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The study investigates the conditioning effect of institutions in the relationship between trade openness and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan African economies. Employing generalized method of moments, it was revealed that institutions influence the relationship between trade openness and poverty reduction in SSA. Thus, to reduce poverty in the region, SSA economies must first start by opening their economies to international trade. This could be achieved by reducing import and export taxes, focusing more on exporting value-added products and providing relevant training and information for importers and exporters. However, such attempts will be more fruitful in the presence of sound institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article has examined the poverty volatility effect of export product concentration using a panel dataset of 120 developing countries over the period of 1980 to 2014. Results, based on the feasible generalized least squares estimator, suggest that export product concentration tends to induce greater poverty volatility in low-income countries but reduces poverty volatility in relatively advanced developing countries. These outcomes reflect the fact that export product concentration reduces poverty volatility in countries that improve their manufactured export performance. Finally, the greater the level of export product diversification (or economic complexity), the higher the degree of poverty volatility reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty alleviation, regional balances and balanced development are considered in all upstream documents and the development plans after the revolution in Iran. The political leaders and policy-makers have also emphasized on them continuously. Nevertheless, there are always major imbalances and differences in poverty and development levels among Iran’s provinces. In this study, unlike previous studies, regional imbalances are measured in terms of political economy. This study tries to explain regional imbalances with economicpolitical power and then adjust it with consider to population, area and distance of the provinces from the center of political power. To doing so, at first, the economic-political power matrix is formed for Iran’s provinces and then the economicpolitical power is calculated using TOPSIS method during the period of 2004-2019. After that, this matrix is adjusted using population, area and distance of provinces from capital city. The results show that even with the adjustment, economicpolitical power among regions is significantly differ. The regions cannot be considered homogeneous from the point of view of economic-political power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Big data technology has become increasingly prevalent in facilitating the delivery of government services and public goods in China and beyond. This article seeks to examine how big data can be leveraged in poverty governance in rural China, and what the political implications are. This phenomenon of big data-driven welfare governance is particularly salient considering the broader context of governmental digital transformation, both within China and globally. This research sheds light on how big data usage functions in poverty alleviation, highlighting general motivations and developments in Chinese data-centric welfare governance. More importantly, this article introduces the novel concept of "digital cybernetic capacity" to examine public sector modernization as big data transforms the landscape of welfare delivery and governance. By delving into the intersection between technology and social welfare, we explicate how the use of big data in social welfare policies can go beyond merely improving information capacity to redefine state capacity. This article argues that such a new governance ecosystem, driven as it is by data technologies, not only provides insights about the transformative resilience of Chinese governance but also opens a new theoretical frontier for research into other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing need for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan region to explore multiple income streams, which would help them to overcome the challenges of food insecurity and poverty. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) provide a cheap alternative for these resource constrained farmers. However, much is not known about the characterizing differences among the resource-constrained smallholding farmers engaged in NTFP activities. Understanding these differences will provide valuable insights on the challenges and potentials of NTFPs. To this end, this study developed a farmer typology among the different farmers engaging in NTFP activities in Ogun State, Nigeria, exploring their social and economic dynamics and outcomes within the sector and characterizing the farmers by different household components, access to forest lands, and income levels. Primary data of 350 households were collected by randomly sampling respondents associated with NTFPs in 15 wards in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State. Four distinct farmer types were identified; Type 1 - consisting of male-headed households; Type 2, comprising both male and female-headed households; Type 3, female-headed households; and Type 4, with young male household heads. Type 1 farmers have high productivity and income from NTFP cultivation, albeit with higher production costs, but Type 2 outperforms other types by employing a comprehensive approach that combines trading and collection of NTFPs. Type 3 farmers face limitations in income generation due to limited access to forest areas, whereas Type 4 farmers exhibit average income levels and limited access to forestlands. Additionally, trading and collection of NTFP in the region could be a very viable economic option for the farmers, but there are challenges, such as assessing forest areas and forest reserves and gender inequality, that need to be overcome. A future study that can explore the profitability of NTFP activities considering the heterogeneity among farmers was suggested, as such studies could be helpful to better understand the challenges facing NTFP farmers in the regions. Finally, we recommend the promotion of gender equality, enhancement of market linkages as well as skills and knowledge in the bid to enable farmers to maximize income generation and make informed decisions. By implementing these recommendations, policymakers and practitioners can foster sustainable and inclusive NTFP-based livelihoods, benefiting rural communities and contributing to poverty reduction and environmental conservation.

