Wage Income Research Articles

Why Is the Income Effect of Farmland Transfer Inconsistent between Transferred-Out and Transferred-In Households?

Based on the 2013–2017 Chinese Family Database and China Household Finance Survey, this study examines the effect of farmland transfer on the income structure of agricultural households. We observe a significant rise in the income of transferred-out households, while that of transferred-in households is unchanged. A further empirical decomposition of income shows a significant increase in both the wage- and asset-generated incomes of transferred-out households. Although the income generated by transferred-in households through agricultural production and management increases significantly, the decrease in wage income is larger. The study’s empirical designs are robustly tested with propensity score matching and instrumental variables. Moreover, we conduct a comparative analysis of the external constraints faced by the two groups to explore the reasons for the divergence of the income effect. The results show that transferred-in households face highly pronounced external constraints in terms of capital, technology, and farmland size, while transferred-out households face relatively fewer impediments to non-agricultural employment. Our empirical results imply that external constraints can limit the social welfare improvements of agricultural land reform, suggesting that other complementary measures would be required for future policy improvements to function better.

Household debt, knowledge capital accumulation, and macrodynamic performance

Motivated to some extent by the empirical significance of student loans in the U.S., this paper incorporates knowledge capital formation by working households financed through debt to a demand-led dynamic model of physical and knowledge capital utilization and output growth. Average labor productivity varies positively with the average knowledge capital across the labor force. A rise in labor productivity resulting from knowledge capital accumulation is fully passed on to the real wage so that the wage share remains constant. In the unique long-run equilibrium, which is stable, an exogenous rise in the wage share raises the rates of physical capital utilization and output growth but has an ambiguous effect on the rate of employment (which also measures the rate of knowledge capital utilization). The long-run equilibrium also features the following interrelated results: the output growth rate is greater than the exogenous interest rate; the debt ratio (working households’ debt as a ratio of either the physical or the knowledge capital, or the output) is independent of the interest rate; and the allocation of a higher (lower) proportion of wage income to debt repayment (consumption) raises instead of lowers the debt ratio, which we dub the paradox of debt repayment.

Effects of Targeted Poverty Alleviation on the Sustainable Livelihood of Poor Farmers

It is crucial to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) policies in promoting sustainable livelihoods among impoverished populations, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The existing literature, however, predominantly focuses on assessing the policies’ effectiveness in terms of income, while neglecting other critical dimensions of sustainable livelihoods. In line with sustainable livelihood theory, we utilized data from the Chinese Household Financial Survey Database from 2017 and 2019 and employed a fuzzy regression discontinuity (FRD) method to systematically examine the implementation outcomes of TPA policies through the lens of “capability-strategy-results”. Our analysis revealed that the implementation of TPA policies had a positive impact on the ability of poor households to cope with unexpected shocks, as evidenced by an increase in the accumulation rates of material, social, and financial capital. Furthermore, we observed an optimization of livelihood strategies among poor households, with a significant increase in the proportion of wage income. These policies also had a positive impact on their livelihood outcomes, such as a reduced likelihood of falling back into poverty and an increased possibility of escaping from marginal poverty without relying on government subsidies; however, some limitations require attention. Notably, our analysis revealed that the policies did not effectively improve the human capital of poor households. To further explore the heterogeneity of policy effects, we categorized poor households into three groups based on their farmer’s market participation ability and willingness. Our findings indicate that TPA policies effectively reduced poverty among households lacking labor force through government subsidies and saw an increase in the proportion of medical insurance reimbursement; however, households lacking motivation or capability did not experience positive outcomes in the short term. Therefore, future support policies should prioritize these vulnerable groups and monitor their progress closely. Moreover, our analysis revealed that migrant work is the primary livelihood strategy among the poor, and stabilizing their employment faces significant challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, additional policies and interventions are needed to address the adverse impact of the pandemic on the employment and livelihoods of low-income households.

