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Three-quarters of the global migrant population have fled fragile contexts, with 64 percent hosted by similarly vulnerable countries. These contexts account for about 75 percent of those living in extreme poverty. Despite the scale of this phenomenon, the extent to which the self-selection of South–South migrants differs from those migrating to more developed countries remains poorly understood. In this paper, I investigate the self-selection of Venezuelan migrants during the 2015–2021 crisis, which led to greater migration to less developed countries such as Colombia and Peru, compared to more developed ones like the United States and Chile. Using individual-level data representative of the Venezuelan population and similar data on Venezuelan migrants in these key destination countries, the study finds that migrants are generally positively selected in terms of education compared to those who remain in Venezuela, with migrants to developed countries being positively sorted with respect to those to developing countries. However, comparing the cumulative distribution functions of pre-migration predicted earnings reveals that migrants to developing countries are negatively selected relative to stayers, while migrants to developed countries are positively selected. This highlights the significant role of unobserved abilities in shaping South–South migration patterns. Furthermore, a discrete choice model shows that women and college graduates face lower migration costs, independent of expected earnings at the destination. Factors such as the distance to the destination country and pre-crisis networks also play a crucial role in shaping migration decisions. • Venezuelan migrants (2015-2021) are generally more educated than those who stayed. • Women and graduates migrated more, regardless of expected earnings at destinations. • Distance and networks lead Venezuelans to prefer neighboring developing countries. • South–South migrants have lower pre-migration earnings compared to those who stayed. • Migrants to developed countries have higher pre-migration earnings than stayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Micro-level data were collected from victims of violence in Colombia. • A more severe experience of violence leads victims to believe that there is a higher likelihood of being in extreme poverty. • Beliefs of diminished prospects of economic mobility are consistent with a sense hopelessness. • The behavioral effect is explained by the psychological consequences of violence. • The psychological consequences of violence can create a behavioral poverty trap. Abstract We explore the impact of violence on beliefs about socioeconomic mobility. For this purpose, we bring together data on the severity of the household-level experience of violence, symptoms of psychological trauma, and subjective probabilities of future positions in a ladder of life for a sample of internally displaced persons in Colombia. After controlling for current socioeconomic circumstances and asset losses, we find that the experience of more severe violence dampens the beliefs about socioeconomic mobility. The estimated impacts are large: a one standard deviation increase in the number of violent events experienced by the household raises the perceived probability of extreme poverty in the following year by 54 percent relative to the mean. In the long run, the expected likelihood of extreme poverty is almost three times higher for victims at the 4th quartile of the distribution of the severity of violence than for victims at the 1st quartile. Additional evidence suggests that psychological trauma explains this result, identifying a channel by which these hopeless beliefs can become self-confirming. Together, the results point to the existence of a behavioral poverty trap and highlight the importance of rethinking the strategies to promote the socioeconomic recovery of victims of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to benchmark production processes and production chains of clothing products, by means of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA). In this paper we present the socio-economic costs (s-eco-costs) method for monetisation of external socio-economic burden for workers. The method is applied to six cases of garment production chains. The s-eco-costs are the marginal prevention costs to reach a sustainable level (the Performance Reference Point, PRP) for wages and are the monetary compensation costs beyond the PRP to account for unacceptable exploitation of workers. The s-eco-costs (in €) include five sub-indicators, proposed as a base-line for several social issues in S-LCA: - Minimum Acceptable Wage (based on minimum wages in rich countries and statistics on economic migrants) - Child Labour (forced labour, not able to attend school) - Extreme Poverty (derived from World Bank absolute poverty line) - Excessive Working Hours (forced labour, involuntary) - Occupational Safety and Health (based on statistics of ILO) These s-eco-costs have been calculated for cotton T-shirts and pairs of jeans for three garment production chains: USA-Europe (Western ‘W’); India-Bangladesh (Asian ‘A’); China/India-Bangladesh (Asian Best Practice ‘ABP’), revealing the hotspots in these chains, and enabling benchmarking. The total results for the s-eco-costs of T-shirts are: W = € 0.05; A = € 1.46 and ABP = € 0.33. The results for the jeans are: W = € 0.38; A = € 12.56 and ABP = € 2.67. The most important hotspots are in the cotton fields in India and the garment production phase in Bangladesh. The authors hope that the proposed system