This document is an editorial titled "Rohingya refugees: humanitarian responses and implications" published in Frontiers in Human Dynamics. It discusses the ongoing Rohingya crisis, which has entered its 7th year with no solution in sight. The Rohingya refugees, trapped in the world's largest refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, face an uncertain future. The article highlights the challenges faced by the Rohingya population, including statelessness, social cohesion, and displacement, and emphasizes the need for a comprehensive response from the international community, host countries, and humanitarian organizations. The editorial also mentions the decline in humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas and the importance of addressing the underlying causes of the crisis. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the importance of social support and care in promoting mental health and well-being. It highlights the role of social connections in fostering resilience and psychological well-being. The article also explores innovative approaches to social support for various groups, such as low-income families and single parents. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach to social support systems and addresses the lack of literature on innovative social support for social service users and self-care for social workers. The article features six studies on topics including problematic online gambling, hospice care, family support for adults with childhood institutional care experiences, social support for new mothers, financial support for single-parent families, and social workers' self-care. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract The rural social security system is not only a major livelihood issue related to China's rural population, but also an important basis for the sustainable development of rural economy. This article discusses the problem of the failure of the rural social security system to reduce poverty, in a field survey and interview in a village in North China, further analyze was carried out on the derivative path of poverty caused by social security policies, and it was found that the lack of social security policies, obstacles to policy implementation, negative response policies and so on, It makes the security level and poverty reduction ability of rural social security policy appear obvious deficiencies. Based on the analysis of this paper, the corresponding governance countermeasures are put forward. By strengthening poverty governance, improving the implementation environment of poverty governance, improving cognitive bias and improving the efficiency of poverty reduction.

Government initiatives to eradicate poverty in developing countries have included establishing microfinance programs to provide microloans and credit to the less privileged living in peri-urban and rural areas where commercial financial institutions are underrepresented. The study aims to investigate the effect of the South African Microfinance Apex Fund (SAMAF) on poverty alleviation and job creation. This case study targeted 103 beneficiary firms and self-employed individuals to send them questionnaires. The data analysis was primarily exploratory and descriptive. The findings show that the majority, 87%, agreed that the loans they accessed were sufficient for their business plans and needs. In addition, they were able to create at least one additional job after receiving the loan and improve their total business income on average compared to before the SAMAF loan. However, due to the risk of non-repayment of loans by recipients living in informal settlements, most microfinance intermediary institutions were unwilling to expand their operations into such settlements. SAMAF, on the other hand, has flaws, one of which is the slow delivery of funds to microfinance intermediary institutions, which needs to be addressed. The study concludes that to address the credit needs of semi-rural and rural residents, microfinance intermediary institutions must do more to expand into these areas and adopt a more aggressive and creative approach to the development of financial products and expand their access to include more of the poorest and most vulnerable households.

Nurturing venture capital–backed, high-growth entrepreneurship has been strongly promoted as an effective means to achieve local development in impoverished places. Yet, growing evidence has suggested that, despite its notable successes in resource-rich regions, this approach creates limited impact in economically challenged locales. We address this conundrum by calling into question the crux of high-growth entrepreneurship—the pursuit of quick scaling through venture capital financing. Our field research in two entrepreneurship-nurturing organizations in Detroit reveals important heterogeneity in resourcing modes and venture growth in time and space. Specifically, we find that ventures developed through different modes of resourcing (financing vs. local bricolage) grow at different spatiotemporal scales (scaling up toward fast geographical expansion vs. scaling deep toward locally anchored endurance), and consequently generate distinctive yet complementary contributions to their depleted place of origin. Unlike scaling-up ventures whose local impact was explosive yet short-lived, scaling-deep ventures created jobs, products or services, and spillover effects that stayed local and addressed specific local problems. Building on these findings, we challenge the exclusive pursuit of high-growth entrepreneurship for poverty alleviation and suggest that entrepreneurship-driven local development requires cohabitation of ventures growing at varying scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPoverty is a global development challenge. However, its incidence and prevalence rates are higher in specific regions of the Global South. To this end, one of the ways to appreciate the dynamics of poverty is to situate the discussion within the context of geography. Whereas studies are showing that several geographic poverty traps exist in the Global South previous scoping reviews did not give the geography of poverty sufficient consideration, and those that attempted did not cover the entire Global South. Consequently, this study draws on the extensive data and literature on global incidences and prevalence of poverty to investigate the geographies of poverty in the Global South. To achieve this, a scoping review was conducted using PRISMA-ScR criteria. The review revealed that sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia were the hotspots of poverty, with deterministic and possibilistic elements accounting for the phenomenon. It is proposed that enough consideration be given to geographical variables when designing poverty reduction programmes to achieve equity in the fight against global poverty.

