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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. • This study assessed the impact of poverty alleviation through relocation on income and multidimensional poverty. • The overlap between multidimensional poverty and income poverty of poor households was low. • Poverty alleviation through relocation had a significantly negative impact on income and multidimensional poverty. • Poverty alleviation through relocation reduced the income poverty mainly by increasing wage income and property income. • Poverty alleviation through relocation reduced the multidimensional poverty mainly by improving living standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High energy cost is a key barrier to equitable access to residential electrification of heating. • Energy retrofits can reduce residential energy cost increase due to heat pumps. • Drivers of household energy inefficiency can be understood through on-site energy audits. • Economic payback of energy retrofits is long, limiting viability for low-income residents. Residential heat pumps could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but increase energy burdens, the proportion of income households spend on utility bills. We analyze utility bills, thermostat settings and energy burdens for a sample of 51 households in Michigan, half below median income. We recruit a contractor to conduct energy assessments of these households and provide them with energy retrofit recommendations, including estimated costs and savings. We find that low-income households choose similar temperature setpoints to higher-income households, but live in less efficient homes. Below-median income households, which today experience a median energy burden of 6 %, would see it rise to 10 % if they shifted to electric heat pumps from natural gas. Weatherization could offset this increase, bringing burdens down to pre-electrification levels. However, median payback is 24 years, making retrofits infeasible for the poorest. Our results are indicative of an energy poverty trap that could hinder an equitable energy transition. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers have adopted built environment policies to modify people's travel behavior and the related emissions. However, few studies have examined the interactive impact between income level and built environment attributes on travel-related carbon emissions (TCE), and only several studies consider their nonlinear relationships. With data from the Twin Cities, US, this study estimated the nonlinear effects of built environment attributes and demographics on TCE. It further examined the interactive impacts between household income and built environment attributes. The findings highlight that demographics exert a greater influence on TCE than the built environment. Employment status, job accessibility, and gender are the most important predictors. Besides individual nonlinear relationships, household income and built environment attributes have salient interactive impacts on TCE. The results suggest that providing environment friendly and affordable transportation choices to low-income population, switching to clean energy vehicles, and offering more matched job opportunities to low-income population near their residence are promising to create a sustainable transportation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact on the income of families benefiting from the "Minha Casa Minha Vida" Brazilian Social Housing Program through the integration of photovoltaic (PV) generation systems into housing financing, as outlined by Law 14,620 enacted in July 2023. Given the novelty of this legislation, there is no existing database for analysis. Consequently, simulations of PV generation were carried out for the typical dwellings provided by the program across the five macro regions of Brazil. The simulation takes into account maintenance and equipment replacement costs, tariff rules, and standard adjustment rates in the country. Across all examined scenarios, the installation of residential rooftop PV systems yielded favorable outcomes, resulting in a reduction in electricity costs for the low-income population. Making provisions for a Sinking Fund in the program was identified as crucial to provide sustainability, long-term operation, maintenance and replacement. Additionally, it was observed that civil construction companies play a crucial role in popularizing the proposal. In conclusion, legislation incorporating PV generation into the national housing program represents merely the initial step toward realizing the widespread adoption of this energy generation technology in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-income residents are often reliant on public transit for daily travel. In North American cities, they have also historically concentrated in centrally located neighbourhoods with relatively higher levels of transit accessibility. However, during the late 20th and early 21st century, regions have witnessed trends of inner-city neighbourhood change and gentrification and the suburbanization of poverty, raising concerns that low-income residents are disproportionately moving away from relied upon transit service. In this paper, we investigate what occurs when low-income residents change dwellings within a region: do they experience a reduction in their levels of transit accessibility, how does this compare to higher-income movers, and how has this changed over time? We examine this by linking historical transit accessibility measures to annual individual-level panel data representing 20% of tax filers in Toronto, Canada from 1988 to 2018. We then analyze changes in transit accessibility for over 2 million intra-urban movers during this time period via descriptive statistics and regression models to answer whether there are significant differences in individual changes in transit accessibility by income level. We find that low-income residents do, on average, experience reductions in their levels of transit accessibility when moving within the region, suggesting a growth in people at risk of transport poverty. Nevertheless, they do not undergo as great of a reduction in transit accessibility as higher-income movers, although this gap