will inspire others in the field of S-LCA to proceed with the development of quantitative indicator systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explore MCMA's residents' housing and energy needs, transport and mobility patterns, and challenges to health. • MCMA residents often perceived troubling patterns of discrimination, racism, violence and social intolerance. • Most participants face an intensified risk of experience energy and transport poverty simultaneously. • We discuss approaches to improve the quality of life and energy and mobility outcomes of MCMA residents. So-called "slum-dwellers" living in informal settlements in Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) often confront poor health outcomes, face chronic accommodation insecurity and are frequent victims of social intolerance, discrimination and racism. In addition, they usually reside in living environments with precariously hazardous conditions that often lead to their well-being endangerment. Based on extensive original research with slum-dwellers from the MCMA including focus groups (N = 18 participants), household interviews (N = 51 participants), and site visits (N = 5), this study investigates their energy and housing needs, transport and mobility patterns and challenges to their overall quality of life and health. The MCMA is one of the largest metropolitan regions globally, and most of its inhabitants experience a "double energy vulnerability," circumstances whereby people are at an intensified risk of energy and transport poverty simultaneously. Our investigation circles around three key themes. In exploring the subject of extreme poverty and vulnerability, we show not only the problems they confront but also illegal practices such as electricity thefts and coping strategies. In investigating the subject of perpetual peripheralization, we show troubling patterns of discrimination, racism and social intolerance. In exploring the subject of spatial justice, we suggest a set of policies that ought to help achieve it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The common notion that extreme poverty is the "natural" condition of humanity and only declined with the rise of capitalism rests on income data that do not adequately capture access to essential goods. • Data on real wages suggests that, historically, extreme poverty was uncommon and arose primarily during periods of severe social and economic dislocation, particularly under colonialism. • The rise of capitalism from the long 16th century onward is associated with a decline in wages to below subsistence, a deterioration in human stature, and an upturn in premature mortality. • In parts of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, wages and/or height have still not recovered. • Where progress has occurred, significant improvements in human welfare began only around the 20th century. These gains coincide with the rise of anti-colonial and socialist political movements. This paper assesses claims that, prior to the 19th century, around 90% of the human population lived in extreme poverty (defined as the inability to access essential goods), and that global human welfare only began to improve with the rise of capitalism. These claims rely on national accounts and PPP exchange rates that do not adequately capture changes in people's access to essential goods. We assess this narrative against extant data on three empirical indicators of human welfare: real wages (with respect to a subsistence basket), human height, and mortality. We ask whether these indicators improved or deteriorated with the rise of capitalism in five world regions - Europe, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and China – using the chronology put forward by world-systems theorists. The evidence we review here points to three conclusions. (1) It is unlikely that 90% of the human population lived in extreme poverty prior to the 19th century. Historically, unskilled urban labourers in all regions tended to have wages high enough to support a family of four above the poverty line by working 250 days or 12 months a year, except during periods of severe social dislocation, such as famines, wars, and institutionalized dispossession – particularly under colonialism. (2) The rise of capitalism caused a dramatic deterioration of human welfare. In all regions studied here, incorporation into the capitalist world-system was associated with a decline in wages to below subsistence, a deterioration in human stature, and an upturn in premature mortality. In parts of South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, key welfare metrics have still not recovered. (3) Where progress has occurred, significant improvements in human welfare began several centuries after the rise of capitalism. In the core regions of Northwest Europe, progress began in the 1880s, while in the periphery and semi-periphery it began in the mid-20th century, a period characterized by the rise of anti-colonial and socialist political movements that redistributed incomes and established public provisioning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1988 Federal Constitution social assistance has become a duty of the State and a right to everyone, guaranteeing the population a dignified life. To ensure these rights federal government has created programs that can supply the main needs of people in extreme poverty. Among the programs that provide social assistance to the population, the best known are the ”Bolsa Família” Program — PBF and the Continuous Cash Benefit - Continuous Cash Benefit — BPC. This research’s main purpose is to analyze the relationship