AbstractThis paper contributes to the ongoing discourse surrounding aid administration for sustainable development in the post-COVID-19 era. African economies experienced a 1.5% contraction during this period, leading to a 35.85% increase in the number of people living in poverty. The paper addresses the crucial question of aid effectiveness in light of these challenges. Utilizing a systematic review approach, we examine existing studies and identify gaps in the literature related to aid effectiveness. Our analysis focuses on a sample of 84 highly cited peer-reviewed articles from the Web of Science (WoS) database spanning the years 2003–2023. The findings reveal a trend where international donors allocate aid to numerous African countries characterized by weak governance and leadership structures. Consequently, a sizable portion of aid funds fails to reach the intended beneficiaries due to the complex challenges associated with aid administration. In response to these challenges, we advocate the adoption of comprehensive frameworks to monitor rent-seeking behaviour, which often hampers economic growth. This approach aims to address issues of embezzlement by local elites, who disproportionately receive funds on behalf of their constituencies. This will ensure that every allocated dollar of aid reaches its designated recipients. This study is distinct in its contribution by offering insights into various frameworks for aid administration while laying the foundation for improved aid management in transitional economies by providing valuable knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of aid initiatives.

AbstractInformal social and economic systems of kinship, labour relations, child fostering, food sharing and shelter sharing have characterized African societies. These arrangements have played significant roles in household risk management in Ghana in previous times and are still relevant in the management of economic hardships. Within the context of rapid globalisation and modernisation, these social and economic arrangements have changed over time, with some dire ramifications including economic hardships. Using secondary data consisting of literature sources, this paper examines these informal social and economic systems, highlighting their underlying concepts, transformations, and relevance in the prevention and management of risks associated with care, labour, and poverty. The author finds reciprocity and solidarity as the dominant underlying concepts of the social and economic systems understudied. Further, there were transformations in these arrangements contributed by factors, such as scarcity of resources, modernisation, weakening of kinship ties, unmanaged urbanisation, economic monetisation, and economic development. The paper recommends the incorporation of underlying concepts, such as reciprocity and solidarity in social protection policies for sustainable management of risks and economic hardships in the future. This will support poverty reduction efforts and the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG1).

Regional poverty is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today. Poverty, antipoverty, and poverty alleviation are the focus of the attention of scholars and the public. This paper takes China's counties as the research unit, selects the influencing factors of poverty from natural and socio-economic factors, establishes an evaluation index system, simulates the natural poverty index and socio-economic poverty eradication index of each county, and clarifies the distribution characteristics of spatial poverty using GIS spatial analysis and BP artificial neural network. The results indicate that natural factors are the main cause of poverty in Chinese counties, with 710 counties having a high natural poverty index, accounting for nearly 30% of the total number of counties in the country. The national county-level natural poverty index shows a clear strip distribution pattern along latitude and longitude, with a strip distribution from north to south and from west to east; socio-economic factors have played a certain role in poverty alleviation, with as many as 1521 counties with low socio-economic poverty alleviation indices, accounting for approximately 64% of the total number of counties in the country. The spatial distribution of the county-level socio-economic poverty alleviation index is relatively fragmented. Through spatial scanning statistics, a total of 44 county poverty pressure index risk clusters reached a statistical significance level, involving 243 counties and districts. In poverty reduction practice, the internal counties and districts of contiguous poverty-stricken areas should strengthen cooperation and exchange. In the process of poverty alleviation and development, targeted poverty alleviation and economic development should be carried out based on the poverty-dominant type and self-development ability of the county, in order to improve efficiency. Regions that are relatively prosperous and have taken the lead in poverty reduction should play a leading and exemplary role in strengthening the radiation power of regional central cities. The prominent feature of this study is the comprehensive utilization of multisource data and the use of new spatial analysis methods (flexible spatial scanning method is widely used in the field of infectious disease prevention and control research). By constructing a multidimensional poverty measurement system that includes natural and social factors, it distinguishes the differences between the factors that cause poverty and the factors that eliminate poverty in regional poverty. At the same time, the flexible spatial scanning detection method was used to detect the differentiation mechanism of poverty spatial patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest to eradicate poverty, central to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), poses a significant global challenge. Advancement in sustainable rural development is critical to this effort, requiring the seamless integration of environmental, economic, and governmental elements. Previous research often omits the complex interactions among these factors. Addressing this gap, this study evaluates sustainable rural development in China by examining the interconnection between agricultural production and government-led poverty reduction, with annual rainfall considered an influential factor of climate change impacts on these sectors and overall sustainability. Utilizing a Meta-frontier entropy network dynamic Directional Distance Function (DDF) within an exogenous Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, we categorize China's 27 provinces into southern and northern regions according to the Qinling-Huaihe line for a comparative study of environmental, economic, and governmental efficiency. This innovative approach overcomes the limitations of previous static analyses. The findings reveal: (1) Rainfall, as an exogenous variable, significantly affects agricultural production efficiency. (2) The overall efficiency in