Low Income Households: Casualties of the Boom, Casualties of the Bust?

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grahame Whitfield ◽  
Chris Dearden

This article reflects on research undertaken with low income households over a 12 month period following the ‘credit crunch’, a period characterised by rapid change to the financial landscape in the UK. It argues that people living on persistent low incomes were casualties of the economic ‘boom’ as they did not benefit from economic growth and of the ‘bust’ in that they most keenly felt the impact of the recession and the reaction of financial institutions to the new financial landscape. It concludes by arguing that, reflecting on the complexity of people's lives, addressing indebtedness requires a multi-faceted approach.

Author(s):  
Haifa Mefteh

This study investigates the links between digital infrastructures (DI); transportation services (TS) and economic growth using simultaneous-equation panel data models for a panel of 62 countries for the period 2000-2018. The results indicate that there is evidence of bidirectional relationship between DI and economic process. Economic growth and TS are interrelated bidirectional relationship. Bidirectional link is validated between DI and TS for high-income and middle-income countries. Unidirectional causality is running from TS to DI for low incomes countries. These empirical insights are of particular interest to policymakers, working in low incomes countries. They help them to develop modern DI and TS to sustain economic development and to push substantial changes within the way of life and productivity. This has led to enormous technological advancement which is in line with but at a faster pace than the technological advancement of previous revolutions.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e041599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary McCauley ◽  
Joanna Raven ◽  
Nynke van den Broek

ObjectiveTo assess the experience and impact of medical volunteers who facilitated training workshops for healthcare providers in maternal and newborn emergency care in 13 countries.SettingsBangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, UK and Zimbabwe.ParticipantsMedical volunteers from the UK (n=162) and from low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) (n=138).Outcome measuresExpectations, experience, views, personal and professional impact of the experience of volunteering on medical volunteers based in the UK and in LMIC.ResultsUK-based medical volunteers (n=38) were interviewed using focus group discussions (n=12) and key informant interviews (n=26). 262 volunteers (UK-based n=124 (47.3%), and LMIC-based n=138 (52.7%)) responded to the online survey (62% response rate), covering 506 volunteering episodes. UK-based medical volunteers were motivated by altruism, and perceived volunteering as a valuable opportunity to develop their skills in leadership, teaching and communication, skills reported to be transferable to their home workplace. Medical volunteers based in the UK and in LMIC (n=244) reported increased confidence (98%, n=239); improved teamwork (95%, n=232); strengthened leadership skills (90%, n=220); and reported that volunteering had a positive impact for the host country (96%, n=234) and healthcare providers trained (99%, n=241); formed sustainable partnerships (97%, n=237); promoted multidisciplinary team working (98%, n=239); and was a good use of resources (98%, n=239). Medical volunteers based in LMIC reported higher satisfaction scores than those from the UK with regards to impact on personal and professional development.ConclusionHealthcare providers from the UK and LMIC are highly motivated to volunteer to increase local healthcare providers’ knowledge and skills in low-resource settings. Further research is necessary to understand the experiences of local partners and communities regarding how the impact of international medical volunteering can be mutually beneficial and sustainable with measurable outcomes.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Meen ◽  
Christine Whitehead

Affordability is, perhaps, the greatest housing problem facing households today, both in the UK and internationally. Even though most households are now well housed, hardship is disproportionately concentrated among low-income and younger households. Our failure to deal with their problems is what makes housing so frustrating. But, to improve outcomes, we have to understand the complex economic and political forces which underlie their continued prevalence. There are no costless solutions, but there are new policy directions that can be explored in addition to those that have dominated in recent years. The first, analytic, part of the book considers the factors that determine house prices and rents, household formation and tenure, housing construction and the roles played by housing finance and taxation. The second part turns to examine the impact of past policy and the possibilities for improvement - discussing supply and the impact of planning regulation, supply subsidies, subsidies to low-income tenants and attempts to increase home ownership. Rather than advocating a particular set of policies, the aim is to consider the balance of policies; the constraints under which housing policy operates; what can realistically be achieved; the structural changes that would need to occur; and the significant sacrifices that would have to be made by some groups if there are to be improvements for others. Our emphasis is on the UK but throughout the book we also draw on international experience and our conclusions have relevance to analysts and policy makers across the developed world.