in experienced changes in transit accessibility between higher- and low-income movers is converging over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary It is well known that consumption patterns change with income. Relative price changes would therefore affect rich and poor consumers differently. Yet, the standard price indices are not income-specific, and hence, they cannot account for such differences. In this paper, we study consumption inequality in India, while fully allowing for non-homotheticity. We show that the relative price changes during most of the period from 1993 to 2012 were pro-poor, in the sense that they favored the poor relative to the rich. As a result, we also find that conventional measures significantly overstate the rise in real consumption inequality during this period. The main lesson from our study is the importance of accounting for non-homotheticity when measuring inequality. The price index literature has, as of yet, paid relatively little attention to this. In our application, however, it turns out that the allowance for non-homotheticity is quantitatively much more important than much discussed adjustments, such as those for substitution in consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper addresses one of the major challenges in rural livelihood analysis to quantitatively examine the dynamics of household livelihood strategies. It investigates the interactions between livelihood assets, activities, and outcomes, and captures the dynamics of long-term changes and their underlying factors. The study aims to identify the classification of rural livelihood strategies, their transitions and factors influencing these processes and changes. We employ the dynamic livelihood strategy framework, and use panel data for 2008 and 2012 covering 464 households in 15 villages in Cambodia, for latent class cluster analysis and regression estimation. In this paper, livelihood strategies are quantified based on allocation of available resources, which overcomes the limitations of income-based analysis. Our study identifies five household livelihood strategies pursued in the study areas, and the results show that over 70% of households change livelihood strategies over time in response to evolving pressures, incentives and opportunities. The study identifies covariates that shape the choices of livelihood strategies and affects the households’ access to more remunerative strategies, such as education, ownership of physical assets, and access to infrastructure. These findings suggest policy implications for improving the range of livelihood choices available to lower income groups to move out of poverty trap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Income diversification continues to be a key strategy for poor rural households, including those that are progressively developing and those operating under increasing distress. The ability of a household to diversify has been shown to depend upon its demographic and economic characteristics and its physical and social context. This paper considers the effects of intra-village social networks on household income diversification in one of the poorest and most ethnically diverse areas of the Indian state of Kerala. Using techniques adapted from spatial econometrics, we find that social connections within a village magnify the impacts of household characteristics such as education and number of adults by a factor of 3.6 times. Models with alternative measures of network centrality (degree and eigenvector) indicate that the number of network connections that a household has is more important than the centrality of those connections. Finally, we use social contact information to calculate assortative mixing based on caste. The results suggest social stratification in these villages, with higher levels of stratification associated with lower levels of income diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper sets out a systemic account of intertemporal changes in multidimensional poverty using the Alkire–Foster Adjusted Headcount Ratio and its consistent sub-indices. It uses three techniques to assess the pro-poorness of multidimensional poverty reduction. The analysis of changes in multidimensional poverty draws on the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and related destitution measure in 34 countries and 338 sub-national regions, covering 2.5 billion people, for which there is a recent MPI estimation and comparable Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) dataset across time. First, it assesses overall changes in poverty and its incidence and intensity, and compares this with changes in $1.90 poverty. Next, utilizing the property of subgroup decomposability, it examines changes in the MPI and its consistent sub-indices over time across urban–rural regions, sub-national regions and ethnic groups. The decomposition analysis identifies relevant national patterns, including those in which the pace of poverty reduction is higher for the poorest subgroups. Finally, the paper analyzes the dynamics of a strict subset of the poor, who are identified as “destitute” using a more extreme deprivation cutoff vector, and studies relative rates of reduction of destitution and poverty by country and region. This extensive empirical analysis illustrates how to assess the extent and patterns of reduction of multidimensional poverty, as well as whether it is inclusive or whether some people or groups are left behind. Naturally, some further research questions emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young adults who achieved independent living often go back to their parental homes because they cannot afford to maintain financial independence. While much attention has been paid to identifying factors contributing to giving up independent living, the lives of young people after returning to parental homes have yet to be understood. This study examines the employment outcomes of young people who have returned to their parents' homes, using data from 2003 to 2011 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (NLSY 97). The results of the analysis show the heterogeneous effect of the boomerang move. Boomerang movers in the lowest income groups have improved employment outcomes, but