both southern and northern regions increases when accounting for rainfall. (3) Government effectiveness in poverty reduction is comparatively lower in the northern region than in the southern region when rainfall is considered. These insights underscore the importance of including climatic variables in sustainable development policies and emphasize the need for region-specific strategies to bolster resilience against climatic challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\nPUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENTIn Africa, poverty levels are still very high, especially with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite efforts by governments and development partners to address it. Financial inclusion has been identified as an important concept in fighting poverty due to its ability to increase the income level of households. This study sought to estimate the threshold level at which financial inclusion, aided by strong institutions, will lead to poverty reduction in Africa, using Hansen’s threshold estimation method, covering a period of 2004–2020. The Hansen threshold estimation method uses an endogenous approach to identify threshold values, which eliminates deterministic process by using a systematic approach, as compared to the linear methods of sample-splitting of threshold-level specifications by other methods. This therefore makes the Hansen threshold estimation method robust in threshold estimations compared to other methods. The study found double threshold values of 0.0534 and 0.341, indicating that a financial inclusion value below 0.0534 would increase household consumption expenditure, leading to poverty reduction. However, a threshold value between 0.0534 and 0.3141 has a negative impact on poverty reduction. Furthermore, beyond a threshold value of 0.3141, financial inclusion will improve household consumption and as such reduce poverty in Africa. The study also established a threshold value of institutional quality index of −1.6325, indicating that below that institutional quality index, financial inclusion will have a negative impact on household consumption as well as poverty reduction in Africa. The results further indicated that dependency ratio, gross national income, interest rate, inflation, education, and government expenditure contribute significantly to poverty reduction in Africa. It is recommended that development partners, central banks and governments in the region should consciously develop and implement financial literacy policies, with the collaboration of all financial institutions that are aimed at promoting financial inclusion due to its ability to end poverty.Financial inclusion has been accepted globally to be the means to end global poverty due to its ability to ensure growth in the income of households. Africa is one of the poorest continents in the world, indicating, among others, that there is a low financial inclusion level in the continent. The relationship between financial inclusion and poverty reduction has been inconclusively established in the literature. Most importantly, the establishment of the nonlinear relationship between the financial inclusion and poverty reduction and estimation of the exact level of financial inclusion that will trigger poverty reduction are all missing in the literature. There is also the need to interrogate the level at which financial barriers will hurt the poverty reduction efforts. To handle these concerns, this study estimates the threshold level at which financial inclusion will lead to poverty reduction as well as the threshold level at financial barriers will prevent one from participating in the financial sector. In all of these, the moderating role institutional quality plays in the financial inclusion and poverty reduction drive was also investigated. It was established in the study that there exists a double threshold level at which financial inclusion, moderated by strong institutions, will stimulate poverty reduction in Africa as well as a single threshold level at which financial barriers will hinder one from participating in the financial sector and the poverty reduction efforts. In view of the findings, the study stated some policy recommendations aimed at improving financial inclusion to stimulate poverty reduction in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in fostering job creation and economic growth, underscoring the need to encourage and support youth in establishing and developing businesses. In Tanzania, where the unemployment rate stands at 2.75% as of 2021, the rising rate (from 2.2% in 2019) necessitates a profound discussion on education for poverty reduction. This study addresses three key questions: (i) from the international experiences, can the entrepreneurship education be effectively integrated into mainstream secondary schools? (ii) What strategies are preferably employed in other countries to integrate entrepreneurship into secondary education? (iii) Based on international experiences, what contextual approach can be adopted by Tanzania to integrate entrepreneurship into middle school education? By employing the PRISMA framework, document review was primarily employed to gain valuable insights. The findings highlighted the importance of teaching entrepreneurship from an early age, recommending strategies such as extracurricular activities, integration of entrepreneurship into related subjects like computer education, and offering it as a stand-alone subject, all while considering contextual factors. Although challenges persist, it is evident that Tanzania's main hurdle in entrepreneurship education and reducing unemployment lies primarily on political willingness rather than financial capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularisation of higher education supports UNESCO's aim of developing inclusive and equitable quality education to achieve the fourth Sustainable Development Goal. However, the effect of popularising higher education on economic growth and poverty alleviation remains unexplored. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of higher education and adult education within populations (popularisation of higher education) on economic growth (gross domestic product; GDP) and the poverty line using panel data from 38 countries. OLS and quantile regression were performed using data for the period 1995–2021 extracted from the OECD and World Bank databases. The results showed that the population segments with higher education had a significantly positive impact on GDP growth. Moreover, an increased proportion of the population with higher education, of working age, was found to be a contributing factor to GDP growth. Popularising higher education also played a positive role during the initial stage of social and economic development. This study also highlighted that popularising higher education play a key role to influence a country's educational development and scientific and technological innovation drives the deepening of a country's economy. It suggested that both national and local governments worldwide should pay much attention to the popularisation degree of higher education to greatly improve the innovative ability of talents and scientific and technological innovation in higher education for both the economic growth and poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital revolution is reshaping various aspects of society, including having a profound impact on food security and the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study investigates the relationship between digital transformation, quantified through the components of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), and SDGs related to food (SDG1, SDG2, SDG3, and SDG10), along with the overall SDG Index score. The data used for investigation are sourced from reports issued by the European Commission concerning DESI, as well as the SDG reports for the period from 2017 to 2022. The paper elucidates how different components of digitalization, such as connectivity, digital skills, internet usage, and digital public services, influence the attainment of food security objectives and broader sustainable development targets using structural equation modeling and cluster analysis. The findings underscore the pivotal role of digital technologies in enhancing poverty alleviation, health and well-being, and, in particular, mitigating inequality. This study contributes to understanding the complex relationship between digital transformation and food security, offering insights for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders aiming to leverage technology for advancing SDGs and fostering a more equitable and sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the sustainable development goal of "no poverty", many attempts have been made to measure poverty so that policy intervention can target the right people with the correct intensity. Since the traditional method of a unidimensional approach using monetary indicators, such as income and consumption, is now considered insufficient, a multidimensional approach has been employed using non-monetary indicators. The latter approach encompasses the different poverty aspects affecting an individual's capabilities and functioning. This study aimed to calculate multidimensional poverty in Pakistan using the Alkire & Foster method and Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data for 2018–19. To further complete the research, a binary logistic regression has been run to measure the effects of a deviation in income status on multidimensional poverty to see the impact of monetary income on non-monetary measures. Results show that the national global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is 0.24, meaning that multidimensionally poor people in Pakistan experience 24% of the total deprivations. The most deprived dimension of the three is education (44.7%), which needs special attention. Furthermore, if a household's total annual income increases and becomes more significant than the mean income of the sample, the household's probability of being multidimensionally poor will decrease. This implies that with the increase in average national income, the national poverty will reduce not only in absolute terms but also multidimensionally. This study's findings have several implications for policymakers, and the results of the MPI should align the allocation of public sector resources calculated to give a geographical and sectoral image of the poverty situation, which will guide policy designs and allocation of budget and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of Productive Safety Net Programs (PSNPs) on food security, poverty, and livelihoods has been examined in several studies. While some studies found positive impacts on food security and agricultural productivity, there are still gaps in understanding the long-term effects of these programs on poverty reduction and food security. This study aims to investigate the impact of PSNP on the livelihood of beneficiaries based on indicators including access to basic services, income, expenditure on food, adaptive capacity, and dietary diversity. Methodology: This article used quasi-experimental design and treatment effects model taking into account access to basic services, income, food expenditure, assets, adaptive capacity, and household dietary diversity as outcome variables of interest. 300 respondents were randomly selected from the population of safety net beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries in the study area. Out of the 300 respondents, 150 were selected as the treatment group, who were beneficiaries of the safety net program. The algorithms used in analysis include regression adjustment, inverse probability weighing and propensity score matching. Results: The study's results reveal that the PSNP has no statistically significant impact on access to basic services and income based on all three algorithms, yet it does show a significant and negative effect on food expenditure and assets. The coefficients across all three models consistently demonstrate this negative impact, underscoring its statistical significance at the conventional significance level (p = 0.05). This suggests that the PSNP leads to a reduction in food expenditure. Furthermore, the analysis highlights substantial differences between PSNP members and non-members across all three variables, with non-members having higher mean values for assets. This difference is statistically significant at the 1% level, suggesting that membership in the PSNP has a tangible impact on asset ownership. The study's mixed findings emphasize the complexities of designing effective social protection programs that can adequately address the multifaceted nature of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth is commonly seen as the main driver of poverty reduction in a global perspective, but its impact varies substantially across cases. Meanwhile, the literature has been relatively silent regarding the role of social policy in explaining this variation. In light of an emerging attention to redistribution and social protection in promoting inclusive growth, this article analyses how government cash transfer systems moderate the effect of economic growth on both relative and absolute child poverty across low- and middle-income countries. The empirical analyses compare trends within 16 countries, using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), by means of descriptive analyses and multivariate regression techniques. Findings show that both economic growth and the expansion of government transfer schemes were associated with falling absolute child poverty rates. While the association between growth and relative child poverty was on average more muted, the analyses found growth to be related to reductions in relative child poverty when combined with sufficiently extensive government transfers, while the opposite effect was found in the face of inadequate levels of transfers. The study provides a framework for studying interrelated effects of national institutions and economic processes, with the findings