scholarly journals Are We Providing Enough to Those Who Have Too Little? Measuring Poverty Relief

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-347
Author(s):  
Karen L. Jusko ◽  
Katherine Weisshaar

This manuscript presents a new measure of safety net program effectiveness—a “poverty relief ratio”—that is based on the estimated relationship between market income and social transfers, and reports the amount of income support provided, relative to the amount required to provide for all low-income households’ basic needs. In an important advance over the standard poverty reduction rate measures, the poverty relief ratio preserves the rank order of observations across varying poverty thresholds. In this paper, we introduce this measure and demonstrate its validity by tracking major changes in federal policy and cross-state variation in safety net programs.

Policy Papers ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  

This Handbook provides guidance to staff on the financial facilities and non-financial instruments for low-income countries (LICs), defined here as all countries eligible to obtain concessional financing from the Fund. It updates the previous version of the Handbook that was published in February 2016 (IMF, 2016d) by incorporating modifications resulting from Board papers and related decisions since that time, including Financing for Development—Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries—Further Considerations (IMF, 2016c), Review of Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust – Review of Interest Rate Structure (IMF, 2016b), Eligibility to Use the Fund’s Facilities for Concessional Financing (IMF, 2017a), Large Natural Disasters—Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries (IMF, 2017b) and Adequacy of the Global Financial Safety Net – Proposal for a New Policy Coordination Instrument (IMF, 2017c). Designed as a comprehensive reference tool for program work on LICs, the Handbook also refers, in summary form, to a range of relevant policies that apply more generally to IMF members. As with all guidance notes, the relevant IMF Executive Board decisions, including the terms of the various LIC Trust Instruments that have been adopted by the Board, remain the sole legal authority on the matters covered in the Handbook


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Meyer ◽  
Nikolas Mittag

We examine the consequences of survey underreporting of transfer programs for prototypical analyses of low-income populations. We link administrative data for four transfer programs to the CPS to correct its severe understatement of transfer dollars received. Using survey data sharply understates the income of poor households, distorts our understanding of program targeting, and greatly understates the effects of anti-poverty programs. Using the combined data, the poverty-reducing effect of all programs together is nearly doubled. The effect of housing assistance is tripled. Correcting survey error often reduces the share of single mothers falling through the safety net by one-half or more. (JEL C83, I32, I38)


Policy Papers ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  

This Handbook provides guidance to staff on the financial and non-financial facilities for low-income countries (LICs), defined here as all countries eligible to obtain concessional financing from the Fund. It updates the previous version of the Handbook that was published in February 2015 (IMF, 2015) by incorporating modifications resulting from Board papers and related decisions since that time, including the reform of the Fund policy on Poverty Reduction Strategy in Fund engagement with low-income countries, Financing for Development—Enhancing the Financial Safety net for Developing Countries, Proposal for Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, the Review of Eligibility to Use the Fund’s Facilities for Concessional Financing, and the 14th General Review of Quotas.1 Designed as a comprehensive reference tool for program work on LICs, the Handbook also refers, in summary form, to a range of relevant policies that apply more generally to IMF members. As with all guidance notes, the relevant IMF Executive Board decisions, including the terms of the various LIC Trust Instruments that have been adopted by the Board, remain the sole legal authority on the matters covered in the Handbook.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 98-115
Author(s):  
Afaha S.J. ◽  
Ifarajimi G.D.

The study objectives were to determine the short and long-run effects of energy poverty and climate change on economic growth and to theoretically describe the driving factors of household energy poverty status using the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) dataset, 2018. The Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL) model was used to estimate variables based on data from 1980 to 2018. The results indicate that energy poverty has a negative or inverse relationship with the GDP growth; energy imports contribute an average of ten percent to the value of the GDP growth. Traditional and dangerous forms of energy use are predominant in Nigerian households. This poses a threat not only to the environment but also to the health of the public. An awareness-raising campaign on using safe and environmentally friendly energy sources should be a priority in Nigeria. Likewise, energy poverty reduction interventions, probably in the form of promotion of cheap and efficient clean energy technologies in the rural sector and the northern region (most especially Northeast), should be executed to enable the households to exit the energy poverty trap. Income smoothing policy measures probably in the form of poverty reduction and safety-net programs should be directed towards the low-income earners in the country in order to ease their level of poverty, of which energy poverty is an important segment.


Policy Papers ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  

Better targeted support to LICs. In July 2015, the Executive Board approved measures to strengthen the financial safety net for low-income countries. Specifically, access norms and limits to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) resources were increased by 50 percent and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) interest rate was set permanently at zero. In addition, four countries graduated from PRGT eligibility. Together with a rebalancing of the mix of blended financing towards more use of general Fund resources for better-off PRGT-eligible countries, these reforms were broadly resource neutral and left the PRGT self-sustaining framework intact. Demand for PRGT resources up strongly. In 2015, demand reached SDR 1.5 billion, largely in response to shocks to commodity prices and adverse global financial market conditions. Demand is expected to remain elevated in 2016, as the global environment continues to be challenging.


Author(s):  
Rodney Schmidt

This paper synthesizes and develops research undertaken by participants in The North-South Institute project, "Macroeconomic policy choices for growth and poverty reduction" in low- income developing countries.1 The project analysed the features of poverty and growth in seven poor countries of varying circumstances and proposed macroeconomic and growth policies for poverty reduction for them. The research was guided by the question: "How does poverty inform growth strategy?" Our research provides evidence of the channels through which growth and distribution or poverty processes depend on each other and respond to policy together. We encapsulate the messages of these case studies in the following six propositions, discussed at length in the paper: i) macroeconomic stability reduces poverty; ii) land redistribution enhances growth; iii) income poverty traps constrain growth; iv) urban-rural growth disparities drive income inequality; v) regional poverty traps resist growth, and vi) ley growth policies can aggravate poverty gaps.  The propositions suggest growth policies that may be either of two types in terms of impact on growth and distribution. They have the potential to enhance both growth and distribution (win-win) or to enhance growth while aggravating income gaps or vice versa (win-lose).


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Davis

Abstract Achieving a long-lasting impact on health outcomes requires focus not just on patient care, but also on community approaches aimed at improving population health through addressing gaps in Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). SDOH have been found to disproportionately affect those in low-income brackets and the disabled to varying degrees based on locale. The purpose of this exploratory research was to determine 1) which SDOH have the greatest negative impact on disabled and elderly populations within four targeted states (Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin) and 2) if there is a difference in negative SDOH impact between metro and non-metro locales. Individual-level data were obtained from disabled persons aged 65 years or older who responded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Utilizing these data, frequency distributions were obtained using SPSS. Rank order variation in SDOH was observed among four Midwestern states and between metro vs. non-metro geographic regions. Frequency distributions assisted in identifying the greatest negative impacting SDOH on elderly disabled populations. An examination of the rank order tables allowed the investigator to accurately assess the rank of negative impacts. There were variabilities in responses to questions with moving two or more times within 12 months having the lowest negative impact. When regrouped based upon SDOH negative impacts, were you able to pay your bills was the most frequent SDOH across all states. Feeling unsafe or extremely unsafe in your neighborhood was the highest negatively impacted SDOH within states. Cited determinants in three categories were highest in Ohio. Ohio also had the highest proportion of negatively impacted SDOH across all states. No money for balanced meals was a close second SDOH across states. Key messages Social Determinants Impacting Elderly Disabled. Impact of Social Determinants by Geography.


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