Research on the Pro-Poorness of Economic Growth in Rural China

Based on the pro-poor index and pro-poor curve measurement method of economic growth, this paper uses the data of Chinese Family Panel Studies to measure the pro-poorness of economic growth in rural areas of China. The study found that, from 2014 to 2018, the economic growth of rural areas in China was absolutely pro-poor, the economic growth in 2014–2016 was relatively non-pro-poor, and the economic growth in 2016–2018 was relatively pro-poor. From the perspective of household income structure, optimizing the pro-poorness of economic growth requires continuously increasing the wage income of low-income households, and continuing to implement fiscal transfer policies that are more favorable to low-income households. From the perspective of the human capital of households, optimizing the pro-poorness of economic growth requires active family support policies to enable workers to better balance family and work responsibilities, and adopt target location strategies to give special care to families with special difficulties while increasing investment in public services.

Raising the Pension Age

Raising the Pension Age

Analisis Pengaruh Luas Lahan dan Sumber Penghasilan terhadap Pendapatan Rumah Tangga Usaha Pertanian

This study examines the effect of land area and income sources of agricultural households on their income in the context of reducing poverty in the agricultural sector. This study uses a quantitative approach and multiple regression methods as an analytical tool with data from the Agricultural Business Household Income Survey which is part of the 2013 Agricultural Census of West Sumatra Province. The data used in this study is cross-sectional data with total agricultural household income as the dependent variable and the amount of land owned by agricultural households, the area of ​​land controlled and cultivated by agricultural households, the percentage of agricultural household income from agricultural sector businesses, the percentage of agricultural household income from non-agricultural businesses, the percentage of other agricultural household income , the percentage of agricultural household income from wages in the agricultural sector, and the percentage of agricultural household income non-agricultural wage income. The results showed that the variable area of ​​land owned and the area of ​​land controlled and cultivated by agricultural households had a positive effect on their total income. Other variables that have a positive effect on total agricultural household income are the percentage of income from non-agricultural businesses and the percentage of non-agricultural wage income. On the other hand, the percentage of agricultural household income from agricultural sector businesses and the percentage of agricultural household income from wages in the agricultural sector have a negative effect on their total income. The results of this study suggest the need for redistribution of land to land-poor agricultural households and encourage them to diversify their business outside the agricultural sector but still based on agricultural products.

Impact of Covid-19 Social Restrictions on Seafood Culinary-Based Tourism Industry at Kampung Solor

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has occurred in various sectors, one of which is the culinary industry. This study aims to identify the impact of COVID-19 social restrictions on the seafood-based tourism industry at the Solor Village Night Market. Using qualitative methods, research informants were selected by purposive sampling technique, which resulted in as many as 24 culinary business unit owners becoming research participants. Data collection techniques were carried out, starting with observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of this study indicate that: (1) COVID-19 social restrictions are implemented evenly throughout Indonesia, including in East Nusa Tenggara Province, so that people are more active at home. (2) There are at least two impacts of the pandemic that were felt by the culinary business unit managers at the Solor Village Night Market, namely the impact on the decline in income and job opportunities. (3) The impact of the COVID-19 social restrictions on the decrease in the income of the culinary business unit managers is influenced by several factors, such as the decline in people's purchasing power and the tendency to stay active at home so that economic activity is not optimal. (4) The impact of the pandemic on job opportunities was felt by the employees of the culinary business unit at the Pasar Malam Kampung Solor who rely on their daily wage income to support education, where as many as more than 50% of the employees were laid off. The next recommendation for business unit managers is to be able to use social media as an alternative promotion tool to maintain income in times of crisis.

BACK IN POWER: PROSPECTS AND LIMITS OF LULA’S GOVERNMENT

This article explores the economic perspectives and limits of the new Brazilian government in the short and long term. We investigate the movements of the profit rate and its determinants during the 2002-2021 period. In the short run, there is the possibility of expanding demand through higher wage share and income distribution to the poor population. In the long term, our findings highlight the necessity to boost capital accumulation and growth through the investment of public sector and state-owned companies. The new government’s success in restoring economic growth depends on reshaping institutions, moving away from neoliberalism and adopting a developmentalist framework.