not the other groups. However, the employment outcomes of boomerang movers are still lower than those of young people who remain independent across all income groups. Changes in residential location affect income, and the impact varies by income group. A residential shift away from the central city reduces the income of the middle income group. While region change is positively related to income for the lowest income group, it negatively affects the other groups. Findings from the study suggest several policy implications. • Young adults returning to their parental homes are more likely to have lower incomes than youth living independently. • Impact of boomerang move on employment outcomes varies by income group. • Back to parental home might be a good option, at least for low-income youth. • Young adults with incomes of $30,000 or more are likely to accept wage cuts for labor market transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological public welfare positions policy, which involves low-income people in ecological conservation work, is an essential practical innovation for China to achieve mutual benefits in ecological protection and poverty alleviation. This study explored the effect of participation in ecological public welfare positions (PEPWP) on farmers' household income composition and clarified the internal mechanism by propensity score matching (PSM) and conditional process analysis, based on the field data from 508 formerly registered impoverished households in Jiangxi Province and Hubei Province, China. Results showed that (1) PEPWP was characterized by "self-selection", which significantly increased farmers' wage level, planting income in Jiangxi Province, and husbandry income in Hubei Province after the elimination of selectivity bias. However, the effect on other sub-incomes was insignificant. (2) There was a moderated mediating model between PEPWP and agricultural income, which demonstrated that farmer's development motivation (FDM) played a partially mediating effect between PEPWP and FDM, and the frequency of skill training (FST) moderated the first part path of this model. (3) EPWP policy steadily increased farmers' income at the vulnerable livelihood level and greatly improved the regional environment. At the same time, it also played an active role in stimulating FDM and rural governance. Conclusions indicated that it was significant to diversify the channels for promoting growth in rural incomes, and pay attention to skill training and the multi-functional role of ecological custodians, in order to activate FDM and assist farmers in eradicating poverty sustainably. [Display omitted] • Reveal the effect of ecological public welfare positions (EPWP) on farmers' income. • EPWP can increase household income accompanying with sub-income diversification. • The impact of EPWP on income is mediated by farmer's development motivation. • Frequency of skill training moderates the internal mechanism of EPWP on income. • The environmental-economic-social benefits of EPWP are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to assess changes in active transportation behaviors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to identifying the disparate impacts between sociodemographic groups. A survey was conducted in November 2020, which collected responses from 1,000 Michigan residents statewide regarding walking and biking behaviors before, during, and anticipated post-pandemic. The survey found that people who walked or biked frequently for recreation before the pandemic maintained or increased their activities during the pandemic. More importantly, the survey also revealed differing pandemic-related impacts on walking and biking behaviors between sociodemographic groups. Specifically, people from underprivileged sociodemographic groups, such as those who are older, have lower education or income level, or identify as a minority, were less active in general before the pandemic, and these walking and biking behavior gaps were exacerbated by the pandemic. Furthermore, the elevated negative impacts on these sociodemographic groups were anticipated to continue in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We integrate original survey data with spatiotemporal covariates for households in Namibia's Zambezi Region. • We then estimate the impact of community-based natural resource management on environmental income and dependency. • Community-based natural resource management fosters livelihood strategies that are, on average, more dependent on the environment. • Households living in close proximity to touristic enterprises are more likely to benefit from environmental income effects than others. Many poor rural households depend on products from non-cultivated environments for subsistence and commercialization. Collective action schemes, such as community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), aim at maintaining natural resource quality and thus potentially contribute to the sustainability of environmental income sources. Little is known about whether and under which contextual conditions these schemes effectively promote environmental income generation or imply trade-offs between wildlife conservation and socioeconomic development. We rely on a unique combination of original farm-household data with a rich set of spatiotemporal covariates to quantify environmental income and dependency in Namibia's Zambezi region at the heart of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. We then estimate the effect of CBNRM on environmental income and dependency in a quasi-experimental regression-based approach. Controlling for historical variables that affected selection into formal CBNRM schemes, we further explore the role of contextual variation in exposure to tourism activity. Results suggest that CBNRM fosters livelihood strategies that are, on average, more dependent on the environment. However, this effect is driven by outcomes of households that live in close proximity to touristic enterprises, where such livelihood strategies align better with other income generating opportunities than in areas where agriculture represents the only viable economic alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agriculture commercialization can