highlighting the fruitfulness of including indicators on social protection policies when inquiring about enabling conditions for inclusive growth in a development context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a Global South NGO from Bangladesh that has become one of the world's largest NGOs, BRAC's fiftieth anniversary was a momentous occasion for global development. This special issue celebrates BRAC's contributions to development knowledge and practice across five decades, highlighting BRAC's impact – and the challenges it has faced in achieving this – across several programs, ranging from humanitarian response to women's and young people's empowerment and its quest for inclusive poverty reduction in Bangladesh and beyond. We explore how BRAC's heavy investment in a culture of continuous learning enables the organisation to understand and improve its programs, ground these in local contexts and communities, and build external partnerships for spreading its impact, influence, and knowledge globally. We hope this special issue will advance understanding of and spread BRAC's strategies of working closely with poor and marginalised communities, of investing in transformative learning that starts with the self, of evolving and embracing mistakes, and of igniting hope over fate and despair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study on the role of autotoxin-degrading bacteria in alleviating replant problems in tobacco crops. The researchers found that Pseudomonas and Burkholderia species were more abundant in soil with autotoxin-degrading bacteria, and they isolated two strains of bacteria that efficiently degrade vanillin, a component of autotoxin. Inoculating these bacteria into vanillin-modified soil improved the growth of tobacco seedlings. The study suggests that autotoxin-degrading bacteria have the potential to promote soil health and crop growth. [Extracted from the article]

Advocates of globalization view it as a key to future improvement; by and large, it is viewed as a positive power for enhanced personal satisfaction, speeding up of economic development, proficient designation of assets and more noteworthy efficiency upgrades. The study investigates and surveys the effect of economic, financial, political and social globalization on poverty reduction in Pakistan. Various proxies have been used for all types of globalization and indices for them are generated through Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The motivation behind index construction is to foresee outcomes on poverty through the easily available data on globalization. Time series data on Pakistan‟s economy from 1988 – 2023 had been used to capture effects on poverty reduction in the presence of ARDL approach. Considering the revelations, the research proposes that economic, financial, political, globalization, and globalization contribute to poverty reduction. The results of social globalization show no negative impacts on poverty. This can be due to the increasing awareness and conscious regarding brands and contributes more towards relative poverty. Henceforth, policymakers ought to build the inflow of FDI, increase remittances and trade through security procurements to financial specialists, political dependability and macroeconomic steadiness. Upgradation in import substitutes, commercial ventures, and numerous different variables are required to control destitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starvation and malnutrition are one of the most destructive problems faced by the poor and needy in the world. With the world population expected to increase by 9.7 billion by 2050, there are growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of many existing food production systems to meet future needs for food. Aquaculture is one of the important sources of food supply, the development of which is of great importance as an important weapon in the global fight against malnutrition and poverty, especially in developing countries and arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In recent decades, aquaculture has dominated all sectors of livestock production in terms of growth and increasingly contributes to food security, poverty reduction, job creation and sources of income. It is important to follow sustainable development goals to increase aquaculture production. Climate change is currently affecting food security through increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Food security is a global concern and access to affordable, nutritious, safe and properly cultivated food is one of the most important issues globally. The main emphasis in the development of aquaculture in arid and semi-arid areas is the use of new technologies based on water saving, such as biofloc technology (BFT), integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system (IMTA) and recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). In this study, the importance of aquaculture as a sustainable source of food production in arid and semi-arid regions is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing concerns over family separations draw renewed attention to temporary work migration and the factors shaping it. We leverage the randomized timing in a Chinese re-housing initiative, the Poverty Alleviation Resettlement (PAR) program, to shed light on the impact of rural living conditions on temporary labor migration. Applying a difference-in-differences framework to three waves of panel data (2016, 2017, 2019), we estimate impacts of re-housing on labor out-migration. Results reveal that improved housing decreased the propensity to send out migrant workers, particularly for young parents and households with dependents, with important implications for the rural left-behind. • China's Poverty Alleviation Resettlement is used in a quasi-experimental design. • Improved rural housing decreases the propensity to send out migrant workers. • Young parents and households with dependents drive the impact. • Migration rates in households with children drop by 10-20pp. • Improving rural living conditions may mitigate issue of "left-behind" children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about psychosocial or 'internal' behaviours that can perpetuate chronic poverty and how to alleviate them in development programmes. This paper presents a conceptual and evaluation framework examining the relationship between a person's psychosocial behaviours, empowerment and economic wellbeing. The framework shows empowerment is enabled or limited by internal behaviours – including one's identity, aspiration, hope and confidence. We tested the framework on a behaviour change intervention among 1508 extremely poor smallholder farmers in Zambia. The intervention was a six‐session curriculum for promoting positive mindsets using faith‐based messages. We used concurrent mixed methods to examine changes and differences in levels of empowerment for individuals exposed to the intervention and those not. We found significant correlations between participation in the intervention and improvements