How Did the Comprehensive Commercial Logging Ban Policy Affect the Life Satisfaction of Residents in National Forest Areas? A Case Study in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia

To protect the forest ecological environment, China implemented the Comprehensive Commercial Logging Ban Policy (CCLBP), yet it has a major impact on forest residents. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the CCLBP from the perspective of the satisfaction of residents. In this study, we used 242 questionnaires from residents in national forest areas in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia to evaluate satisfaction and its influencing factors by factor analysis combined with the entropy method and multiple linear regression, respectively. The results show that: (1) the overall policy satisfaction of residents in national forest areas is 60.9, which is lower than the theoretical neutral value of policy satisfaction. Increasing employment opportunities, transferring surplus employees and developing forest economy are important to improve the satisfaction of residents. (2) Life satisfaction was higher in the high-income group than in the low-income group. Increasing wage income can improve the satisfaction of residents in national forest areas. (3) The satisfaction of the worker group was significantly higher than that of the forest farmer group. Improving job stability and policy equity are important to promote life satisfaction of residents in national forest areas. (4) The satisfaction of the Yichun Forest Industry Group was significantly higher than the Inner Mongolia Forest Group. Natural resource endowment and adaptability to the CCLBP are the main factors affecting the satisfaction of different forest industry groups. At the same time, focusing on the institutional supply of external support policies in order to provide them access to information, employment advice and other services is very significant. This research provides a new approach to studying the CCLBP, which is of great practical significance for raising the wellbeing index of national forest areas.

The labour market trade-offs of pet ownership

Pets are an important part of many peoples’ lives, and provide mental, physical and emotional benefits. However, the costs of pet ownership have received little attention. We investigate the association between pet ownership and wage income using data from the 2018 General Social Survey. We hypothesise that pet ownership may negatively influence income by lowering labour mobility and positively influence income by garnering valuable psychosocial attributes. We analyse interactions between pet ownership and education, pet ownership and housing tenure, and pet ownership and race to further investigate the potential labour mobility channel. Overall, we find that pet ownership decreases wage income and that these negative effects are larger for groups where mobility effects are likely higher.

Macroeconomic exposure of developing economies to low-carbon transition

The low-carbon transition is a specific type of rapid structural change where low-emission industries grow and high-emission industries decline due to deliberate policies, changing preferences and technological change. Developing countries’ macroeconomic exposure to this transition depends upon their reliance on carbon-intensive industries as a source of foreign currency, fiscal revenue, employment and wage income. Identifying these different dimensions of countries’ exposure is important because different green policies need to be applied in different contexts, and the results of these policies will be more or less effective according to countries’ idiosyncrasies.This paper aims at providing estimates of countries’ macroeconomic current exposures to the low-carbon transition. We develop a method to evaluate countries’ external, fiscal and socioeconomic exposure, and, considering their capacity to adapt their productive structure, we analyse countries’ vulnerabilities and risks in these different dimensions. Using a Hybrid World Input-output table for 189 countries, we identify the carbon-intensive industries, and then we estimate each country’s direct and indirect dependence on these industries, considering countries’ dependence for raising of foreign currency to analyse the external exposure, government revenue to evaluate the fiscal exposure, and the share of wages and employment to analyse the socioeconomic exposure.Results show that countries present different degrees of exposure in different dimensions, and the degree of exposure varies significantly when indirect impacts are considered. Moreover, by analysing countries’ capacity to adapt their production structure and resilience factors, we evaluate to what extent countries’ macroeconomic exposure imply a higher vulnerability to the green transition process.

How Does Farmland Tenure Security Affect Rural Household Income? Empirical Evidence of China’s Survey Data

A stable farmland tenure can optimize farmers’ allocation of production factors and then determine the income level and structure of farmers. In recent years, the reform of China’s farmland tenure system had been making efforts to strengthen the stability of farmland tenures. Will the farmland tenure security restrict agricultural development? Based on the data of the 2018 China Labor Dynamics Survey (CLDS), this paper empirically analyzes the impact of farmland tenure stability on rural household income and its mechanism. The results showed that the stability of land rights increased the per capita total income, wage income and agricultural productive income of farmers significantly. The stability of the farmland tenure significantly increased the income of rural households in plain areas and the income of rural households in villages with highly mechanied; additionally, employment opportunities increased significantly. The mechanism analysis showed that the stability of the farmland tenure had a significant positive effect on the total income of farmers by promoting the division of labor and agricultural investment. On this basis, this paper puts forward measures such as strictly controlling the readjustment of agricultural land, improving the rural labor market and financial market, and guiding nonplain areas to develop tertiary industry according to local conditions.