promote household income, and nutrition security. • Linkage between agriculture commercialization, dietary diversity and nutrition is crucial. • Agriculture commercialisation is mainly determined by area of land cultivated. • Agriculture commercialisation has significant effect on dietary diversity for lower income group but not for the whole sample. • Agriculture commercialisation and dietary diversity have insignificant effect on child nutrition. • Policies to promote nutrition should be holistic. Availability and accessibility of proper amount and variety of foods are important determinants of household nutritional status. Agriculture commercialisation can be a useful means of promoting efficiency in agriculture, increasing agricultural household income and consequently, improving household food and nutrition security. Using the first three waves of Tanzania National Panel Survey data, this paper employs panel data models to analyse the linkages between agriculture commercialisation, dietary diversity, and nutrition status in Tanzania. It contributes to the literature by assessing those linkages across different income groups. The study finds that agriculture commercialisation has a significant effect on dietary diversity for the lower-income group; but not for the whole sample. Education levels of the head of household and of the highly educated female member, overall income levels and area of land cultivated have positive and significant effects on dietary diversity; whereas age of the head has negative and significant effect. It also finds that agriculture commercialisation and household dietary diversity both have an insignificant effect on child stunting, wasting, and underweight even for the lower-income group. Findings imply that policies favouring commercialisation and dietary diversification may not necessarily translate to improving child nutrition. Addressing nutrition challenges requires all-encompassing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite massive new town development in megacities in China, none of the prior studies examined commuting disparities of residents of different income groups living in various types of new towns. Based on established literature on urban structure and commuting and income disparities in commuting, this paper has examined the roles of income and new town types in commuting distance, mode, and time differences. Based on Beijing's new town development context, we categorize its six major new towns into residential, national park-driven industrial, market-based industrial, and satellite new towns. Using descriptive analysis and regressions on 595 new town residents, we find that high-income commuters tend to have longer commuting distances and times and are more likely to drive to workplaces. Those living in the residential new town tend to have longer commuting distances and times. Results also show the transportation resource differences in different types of new towns. Those living in the residential new town are more likely to commute by public transit. Results also show the transportation difficulties for low-income residents who live in satellite towns. Though high-income commuters living in those towns have significantly longer commuting distances, they do not necessarily have longer commuting times than low-income people living in these towns. This study has several implications for future research and policy implications for new town development in China and other transit-dependent cities in Asia and Global South. • This paper examines commuting disparities across different types of new towns and income groups in Beijing. • High-income commuters tend to have longer commuting distances and times and are more likely to drive. • Those living in the residential new town tend to have longer commuting distances and times. • Those living in the residential new town are more likely to commute by public transit. • Results also show the transportation difficulties for low-income commuters living in satellite towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an economy experiences high growth rates, some sections of the population enjoy a more than proportionate rise in income. This leads to an increased allocation of resources towards the production of luxury goods. Since the production of luxury goods often requires more resources than the production of necessary goods, it may reduce not only the production of necessary goods, but also total production. This paper considers Houthakker's Indirect Addilog Utility Model and constructs a theoretical model to present this particular problem of growth. As an illustrative example, the model considers rice, where the land requirement for the production of aromatic rice is greater than that of ordinary rice. As income levels of the rich increases, the demand for aromatic rice increases and hence there is a shift in land devoted from the production of ordinary rice to high quality rice. Consequently, the total production of rice may decline. The model identifies factors that determine this possibility. The paper also looks at the relevant policy issues in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do household consumption practices depend upon local standards of decency or distinction? This article explores effects of local income structure on household consumption across 18 large U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Results show greater overall spending in high-inequality MSAs. But contrary to conventional depictions of "conspicuous consumption," the additional spending goes mostly toward shelter and food, not more visible purchases of jewelry, vehicles, apparel, and entertainment. High median income, by contrast, is associated with greater spending in two visible goods categories (apparel and entertainment), but only among low-income households. Results support depictions of expenditure cascades, where spending by those better off ratchets up local standards of "normal" and socially acceptable living. Some unfortunate consequences include decreased investment in health care and heightened competition for access to quality public schooling. In this sense, growing economic inequality and positional consumption may be self-reinforcing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used