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Abstract Studies of energy poverty have proliferated around the world. While the existing literature provides significant insights into the drivers and dynamics of energy poverty in some parts of the world, there remains little evidence from Asia – a region that combines rapidly changing developed urban conurbations alongside widespread rural poverty. This paper explores a case study of energy poverty in Hong Kong – a global city with high levels of inequality and housing precarity. To date, there has been no published academic work on this topic in the Hong Kong context, and little work in urban Asia. This paper draws on documentary analyses and interviews to present three narratives around the emergence and manifestation of energy poverty in Hong Kong: (a) energy systems, markets and policy (b) urban poverty and inequality and (c) energy services and cooling. By reading energy poverty 'through the city', the paper emphasises the importance of geographically sensitive accounts and proposes an agenda for future research. It thus enables the study of energy poverty to be productively pursued in the context of Hong Kong and urban Asia more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Summary Incorporating the voice of the child is essential for a holistic assessment that is used to guide social work interventions targeted at enhancing the well-being of children. In order to include children as key participants in understanding their worldview, social workers need to provide a space for children to voice out their subjective assessment of their current life experiences and conditions. This paper aims to bring attention to utilizing photo eliciting interviewing (PEI) as a means to access children's subjective well-being from low-income families. Findings By utilizing photoraphy and in-depth interviews sequentially to engage and gain access into children's worldviews, this study found that children from low-income families possessed agentic capabilities and are capable of contributing towards their well-being. Despite the financial constraints experienced by their families, children did not perceive their families to be poor. Instead, they took into account the family context and parental efforts in assessing the family's circumstances. Furthermore, children initiated strategies to create opportunities of happiness or to intervene in situations of sadness that stemmed from financial constraints. Application This study propose social workers to employ PEI as a complement to the objective measurement tools commonly utilized in social work assessments and interventions when working with children from low-income families. Other than constructing a holistic assessment of children's well-being, PEI also allows for the inclusion of children as integral partners in social work interventions and programme designs. Children possess the knowledge and ability to initiate and contribute solutions to problems, which when identified and tapped upon, promotes children's participation as change agents of their own lives. Highlights • This paper highlights the relevance of using Photo Elicitation Interviewing as a supplementary information gathering method for social work assessment in working with children. • Utilizing this method, this paper illustrates how it engaged children from low-income families by empowering them to use photography to express their views on their families' financial constraints. • From the results of using photos to elicit conversations, children were facilitated to voice their perspectives, world views and their sense of agency. • It is proposed that Photo Elicitation Interview can be a useful tool for social work assessment alongside with standardized assessment measurements and framework to access children's voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Rural financial markets have grown rapidly in Asian emerging market economies, thus contributing to economic development and the reduction of poverty. At the same time, however, the level of indebtedness of rural households has increased, making households more vulnerable to shocks. One of the reasons for rising household debt is the ease of borrowing simultaneously from a growing number of lending institutions. This paper addresses two major questions. First, does borrowing from multiple sources increase rural households’ risk of over-indebtedness? Second, do over-indebted rural households refinance their outstanding loans through multiple borrowing, running the risk of becoming trapped in a debt cycle? Employing a dynamic random effects bivariate probit model for a unique set of longitudinal household panel data from Northeast Thailand, this study examines the bidirectional relationship between over-indebtedness and multiple borrowing to determine to what extent rural households become trapped in debt cycles. On the one hand, the results indicate that households in Northeast Thailand take on multiple loans, which further increases their risk of becoming over-indebted. On the other hand, our model results do not confirm the widespread notion that over-indebted rural households use multiple loans to refinance unpayable debts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The contribution of copper-bearing intrauterine devices (IUDs) to overall contraceptive protection has declined in many countries, despite their well-known advantages. In response, initiatives to promote this method have been undertaken.Objective: To review and interpret the experience of interventions to promote use of IUDs in low- and middle-income countries in order to provide strategic guidance for policies and programs.Methods: We conducted a systematic search of Medline, Popline, Embase and Global Health electronic databases for relevant journal papers, reports and gray literature since 2010. Telephone interviews were held with two donors and six international family planning organizations.Results: We identified a total of 31 publications. Four reported the results of randomized control trials and three were derived from quasi-experiments. The majority were based on service statistics. Eight publications concerned interventions for HIV-positive women or couples, nine for postpartum or postabortion cases and 14 for general populations. Intervention approaches included vouchers, franchising of private practitioners, mobile outreach services, placement of dedicated staff in high-volume facilities and demand creation. Most publications adduced evidence of a positive impact and some reported impressively large numbers of IUD insertions. Results to date on the uptake of IUDs in postpartum interventions are modest. There is also almost no evidence of effects on IUD use at national levels. Implant uptake generally exceeded IUD uptake when both were offered.Conclusion: The evidence base is weak and offers few lessons on what strategies are most effective. The overall impression is that IUD use can be increased in a variety of ways but that progress is hampered by persistent adverse perceptions by both providers and potential clients. Provider enthusiasm is a key to success. The lack of a population impact stems in part from the fact that nearly all interventions are initiated by international organizations, with limited national reach except in small countries, rather than by government agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper estimates trends in absolute poverty in urban China using the Chinese Household Income Project surveys. Poverty incidence curves are plotted, showing lower poverty in 2002 than in 1988 irrespective of the poverty line chosen. Incomes of the poorest fell during 1988–95, contributing to a rise in inequality. However, inequality has been fairly constant thereafter. Models of the determination of income and poverty reveal widening differentials by education, sex, and Communist Party membership. Income from government anti-poverty programs has little impact on poverty, which has fallen almost entirely due to overall economic growth rather than redistribution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper is a summary and update, where feasible, of the United Nations first-ever report on The State of Asian Cities 2010/11. With 42% of its population in cities in 2010, Asia is urbanising rapidly; its cities are highly productive and generate an estimated 80% of the region’s GDP. Despite the sustained economic growth of Asian economies in the recent decades, urban poverty, inequality, slums, poor urban environmental quality and liveablity, worsening disaster risks and effects of climate change pose major development challenges. While decentralization has helped widen the scope of urban governance, greater attention is needed to enhancing transparency and accountability in decision-making, planning and governance of smaller cities and towns, infrastructure investments, and city-to-city learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]