The Relationship between Financial Literacy and Income Structure of Rural Farm Households: Evidence from Jiangsu, China

Improving the income of rural residents is a requirement for poverty alleviation in all countries. Based on China Land Economic Survey (CLES) 2021 data, this paper investigates the homogenous and heterogeneous relations between financial literacy and the income structure of rural farm households. It finds that financial literacy is significantly related to farmers’ income levels, which still holds after the robustness testing. Regarding the structure of household income, financial literacy has a more profound association with farmers’ property income than wage income. Moreover, it has a relatively weak impact on transfer income with significance. Financial literacy has a more significant role in increasing the income of farmers with higher income levels than lower income levels. Moreover, it has different impacts on the income structure of different income groups. Therefore, this paper suggests that the government should co-operate with county-seated financial institutions to provide farmers with regular financial literacy education.

Transforming Türkiye's power system: An assessment of economic, social, and external impacts of an energy transition by 2030

Türkiye has the long-term goal of transforming its power system to one that is cleaner, more secure and more affordable. According to this paper's scenario analyses, low-cost renewables can supply 55% of Türkiye's total electricity demand. Coupled with the electrification of end-use sectors, energy efficiency can reduce total power demand by 10% compared to a business as usual scenario by 2030. The paper assesses the social, economic, and environmental impacts of this transformation by soft linking a power system model with an applied computable general equilibrium model, using an updated input and output dataset, and employing a novel analysis of job creation and fossil fuel externalities. The power system transformation significantly improves social welfare with net socioeconomic benefits estimated at 1% of GDP by 2030. Positive impacts include a reduction in human health and climate change externalities by a third, which are further enhanced by wage income growth that is driven by higher skilled and better paid jobs. A carbon tax emerges as a critical instrument to realize these benefits whilst reducing the power sector's emissions to 2030. The assessment should be expanded with more ambitious clean energy technology deployment for the entire energy system to operationalize Türkiye's Paris-aligned 2053 net-zero emission target and just transition policies.

Returns to education revisited: Evidence from rural Vietnam

This study revisits returns to education in three Vietnamese rural provinces, using data on seven waves between 2007 and 2017, taken from the Thailand Vietnam SocioEconomic Panel (TVSEP). We deploy various approaches to address the endogeneity problem, and the findings show that individuals with a lower secondary school diploma are likely to earn a higher wage income. The present research also provides evidence of heterogeneity in the rate of return in terms of sex and ethnicity. In particular, men need a lower secondary school diploma, while women require an upper secondary school diploma to improve their wage income. Similarly, the relationship between a lower secondary school diploma and wage income is found among the majority of the Kinh people, but ethnic minorities do not enjoy this benefit. Overall, the benefits of education are crucial among the labor force, especially for vulnerable groups, such as women and ethnic minorities, who would benefit from the support of policymakers.

Impact of poverty alleviation through relocation: From the perspectives of income and multidimensional poverty

Poverty alleviation through relocation (PAR) is a milestone project in winning the battle against extreme poverty and aims to relocate poor people from inhospitable areas and lift them out of poverty. The effect of PAR on poor households merits evaluation as it is also the basis for understanding the achievements of targeted poverty alleviation and preventing a large-scale return to poverty. This study analyzed the effect of PAR on poor households from the perspectives of income and multidimensional poverty, based on panel data of 1009 poor households from eight provinces in China. The results showed that the incidence of multidimensional poverty in poor households exceeded that of income poverty, and its decline was faster than that of income poverty. However, the overlap between multidimensional poverty and income poverty was low, at 26.3%, 4.9%, and 0% in 2016, 2018, and 2020, respectively. PAR showed a significantly negative effect on poor households’ income and multidimensional poverty, and the longer the relocation time, the more significant the effect. PAR reduced the income poverty of poor households mainly by increasing their wage income and property income, and multidimensional poverty mainly by improving their living standards. The impact of PAR on income and multidimensional poverty is regional heterogeneous. Post-relocation measures should improve the income and capability of poor households through industrial development, employment assistance, infrastructure upgrades, and public service improvements. In addition, the income and multidimensional poverty standards should be jointly adopted in the governance of relative poverty.