data from the Family Life Project (N = 1227), a longitudinal study of child development. We tested a three-way interaction in which positive parenting and learning materials in the home from age 6–36 months and family income predicted children's executive functioning (EF) at 58 months. We also tested whether this interaction predicted early school functioning, specifically behavioral and academic skills in the 1st grade. The interactive effects of positive parenting and learning materials differed by family income. For children in families of lower income, more learning materials and positive parenting predicted better EF, and in turn, better early school functioning. For children in families of higher income, only positive parenting significantly predicted EF, which in turn, predicted better early school functioning. Findings suggest that more targeted policy and program support for enrichment and positive parenting may bolster efforts to combat poverty. • A 3-way interaction is present between income, learning materials and parenting in predicting executive and school function • In low income children, learning material and parenting predict executive function • In high income children, only parenting predicts executive function • For low and high income children, executive function predicts behavioral and academic skills [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the United States, residents of lower income neighborhoods evince poorer health, on average, than residents of more affluent areas. Studies aiming to explain this pattern have focused largely on the effects of neighborhood characteristics on residents' health, often overlooking the possibility that the reverse causal process-that a person's health impacts where they live, or "health selection into neighborhoods"-also plays a role. We investigated processes of health selection using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a longitudinal survey of U.S. households. Using ordinary least squares linear regression, we estimated the effect of householders' self-rated health on their neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES, the Census tract-level family poverty rate) in 2013, adjusting for neighborhood SES and health in 2001 as well as sociodemographic characteristics and residential mobility. Poorer health was associated with residence in higher poverty neighborhoods overall. Stratified models indicated that while health selection was observed across both race/ethnicity and class boundaries, the relationship between poor health and neighborhood poverty was stronger among non-Hispanic Black respondents, those with low income, and respondents who either moved moderate distances or did not move at all during the study period. We conclude with a call for future work exploring the mechanisms leading those in worse health to reside in higher poverty neighborhoods, and for public health policies that seek not only to improve health supporting conditions in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, but that also support the economic and social needs of residents struggling with health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of the poor in low income societies is not well understood. • We use data from the Hrishipara Daily Diary project which tracks the daily transactions of sixty individuals in Bangladesh. • We document the behavioural responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by individual diarists in a semi-rural setting. • We find that the pandemic had significant negative effects on the livelihoods of the poor. • To cope, households drew down on their cash reserves at home as well as cut down on non-food expenditures. We examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of the poor in a semi-rural setting in Bangladesh. We use an unusually rich dataset which tracks the economic and financial transactions of sixty poor and very poor individuals and their families on a daily real-time basis for 12 months, from 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020. These households for the past five years have volunteered as respondents in a 'financial diaries' study known as the 'Hrishipara Daily Diaries Project'. We use a mixed methods approach, combining qualitative case studies of five diarists with a quantitative analysis of the daily data extracted from the diaries. We document the behavioral responses to COVID-19 by individual diarists, which shows the varied experiences of the poor during the pandemic. Further, we find that the pandemic had significant negative effects on the livelihoods of the poor in our study, with financial inflows and outflows, incomes and household expenditures much below pre-pandemic levels in the pandemic period. Government lockdowns in April and May 2020 led to a sharp decline in incomes and household expenditures. While incomes and expenditures recovered in the post-lockdown period, they remained below pre-pandemic levels. Financial transactions such as borrowing, saving withdrawals and exchange of monetary gifts came to a standstill in the lockdown period, making it difficult for households to use conventional coping mechanisms in the face of a large unanticipated decline in incomes. Exploring the coping mechanisms that households used to adjust to the declines in incomes and their lack of access to formal and informal sources of finance, we find that households drew down on their cash reserves at home as well as cutting down on non-food expenditures to protect their spending on food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We assess the impact of an approach in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh that combines micro-credit with efforts to target the poor, address their specific needs, and enhance their economic potential. Our results support the pro-poor nature of the program and point toward benefits in terms of female empowerment and nutritional intake but not asset formation or income for program participants and other villagers. While study of longer-term effects is desirable, this suggests that even in the short term, the program helped improve consumption smoothing and income diversification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The association