between the main macroeconomic variables and the Federal government spending on social welfare policy in the period from January 2004 to August 2014. The used methodologies are the Vector auto regression model — VAR and Error Correction Vector — VEC. The conclusion, was that there is a meaningful relationship between macroeconomic variables and social assistance programs. This indicates that if the government takes a more abrupt resolution in changing the existing programs it will result in fluctuations in the main macroeconomic variables interfering with the stability of Brazilian domestic economy up to twelve months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Managing risks to production and assets is central to achieving sustained rather than temporary escapes from extreme poverty. • The enabling environment is critical in determining whether households can ultimately sustain escapes from poverty. • Factors constitutive of this enabling environment may be social, economic, political, infrastructural, or climatic. • Policy-makers should acknowledge risks and develop multi-level collective risk management policy portfolios to enhance poverty eradication. The objectives of this research are to identify the difference between sustained and temporary poverty escapes for policy and program design, based on research in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Niger, the Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The method adopted is the q-squared method used in studies on the dynamics of poverty, embedded in a conceptual extension of the capability approach through a risk chain analysis. The results show that key livelihood factors conducive to sustained escapes include diversification of economic activities typically spanning agricultural and off-farm sectors, and sometimes involving rural-urban migration. Important tangible assets include general asset holdings of consumer durables, farm or business equipment, livestock, and electricity. Intangible assets include the completion of at least lower secondary education of the household head, good health, and different forms of social relationships and networks. However, while livelihood strategies help improve income and build assets necessary for resilience, various risks permeate. In these risky contexts, the study finds that the enabling environment is critical in determining whether households can ultimately sustain escapes from poverty. Interactive features of this environment that are conducive to sustained escapes include context-specific pro-poor policy and infrastructure, for example around livestock insurance, climate-smart agriculture alongside predictable disaster risk management, universal health coverage, and supporting a negotiated approach to norm change. Together, these features place an emphasis on collective risk management, beyond a focus only or even primarily on inclusive growth policies. The paper argues that it is essential to understand the circumstances in which people live, from the local (micro) up to the societal (macro) contexts that can influence their ability to sustain a poverty escape, and respond in ways that together address the multifaceted sources of risk and vulnerability, which in turn allows for the less interrupted development of people's capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Global food prices increased sharply between June and December 2010. This paper assesses the impact of price changes for 38 agricultural commodities on poverty using detailed data on patterns of production and consumption in 28 countries. We find considerable heterogeneity in the impacts, but estimate that poverty rose by 44 million people, with 68 million people falling into poverty and 24 million people raised out of poverty at the extreme poverty line of $1.25 per day. This corresponds to an average poverty increase of 1.1% points in low income countries and 0.7% points in middle income countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the current global economic situation, poverty stands out as a growing concern with multiple territorial aspects. Poverty is to be found both in developing and developed countries with certain differences of classification, typology, magnitude, importance, but nevertheless with some fundamental common characteristics. Homelessness represents the most extreme manifestation of poverty in urban areas. The perception of the community referring to homeless people was evaluated through 150 social surveys among residents in 18 pre-identified areas in Bucharest. Residents’ security and local reasons of insecurity are used as a perception differentiation instrument in the analysis. Results reflect that homelessness has a high territorial visibility in Bucharest. The phenomenon is recognized as continuously increasing, referring to territorial distribution and affected urban areas, depth and effects on different categories of population and need for more specifically directed policies and action. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since the 1996 welfare reform, federal spending on means-tested programs targeting the poorest children has decreased, while programs that benefit children in low-income working families have been expanded substantially. With this background, this study examined changes in the antipoverty and anti-inequality effects of children''s programs between 1995 and 2007 using data from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The findings suggest that although the poverty-reduction effects of the federal child programs increased between 1995 and 2007, the programs'' effects on the reductions of children''s absolute poverty gaps, relative poverty rates, relative poverty gaps, and income inequality all decreased. More importantly, the antipoverty effects of the federal child programs were most weakened for the poorest children (i.e., those in female-headed, immigrant, and nonworking families) between 1995 and 2007. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Homelessness represents a context of extreme poverty and risk for child development. This study compared the relative influence of two classes of risk in the context of homelessness. Levels of socioeconomic resource-related risk and negative lifetime events were examined with respect to morning cortisol levels and cortisol response to a set of cognitive tasks. Participants were 66 children between the ages of 4 and 7 years staying in an emergency shelter for families. Adversities largely reflecting family level negative life events predicted higher levels of morning cortisol and differences in initial level and change over the course of the session of cognitive tasks. In contrast, a socioeconomic cumulative risk score was not associated with morning or session-related differences in cortisol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: In this paper, we provide an analytical account of the mechanisms through which globalization, in the sense of increased foreign trade and long-term capital flows, affects the lives of the rural poor in developing countries (in their capacity as workers, consumers, recipients of public services, or users of common property resources). Globalization can not only cause many hardships for the rural poor, but it can also open up some opportunities which some countries can utilize and others do not, largely depending on their domestic political and economic institutions, and the net outcome is often quite complex and almost always context dependent, belying the glib pronouncements for or against globalization made in the opposing camps. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• For CTs to have greater impact on the SDoH, there is a need for intersectoral collaboration. • CTs require community engagement, and beneficiary education to function effectively. • Beneficiaries' voice in program decision-making is key CT mechanism of change. • The psychological context of decision-making in extreme poverty needs attention in CT design and implementation. Cash transfers (CTs) are increasingly high on the agenda of most governments and development partners in low-and middle-income countries. Even though burgeoning evidence points to CTs' impact on the social determinants of health (SDoH), there is little evidence about how and why CTs work to influence the SDoH. This paper reports on a realist evaluation aimed at developing a middle-range theory that explains how CTs influence the SDoH by exploring program mechanisms of change and associated contextual factors. Qualitative interviewing was employed including key informant interviews (N = 36), in-depth-interviews (N = 32) and focus groups with program beneficiaries (N = 12), and observations. The study found that at the meso level, key mechanisms of collaboration and inter-sectoral working, formalisation of roles of service providers, and a shared vision across sectors were important to both the implementation and outcomes of CTs. Contextual factors that influenced program mechanisms at the meso level include active involvement of sector ministries and their decentralised departments in program policy formulation and design, availability of resources, and availability of a single registry containing information on program beneficiaries. At the micro level, program mechanisms of change identified include household empowerment, needs prioritisation and choice making, risk taking behaviour, program awareness, and beneficiaries' voice in program decision-making and implementation. Contextual factors that influence the micro mechanisms are categorised into structural factors (e.g. community/beneficiaries' involvement in decision-making), geographical factors (e.g. availability and access to quality services), community factors (e.g. availability of market and economic opportunities), and individual level factors (e.g. psychological context of poverty and child motivation). This realist evaluation provides evidence-based understandings regarding CTs mechanism of change in the contexts within which they operate, and can inform CT policy, design, implementation, adaptation and future evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Consumer preferences, costs and quality of electricity determine access technology. • Electricity access has a high value relative to households' expenditures. • Willingness-to-pay for electricity access is low relative to its service cost. • Households' income is critical driver of willingness-to-pay for electricity access. • Short-term household electrification should focus on off-grid solar technologies. Improving electricity access in low-income countries is complicated because of high service costs and low electricity consumption levels in rural areas. This study elucidates this problem by analyzing poor Sub-Saharan African households' willingness-to-pay for different types of electricity access, including both grid and lower cost off-grid technologies. We show both theoretically and empirically that at low levels of income, low-cost decentralized off-grid solar technologies provide the highest utility from the households' perspective. We, therefore, recommend concentrating the near-term rural household electrification efforts on these technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]