10.1596/35260 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoonyoung Cho ◽  
Jorge Avalos ◽  
Yasuhiro Kawasoe ◽  
Douglas Johnson ◽  
Ruth Rodriguez

VUZF Review ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-170
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Hala

The aim of the article is to present the role of the financial system in economic growth and development. The first part presents the traditional understanding of the relationship between the economic system and economic growth. The second part presents the experience of financial crises and their impact on the conversation on the mutual relations between the financial sector and the real sector. The third part shows the role of the state in the financial system. The article describes the arrangement of interrelated financial institutions, financial markets and elements of the financial system infrastructure.  It shows what part of the economic system the financial system is, and whether it enables the provision of services allowing the circulation of purchasing power throughout the economy. The article presents the important role of the financial system, the role related to the transfer of capital from entities with savings to entities that need capital for investments. It shows the financial system as a set of logically related organizational forms, legal acts, financial institutions and other elements enabling entities to establish financial relations in the real sector and the financial sector, and this system forms the basis of activity for entities using money, enabling the conclusion of various economic transactions, in which money performs various functions. The article also presents the concept of a financial crisis as a situation in which there are rapid changes in the financial market, usually associated with insufficient liquidity or insolvency of banks or financial institutions, and as a result, a decrease in production or its deepening. The article also includes issues related to the impact of public authorities (state and local authorities) on the financial system in the economy.


Author(s):  
Pourya Valizadeh ◽  
Barry M Popkin ◽  
Shu Wen Ng

Abstract Background US individuals, particularly from low-income subpopulations, have very poor diet quality. Policies encouraging shifts from consuming unhealthy food towards healthy food consumption are needed. Objectives We simulate the differential impacts of a national sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax and its combination with fruit and vegetable (FV) subsidies targeted to low-income households, on SSB and FV purchases of lower and higher SSB purchasers. Design We considered a one-cent-per-ounce SSB tax and two FV subsidy rates of 30% and 50% and used longitudinal grocery purchase data for 79,044 urban/semiurban US households from 2010-2014 Nielsen Homescan. We used demand elasticities for lower and higher SSB purchasers, estimated via longitudinal quantile regression, to simulate policies’ differential effects. Results Higher-SSB purchasing households made larger reductions (per adult equivalent) in SSB purchases than lower SSB purchasers due to the tax (e.g., 4.4 oz/day at SSB purchase percentile 90 vs. 0.5 oz/day at percentile 25; p < 0.05). Our analyses by household income indicated low-income households would make larger reductions than higher-income households at all SSB purchase levels. Targeted FV subsidies induced similar, but nutritionally insignificant, increases in FV purchases of low-income households regardless of their SSB purchase levels. Subsidies, however, were effective in mitigating the tax burdens. All low-income households experienced a net financial gain when the tax was combined with a 50% FV subsidy, but net gains were smaller among higher SSB purchasers. Further, low-income households with children gained smaller net financial benefits than households without children and incurred net financial losses under a 30% subsidy rate. Conclusions SSB taxes can effectively reduce SSB consumption. FV subsidies would increase FV purchases, but nutritionally meaningful increases are limited due to low purchase levels pre-policy. Expanding taxes beyond SSBs, larger FV subsidies, or subsidies beyond FVs, particularly for low-income households with children, may be more effective.


Author(s):  
Michael Schillig

The Financial Stability Board recommended that all national supervisors should have the mandate and powers to identify risks and intervene early in order to prevent unsound practices and take appropriate measures to reduce the impact of potential stresses on financial institutions and to safeguard against systemic risks. Accordingly, the BRRD and SRM contain new powers for the competent authorities to intervene early before an institution’s financial and economic situation has deteriorated to a point where resolution is the only viable alternative. The chapter starts with some theoretical reflections, focusing on the incentives of the actors involved. It then discusses the early intervention framework under BRRD and SRM and national transposition in the UK and Germany. It also covers the US prompt corrective action framework and early remediation under Dodd–Frank.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Bosco Nnyanzi ◽  
John Mayanja Bbale ◽  
Richard Sendi

Increasing domestic revenue mobilization remains a challenge for many governments, particularly in low-income countries. Using a sample of East African countries, the study sets off to investigate the impact of financial development from a multi-dimensional perspective on tax revenues for the period 1990 to 2014, and how political development and the control of corruption would enhance the observed nexus. The dynamic panel results from the system GMM estimation approach indicate a significant role of financial development overall and the financial institutions and financial markets in particular. A disaggregation of the duo suggests that it is the depth of financial institutions that greatly matters for tax revenue, with a one per cent change expected to yield about 0.26 per cent change in tax collections. It is then followed by their level of accessibility, financial market depth and efficiency. We fail to find significant evidence in support of financial market access and financial institutions efficiency although the possibility for the latter seems indismissible. Further evidence points to the catalytic nature of a good institutional and political environment in pursuit of higher tax-GDP ratio via financial development. Policies to promote the depth and accessibility of financial institutions as well the depth and efficiency of financial markets in East Africa alongside well-focused anti-corruption programs and democratic governance are likely to yield better fiscal outcomes in terms of domestic tax revenues critically needed to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We also confirm the positive role played by the lagged tax revenue, per capita GDP, trade openness, debt-to-GDP ratio and population density in the tax effort.


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