between reproductive success and income in economically developed societies remains a controversial and understudied topic. The commonly made statement that individuals with a higher income have fewer children defies evolutionary explanation. Here we present results from an analyses of the association between lifetime reproductive success (LRS) and income for modern Europeans from 13 countries. We examine the relationships among income, partner income, sex and LRS, and the role of childlessness in driving the relationships. For women, we find a negative association between LRS and income, while for men, we find a flat or slightly positive one. The sex difference in the association appears to be driven by income''s sex-specific association with childlessness; men with a low income have a relatively high risk of childlessness, while women with a low income have a low risk of childlessness. Consequently, once childless people are excluded from the analysis, LRS is negatively associated with income for both sexes. We argue that the observed LRS–income associations may be an outcome of evolved behavioural predispositions operating in modern environments and conclude that, even though humans fail to maximise LRS at all income levels in modern settings, evolutionary theory can still help to explain sex differences in LRS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A little over one million individuals in Australia between the ages of 24 and 64 years are in Freedom poverty – they have low family income, and have either poor health or an insufficient level of education. These individuals are some of the most disadvantaged in society due to their multiple capability restrictions. Current political rhetoric focused on reducing the number of individuals out of the labour force to improve their living standards may offer a means of improving the lives of these most disadvantaged individuals. Indeed, of those in Freedom poverty, 80% are not in employment. But these individuals also have poor health and/or a poor education and these capability limitations may act as barriers to their labour force participation. Indeed, 49% of individuals in freedom poverty who were out of the labour force cited ill health as the reason for this (39% cited their own ill health, and 10% cited another''s ill health). Not only will these individual''s ill health act as a barrier to their engaging in the labour force, but ill health will also contribute to reduced quality of life. Political promises to improve the lives of citizens should not focus narrowly upon increasing labour force participation rates, but should take a holistic view of the lives of individuals taking note in particular of how health may be restraining their quality of life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Contrary to conventional wisdom, NHANES data indicate that the poor have never had a statistically significant higher prevalence of overweight status at any time in the last 35 years. Despite this empirical evidence, the view that the poor are less healthy in terms of excess accumulation of fat persists. This paper provides evidence that conventional wisdom is reflecting important differences in the relationship between income and the body mass index. The first finding is based on distribution-sensitive measures of overweight which indicates that the severity of overweight has been higher for the poor than the nonpoor throughout the last 35 years. The second finding is from a newly introduced estimator, unconditional quantile regression (UQR), which provides a measure of the income-gradient in BMI at different points on the unconditional BMI distribution. The UQR estimator indicates that the strongest relationship between income and BMI is observed at the tails of the distribution. There is a statistically significant negative income gradient in BMI at the obesity threshold and some evidence of a positive gradient at the underweight threshold. Both of these UQR estimates imply that for those at the tails of the BMI distribution, increases in income are correlated with healthier BMI values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, choice experiment was applied for valuation of Lake Tana's fishery and watershed. Two attributes — fishing control and lake side plantation — were identified as relevant attributes for the choice experiment. A monetary attribute — payment for fishing permit was also included. Multinomial and random parameter logit models were used for estimation. All the attributes included were significant factors in affecting the probability of choosing an alternative scenario. The results suggest that fishermen were more concerned about fishing control as reflected by the higher value they give to fishing control than lake side plantation. Household income, years of education, and family size were found to be significant. The economic welfare measures we calculated for two scenarios show that fishermen were willing to pay 57 birr (US$5.3)) per month for a moderate improvement scenario and 93 birr (US$8.6) per month for an aggressive scenario for the two attributes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Poor people rely on local commons not only for self-insurance, as commonly found, but also for mutual insurance, depending on resources and shocks. This paper demonstrates that this conjecture holds among cyclone victims in the Pacific Islands. On one hand, households increase coastal fishing and handicraft selling, but not forest-product gathering, to smooth income against own crop damage. On the other hand, households with undamaged housing intensify fishing to help other kin-group members with damaged housing. These distinct patterns of using commons as insurance are explained by distinct forms of risk sharing against these two shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Data from a state-wide survey of California middle and high school students (N=20,203) were used to assess whether county income inequality and poverty rates were associated with adolescent smoking. Greater county income inequality, but not poverty rates, was associated with higher established smoking risk (p=0.0019). The association was stronger in males than females, whites than other ethnic groups, and urban than rural settings. Neither county income inequality nor poverty rates were associated with experimental smoking. The findings suggest that it may be important to consider and address economic inequality in the prevention and control of adolescent tobacco use. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A long tradition in economics explores the association between the quality of formal institutions and economic performance. The literature on the relationship between such institutions and happiness is, however, rather limited, and inconclusive. In this paper, we revisit the findings from recent cross-country studies on the institution–happiness association. Our findings suggest that their conclusions are qualitatively rather insensitive to the specific measure of ‘happiness’ used, while the associations between formal institutions and subjective well-being differ among poor and rich countries. Separating different types of institutional quality, we find that in low-income countries the effects of economic–judicial institutions on happiness dominate those of political institutions, while analyses restricted to middle- and high-income countries show strong support for an additional beneficial effect of political institutions. Our results bear important implications that we discuss in the concluding section of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential impacts of genetically modified (GM) crops on income, poverty and nutrition in developing countries continue to be the subject of public controversy. Here, a review of the evidence is given. As an example of a first-generation GM technology, the effects of insect-resistant Bt cotton are analysed. Bt cotton has already been adopted by millions of small-scale farmers, in India, China, and South Africa among others. On average, farmers benefit from insecticide savings, higher effective yields and sizeable income gains. Insights from India suggest that Bt cotton is employment generating and poverty reducing. As an example of a second-generation technology, the likely impacts of beta-carotene-rich Golden Rice are analysed from an ex ante perspective. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious nutritional problem, causing multiple adverse health outcomes. Simulations for India show that Golden Rice could reduce related health problems significantly, preventing up to 40,000 child deaths every year. These examples clearly demonstrate that GM crops can contribute to poverty reduction and food security in developing countries. To realise such social benefits on a larger scale requires more public support for research targeted to the poor, as well as more efficient regulatory and technology delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Childhood parental divorce has been linked with negative physical and psychological health in adulthood, potentially due to alterations in adrenocortical activity resulting from chronic stress. The current study evaluated cortisol in 94 young adults (mean age 19.9) from families characterized by parental divorce (n =43) or intact parental marriages (n =51). Salivary cortisol was assessed prior to and at 3 time points after a challenging speech task. Participants from divorced families had significantly lower cortisol across the experimental period than those from intact families, even after controlling for family conflict and current depression and anxiety. Lower family income was also associated with lower cortisol, and partially mediated the relationship between parental divorce and cortisol. Findings suggest that childhood parental divorce is associated with attenuated cortisol in young adulthood, which may be explained by lower income in divorced families. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Absolute income is robustly associated with health status. Few studies have, however, examined if relative income is independently associated with health. We examined if, over and above the effects of absolute income, individual relative deprivation in income as well as position in the income hierarchy is associated with individual poor health in the U.S. Using three rounds of the Current Population Surveys (CPS), we analyzed the association between self-rated health (1=fair/poor, 0=otherwise) and the Yitzhaki index of relative deprivation in income and percentile position in the income hierarchy across 17 reference groups. Over and above the effects of absolute income, the odds ratio for reporting poor health among individuals in the highest quintile of relative deprivation compared to the lowest quintile ranged between 2.18 and 3.30, depending on the reference groups used. A 10 percentile increase in income position within reference groups was associated with an odds ratio of poor health of 0.89. Relative deprivation appeared to explain between 33 and 94% of the association between individual income and self-rated health. Relative deprivation in income is independently associated with poor health over and above the well established effects of absolute income on health. Relative deprivation may partly explain the association between income inequality and worse population health status. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Poverty and poverty reduction are currently the central concerns of development discourse and policy. Despite recent theoretical advances, poverty analysis continues to be dominated by an income/consumption conception of poverty. We argue for understandings of poverty that go beyond measurement-led conceptualizations to more adequately expose the causes of poverty. Chronic Poverty is one such concept. Its focus on poverty duration and dynamics highlights the forms of social relations that produce poverty, and which are often embedded within political institutions and economic structures. Poverty reduction does not simply require "good" policy: it requires creating the capacity of poorer people to influence, and hold accountable, those who make policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the tradeoffs inherent in guaranteed income proposals. Its perspective is international, using the Luxembourg Income Study and asking whether economic efficiency suffers when governments make greater efforts to protect the poor. Using two different