Research on the Contribution Mechanism of Vocational Human Capital Characteristics to Income

Vocational education is an important way to accumulate human capital. Human capital is the core element of economic growth and has huge positive externalities. Building a scientific and effective human capital development system is an important driving force to improve workers’ living standards and promote innovative development. Based on statistical techniques such as Lasso dimensionality reduction, stepwise regression, and partial least squares, as well as on the 2012–2016 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), this paper studies the impact of human capital on workers’ wage income and capital income, and establishes an income-determining equation that can be used for interpretation and forecasting. The empirical results show that education, professional skills, health, and communication ability are important components of human capital and are significantly positively correlated with income. China should build a good and effective human capital development system to increase workers’ income and narrow the income gap among residents.

Exploring the heterogeneous impact of road infrastructure on rural residents’ income: Evidence from nationwide panel data in China

Countries have invested in transport infrastructure and public service in recent years to reduce rural poverty and income inequality. However, the effects of transport infrastructure on the residents with economic and educational disadvantages in rural areas are still under debate. In this paper, we investigate the impact of road infrastructure on the income of rural residents at the municipal level using data from the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018. By using the instrumental variable regression model, we found that rural residents' household incomes benefit from road infrastructure. Within income components, road infrastructure plays a role in improving rural residents’ wage and business income. Further comparing different rural resident groups, we found that rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from improved road infrastructure in terms of their farming and business income from 2010 to 2018. In addition, in poverty-stricken areas, rural residents with lower initial farming and business income benefit more from road infrastructure in improving their farming and business income. However, the household incomes of rural residents with low formal education improve less as a result of road infrastructure. Policymakers should thus consider combining transport infrastructure provision with other policy packages, such as education program or skill training, to target different groups of rural residents in China.

The Factors Influencing Teachers' Willingness to Remain in Rural Areas After the Expiration of Their Compulsory Service Contract: A Case Study in Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, China

Quality education can only be achieved with the assistance of experienced and qualified teachers. In order to ensure quality education in disadvantaged areas in China, it is necessary to keep experienced teachers in rural areas. This paper investigates factors that could influence rural teachers’ decision to stay or not on teaching at the expiry of their service contract. As a part of project, “Research on rural Teacher Training Mode in Minority Areas of Hubei Province in post-poverty Era “data from 1193 rural teachers who had qualified from a government teacher training programme from selected villages under the jurisdiction of the Enshi Prefecture, Hubei province was collected. As part of the survey, a number of factors are examined that influence a teacher's willingness to stay or leave, as well as remedial measures that are deemed necessary to prevent teachers from leaving. For the analysis of the data, SPSS 25 and AMOS 24 were used. The study found that the teachers have a high willingness to stay on the job after the contract expires. Among the factors contributing to their willingness are the local cultural environment, the local infrastructure attachment to the area, and the school's working environment. Wage income, professional identity, professional development, and school working conditions also play an important role as maintenance factors. There is a direct relationship between the rural infrastructure and a person's willingness to continue working after the expiration of a contract, and there is also direct relationship between the local attachment and the cultural atmosphere of the local community. Local attachment is the dominant factor, the local infrastructure is a secondary improvement area, and salary, promotion of opportunities, respect for teachers and education are in the priority improvement area. Finally, the paper proposes that the retention of rural teachers should be based on the cultivation of local attachment, rural revitalization, improvement of health factors and construction of “UGSR–P” cultivation of community.

COVID-19 and Urban Food Security in Ghana during the Third Wave

While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food security have been documented, the intensity and forms of food insecurity in urban households in the Global South have not been adequately explored. This is despite the emerging consensus that impacts of the pandemic were more severe in urban than rural Africa. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by examining the relationship between pandemic precarity and food insecurity in Ghana’s urban areas during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This study is based on the World Bank (WB) and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) COVID-19 High-Frequency Phone Survey. Using a sub-sample of 1423 urban households, the paper evaluates household experiences of the pandemic. Our findings show that household demographic characteristics are not a major predictor of food insecurity. Economic factors, especially the impact of the pandemic on wage income and total household income, were far more important, with those most affected being most food insecure. Additionally, food-insecure households were most aware of and were affected by food-price increases during the pandemic. These findings are important in planning the post-pandemic recovery initiatives and in addressing current and future emergencies and shocks to urban food systems.