in participants' internal attitudes and overall empowerment. The framework and mixed methods evaluation offer insights into how to design programmes to address internal constraints to empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pervasive poverty is an important global problem that seriously affects the quality of life of individuals and families. According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the fight against poverty is one of the key tasks for ensuring social justice and economic development. Each country has a responsibility to ensure the well-being of its citizens, including protection from social and material deprivation.In the Slovak Republic, there is an increase in poverty, which is due to the influence of various negative factors and events that affect the social structure of society. This article is devoted to the analysis of the subsistence minimum as a key tool of social assistance in the conditions of changes that have taken place in recent years, with a special emphasis on the election periods of 2016-2020 and 2020-2023. It examines the importance of a living wage in the context of the fight against poverty, which is necessary to ensure basic human rights. The article also defines the factors that should be given special attention in order to improve the subsistence minimum system. Particular emphasis is placed on clarifying the essence and objectives of the last major amendment in the field of living wage, which entered into force in April 2023 in the Slovak Republic. Some political changes in certain election periods are also discussed from the point of view of their influence on the development of the state social assistance system, which includes the institution of the living wage. This article aims to deepen the understanding of the complex interrelationships between poverty, social policy and economic development, with the aim of improving the lives of the citizens of the Slovak Republic and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the field of poverty reduction. This work reflects the importance of strengthening social security and ensuring inclusive economic growth, which is critical for the sustainable development of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Bangladesh Social Safety Net (SSN) interventions are intended to achieve specific goals, e.g., reduction in poverty, decrease in early school dropout, and nutrition supplementation. This study investigates the effectiveness of SSN participation on less explored goals of child labor reduction and school retention in Bangladesh. Empirical evidence is provided to evaluate the success of existing programs to combat child labor and early school dropout. This study utilizes the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), 2016 of Bangladesh. We employ the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) framework to show the causal relationship between SSN participation and its impact on the use of child labor and school retention. Given the nature and availability of data, the matching method provides us an estimate of the impact of SSN based on a quasi-experimental setting. We estimate counterfactuals based on observed characteristics of the household that affect both SSN participation and our outcome variables. Our results suggest that households that receive SSN tend to employ less child labor domestic or paid compared to their counterparts. Our Propensity Score Matching (PSM) results show that SSN participation reduces child labor prevalence in Bangladesh by 2.4% to 2.9%. This is an indication that families essentially substitute SSN income with child labor earnings. Thus, SSN programs in Bangladesh are effective in reducing child labor though the magnitude is not overwhelming. On the contrary, our results show that children from SSN-participating families have a higher incidence of early school dropout. This may be due to inefficiency or poorly designed programs that effectively keep the children in school. We estimate early school dropout is higher by 3.6% to 6.6% for households that receive SSN compared to the control group. Our findings are important for policymakers to redesign the programs that retain children in school. We suggest targeted interventions that will help to keep these children in school, which is conducive to human capital accrual and increasing lifetime earnings. Additionally, our insights will assist policymakers in rethinking SSN coverage, efficient selection of beneficiaries, and initiation of the correct intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to comprehensively examine the determinants of household poverty in Brazil, placing a specific emphasis on the heads of households as the primary unit of analysis. Household poverty is a critical and multifaceted issue in developing countries, a reality that holds true for Brazil as well. Understanding the intricate web of factors that contribute to household poverty is of paramount importance to policymakers, researchers, and advocates dedicated to poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development. Household poverty remains a persistent challenge in Brazil, with far-reaching social and economic consequences. To address this issue effectively, it is essential to identify the factors that contribute to poverty among households, particularly those led by individuals who are the primary income earners. These households often face unique economic and social challenges that demand targeted interventions. To analyze household poverty determinants, this study utilizes data from the "Pesquisa Nacional por Amostras de Domicílios Contínua" (Continuous National Household Sample Survey) (PNADC). The dataset provides comprehensive information on the individual characteristics of the household head and household-level attributes, offering a nuanced view of the factors at play. A probit model is employed to estimate the probability of a household head experiencing poverty, allowing for a examination of various factors. The research findings reveal several significant determinants of household poverty in Brazil. Firstly, households led by men are found to be less likely to be in a situation of poverty, shedding light on gender-related disparities in income and opportunities. Secondly, households with heads who have attained higher levels of education exhibit a lower probability of being in poverty, underscoring the importance of education as a pathway out of poverty. Moreover, urban households are found to be less prone to poverty compared to their rural counterparts, since households led by individuals who work in agricultural-related activities are more likely to experience poverty. This emphasizes the need for targeted rural development strategies. Additionally, households located in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil face a higher likelihood of poverty, possibly due to regional economic disparities that require specific policy attention. These findings have important policy implications for poverty alleviation efforts in Brazil. Policymakers should