measures of productivity growth, we find no big tradeoff between equity and efficiency. That is, during those times and in those countries where greater efforts were made to protect the incomes of the poor, productivity growth does not seem to be affected very much. This gives some hope that efficiency concerns are not a fatal objection to guaranteed income plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Kenya installed response measures as soon as the first COVID-19 case was detected. • Our weekly financial transaction data track the socio-economic impacts in detail. • The lockdown reduced income from work, gifts and remittances by about one-third. • Food spending remained at pre-COVID levels, school and transport spending decreased. • To cope with lower cash inflows, households reduced their social support to others. This research assesses how low-income households in rural Kenya coped with the immediate economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It uses granular financial data from weekly household interviews covering six weeks before the first case was detected in Kenya to five weeks after during which various containment measures were implemented. Based on household-level fixed-effects regressions, our results suggest that income from work decreased with almost one-third and income from gifts and remittances reduced by more than one-third after the start of the pandemic. Nevertheless, household expenditures on food remained at pre-COVID levels. We do not find evidence that households coped with reduced income through increased borrowing, selling assets or withdrawing savings. Instead, they gave out less gifts and remittances themselves, lent less money to others and postponed loan repayments. Moreover, they significantly reduced expenditures on schooling and transportation, in line with the school closures and travel restrictions. Thus, despite their affected livelihoods, households managed to keep food expenditures at par, but this came at the cost of reduced informal risk-sharing and social support between households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We assessed COVID-19 implications on household income and food security using in Kenya and Uganda. • More than two-thirds of households experienced income shocks and worsened food security. • Food security outcomes were worse among the income poor and households dependent on labour income. • Labour-dependent and income poor households employed food-based coping strategies. • Membership in savings groups was more likely to mitigate member's income shocks than NSSF. This study assessed implications of the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic on household income and food security in two East African countries – Kenya and Uganda, using online survey data from 442 respondents. Results show that more than two-thirds of the respondents experienced income shocks due to the COVID-19 crisis. Food security and dietary quality worsened, as measured by the food insecurity experience scale and the frequency of consumption of nutritionally-rich foods. The proportion of food insecure respondents increased by 38% and 44% in Kenya and Uganda respectively, and in both countries, the regular consumption of fruits decreased by about 30% during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to a normal period (before the pandemic). Results from probit regressions show that the income-poor households and those dependent on labour income were more vulnerable to income shock, and had poorer food consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other respondent categories. As such, they were more likely to employ food-based coping strategies compared to those pursuing alternative livelihoods, who generally relied on savings. Farmers were less likely to experience worsened food security compared to other respondent categories who depended to a great extent on market sources for food. In both countries, participation in national social security schemes was less likely to mitigate respondents' income shock during the COVID-19 period. Conversely, membership in savings and loan groups was correlated with less likelihood of suffering income shocks and reduction in food consumption. The results suggest that ongoing and future government responses should focus on structural changes in social security by developing responsive packages to cushion members pushed into poverty by such pandemics while building strong financial institutions to support the recovery of businesses in the medium term, and ensuring the resilience of food supply chains particularly those making available nutrient-dense foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The poorest obtain more income from forests than agriculture. • Forest income is used as a safety net in times of crises, as well as providing basic consumption in good times. • Environmental incomes and other sources of income are complements. • Forests thus serve as a stepping stone to a better life rather than a millstone that slows progress out of poverty. This article investigates the links between forests and poverty in India. We use original data from a household survey in two states of India (Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) to provide new insights into this relationship. The poorest are found to receive about 30% of their incomes from forests – an amount that is higher than the income that they obtain from agriculture. We identify the correlates of greater environmental and forest income in the sample and also seek to examine whether environmental incomes are used only as a safety net during disasters, or for basic consumption purposes too. Our results show that when negative shocks occur there is a higher relative dependence on environmental incomes. The results also suggest that those who are better-off obtain higher levels of environmental income that the poorer. Overall the findings are consistent with environmental incomes and other sources of incomes being complements. In sum, the results suggest that forest income is used for basic consumption, is not a substitute for other sources of income, and is not treated as an "inferior good" that is eschewed by richer groups in the survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]