: The findings revealed that the termination of the disability grant for rural women living with HIV has adverse implications on their livelihoods towards adhering effectively to ART as access to the disability plays an important role to incentivise the adequate uptake of ART. Policy implications: Economic incentives for rural women living with HIV with little or no education has proven to contribute to optimal adherence to ART. However, the manner in which these economic incentives are provided for is a cause for concern in areas where poverty trends are prevalent. Therefore, policy makers should consider different modalities of access to the disability grant.

Making Data Count: Estimating a Poverty Trend for Nigeria between 2009 and 2019

Abstract Monitoring poverty reduction requires frequent microdata on household welfare that can be compared over time. Such data are unavailable in many countries, given limited statistical capacity, shocks that prevent data collection, and regular improvements to survey methodology. This paper demonstrates how jointly deploying backcasting and survey-to-survey imputations can help to overcome this in a setting where estimating a poverty trend is badly needed, given the scale of the poverty-reduction challenge, but where survey-to-survey imputations are more likely to succeed and can be directly tested. In Nigeria, the most recent official survey that can be used to construct an imputation model was collected through the same methodology and in the same year as the target survey. This data landscape could arise in other settings where the methodology for smaller, interstitial surveys is updated more quickly than for larger, official consumption surveys. Naively comparing Nigeria's last two official consumption surveys would suggest that the poverty rate fell by 17 percentage points between 2009 and 2019. Yet the methods presented in this paper both suggest a much smaller reduction in poverty of between 3 and 7 percentage points, echoing Nigeria's performance on nonmonetary welfare indicators over the same period. The paper therefore provides guidance on when and how backcasting and survey-to-survey imputation techniques can be most valuable for monitoring poverty reduction.

The Importance of MSMEs for Poverty Alleviation: A Story from Indonesia

Objective: This study examines poverty in Indonesia from an economic approach and discusses the importance of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It focused on the impact of these enterprises on poverty in the country. Methodology: The analysis incorporated an autoregressive model wherein total workers in MSMEs and economic growth rate as explanatory variables. Annual time series data for the period of 2007-2019 has been used. The study also reviews the earlier empirical studies on the relationship between the growth of MSMEs and poverty alleviation in many other countries/regions. It represents the descriptive analysis of the explanatory variables and trends in poverty and MSMEs’ workforce. The poverty-reducing impact of the increase in MSMEs’ workers has been examined. Findings: The result is significant which implies that MSMEs can play a very important role in poverty alleviation in Indonesia. The results of the study imply that a strong MSME base is required for the development of the economy and poverty alleviation in the country. Noverlty: There are many studies regarding MSMEs in Indonesia. However, empirical research regarding the impact of the growth of employment opportunities in MSMEs on poverty levels in Indonesia is still very rare. Therefore, this research fills this gap and at the same time stimulates further research.

Islamic Trade Financing and Poverty Mitigation: An Econometric Estimation Informing Islamic Development Bank Member Countries Considering Their Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

This paper is an analysis of the empirical effect of entrepreneurial ecosystems on the relationship between Islamic Trade financing (TF) and poverty trends in the context of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member countries. The study is an empirical analysis seeking to find out whether there is a statistical effect of the entrepreneurial ecosystems, measured as Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) scores, on the relationship between the Islamic Trade Financing dollar amounts by the IsDB (TF) and the GNI Per Capita, PPP, of all Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member countries for the years 2009 to 2019. The research is designed as a desk-top longitudinal, correlation, employing the linear dynamic panel data GMM model as an estimator of the empirical relationships between the key variables of the study. The study results show that there is a significant positive relationship between the TF dollar amounts from the IsDB and the GNI Per capita, PPP, and that the ascending entrepreneurial ecosystem positively affects this relationship in the IsDB member countries. Therefore, countries that receive higher Islamic Trade Financing dollar amounts from the IsDB (IF), generally have more GNI Per capita, PPP (less poverty) than their counterparts, but ascending entrepreneurial ecosystem levels raises this positive relationship. It is, therefore, recommendable for IsDB member countries and all other interested countries to formulate policies that facilitate Islamic Trade financing to mitigate poverty and improve their entrepreneurial ecosystems for economic progress. This paper develops policy conversations that guide political discourse on policy topics of poverty mitigation and their relation to financing trade following Islamic products and services, while improving the entrepreneurial environment, thus generating information on policy choices of an Islamic financing nature.

An Assessment of Multidimensional Poverty Trends in Ghana

This study aims at establishing the trends in multidimensional poverty in Ghana from 2011 to 2020 using intertemporal and counting approach. Alkire and Foster methodology was applied to identify and analyse the data. The study adopted the global multidimensional poverty indicators made up of three dimensions – health, education, and standard of living – and the ten indicators of which equal weights are attached to each dimension, and the same weights for the indicators within each dimension. It was found that Ghana did very well in reducing multidimensional poverty in all the six indicators within the standard of living dimension both in absolute and relative terms. However, the nation increased its multidimensional poverty in education and health dimensions. The Northern region continues to be the poorest region with the lowest reduction in multidimensional poverty in absolute and relative terms. Overall, multidimensional poverty reduced significantly both in absolute and relative terms at the national and regional levels. As compared with Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana performed better in decreasing multidimensional poverty than the mean of the sub-region in almost all the dimensions and indicators, both in absolute and relative terms. Government should sustain this feat and improve upon it to eliminate poverty in all its forms by 2030 as envisaged by Sustainable Development Goal 1. Government must invest heavily in education and health as well as agriculture and rural development to reduce poverty. Strategy that targets the poorest regions should be implemented to reduce poverty. Keywords: Multidimensional poverty, Headcount poverty, Monetary poverty, Trends, Ghana.