consider targeted interventions that focus on improving access to education, particularly in regions with higher poverty rates, as education is a powerful tool for poverty reduction. Efforts to promote gender equality and enhance economic opportunities in rural areas are also essential to address the diverse causes of poverty. Additionally, regional disparities in poverty should be addressed through comprehensive regional development initiatives that take into account the unique challenges faced by different areas of the country. Our results also highlight the importance of community-specific social programs, including conditional-cash transfers and incentives for childhood education, which can play a pivotal role in breaking the cycle of poverty in Brazil's diverse communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The land question is an emotive issue across the world. At independence, erstwhile colonies adopted land reforms to address colonial imbalances in landholding. South Africa is one such country that has embarked on land reforms with the view to correcting economic imbalances created by the apartheid past. However, land reform in South Africa has not only been slow but has failed to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. Using qualitative research design and neoclassical theory, this paper investigates South Africa's land reforms under the auspices of radical economic transformation. The paper argues that the wholesale expropriation of land without compensation does not fit into the obtaining (neoliberal) economic blueprint that has dominated the country over the years. The call for a radical transformation of landholding rights in the country without structural changes in macroeconomic management remains political rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, extensive empirical studies exist on the impact of financial inclusion on socio-economic outcomes such as economic growth, inequality, and poverty. However, research on financial inclusion and population health is limited and still at the infant stage. Therefore, this article adds to knowledge by inquiring into the health implications of financial inclusion using a global panel dataset for 121 countries between 2004 and 2020. After accounting for endogeneity with heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variable regression and cross-sectional dependency with the Driscol–Kraay estimator, we documented that financial inclusion improves population health outcomes. We found that the effect of financial inclusion on population health outcomes also depends on the level of information and communication technology penetration and existing socio-economic conditions in a country. Following this, we showed that financial inclusion improves population health outcomes in countries with lower income inequality and higher GDP per capita, mobile and internet penetration. We further found heterogeneity in the results across geographical regions and income groups. Following these findings, we suggest that financial inclusion policies could enhance population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty has become the main focus of development in almost every country. Several related studies have discussed poverty alleviation recently, especially concerning the world's pandemic phenomenon. This article aims to analyze the literature relating to programs, opportunities, and challenges in poverty alleviation in the world. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) was used as a procedure for this systematic review. Twenty-two articles were selected as primary data collected from the Scopus and WoS database. Using thematic analysis, this study found that poverty alleviation programs are implemented in urban and rural areas and through women's empowerment. In addition, social, economic, and environmental benefits are determinant factors of the implications of poverty alleviation programs. One of the opportunities for poverty alleviation is to increase household income and create community welfare through empowering women. Meanwhile, the incompatibility of program targets, lack of funding, program synergy, gender gaps, and the environment are challenges for stakeholders that must be considered in the future. Recommendations and study implications of this study are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular, inclusive, and country-driven Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of sustainable development goals (SDGs) are being conducted by many countries across the globe in the quest to realign development priorities toward Agenda 2030. However, there are limited studies on the progress of the implementation of SDGs. This paper used literature review and document content analysis to review the VNRs from East Africa for the first time in order to explore their reporting practices and document the progress of SDG implementation. Results substantiate that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan are committed to achieving a high quality of life for their people through periodic VNR reporting. To augment, these positive efforts, countries have established a favorable multi-stakeholder legal and policy environment for SDG implementation. Moreover, remarkable impacts have been witnessed, including; reduced poverty, improved access to basic services, enhanced environmental protection, improved economic growth, improved gender equality, and improved stakeholder participation in sustainable development. Additionally, global best practices on SDG implementation are emerging from the region, especially through the tendency to formulate national strategies and policies targeting specific development sectors and resources. However, results also show that there are numerous social-political, economic, and environmental barriers to achieving the SDGs. As such, this paper recommends increasing SDGs awareness, building technical capacity, leveraging technology, fostering transparency and accountability, encouraging collaboration, addressing cultural barriers, and supporting political stability. Implementing these interventions can help to promote sustainable development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Los programas de protección social se han convertido en una herramienta indispensable y efectiva para mejorar las condiciones de vida de la población en situación de pobreza y vulnerabilidad. En este artículo se examinan los cinco principales programas de transferencias monetarias de Colombia, y se estudian su historia, su focalización, su cobertura, su operatividad y los compromisos fiscales derivados de su implementación. Asimismo, se hace una revisión de las evaluaciones de impacto de estos programas y sus resultados en múltiples indicadores sociales. Este trabajo es un primer intento de consolidación de la información existente sobre el tema en Colombia, que permite entender de manera comprehensiva el alcance y los retos de estos programas, así como identificar posibles áreas de investigación y mejora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]