scholarly journals Impacts of COVID-19 on rural livelihoods in Bangladesh: Evidence using panel data

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259264
Author(s):  
Marcel Gatto ◽  
Abu Hayat Md Saiful Islam

Rapid assessments have been emerging on the effects of COVID-19, yet rigorous analyses remain scant. Here, rigorous evidence of the impacts of COVID-19 on several livelihood outcomes are presented, with a particular focus on heterogenous effects of COVID-19. We use a household-level panel dataset consisting of 880 data points collected in rural Bangladesh in 2018 and 2020, and employ difference-in-differences with fixed effects regression techniques. Results suggest that COVID-19 had significant and heterogenous effects on livelihood outcomes. Agricultural production and share of production sold were reduced, especially for rice crops. Further, diet diversity and education expenditure were reduced for the total sample. Households primarily affected by (fear of) sickness had a significantly lower agricultural production, share of crop market sales, and lower health and education expenditure, compared to households affected by other COVID-19 effects, such as travel restrictions. In turn, (fear of) sickness and the correlated reduced incidence of leaving the house, resulted in higher off-farm incomes suggesting that households engage in less physically demanding and localized work. Policy-makers need to be cognizant of these heterogenous COVID-19 effects and formulate policies that are targeted at those households that are most vulnerable (e.g., unable/willing to leave the house due to (fear of) sickness).

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Kapelle ◽  
Philipp M Lersch

Abstract This study examines the accumulation of personal wealth of husbands and wives and investigates the development of within-couple wealth inequalities over time in marriage. Going beyond previous research that mostly studied the marriage wealth premium using household-level wealth data and that conceptualized marriage as an instantaneous transition with uniform consequences over time, we argue that entry into marriage is a gendered life-course event that dynamically shapes husbands’ and wives’ wealth accumulation. Using high-quality data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017), we apply fixed-effects regression models to describe wealth accumulation within marriage. We find evidence that wealth premiums are lower during early years of marriage, but increase steadily thereafter. The premium is mostly concentrated in housing wealth. Results from supplementary analyses with limited data, however, suggest that the premium may not be causal for men. Regarding within-couple wealth inequalities, we find a pronounced within-couple wealth gap prior to marriage during pre-marital cohabitation. This gap remains stable over time in marriage. In contrast to findings regarding income, our study indicates that the institution of marriage may not amplify within-couple wealth inequalities further.


Author(s):  
Benedikt Kretzler ◽  
Hans-Helmut König ◽  
André Hajek

Background: Job characteristics are an important predictor of depressive symptoms. Recent research detected unemployment’s spillover effects on spouses’ depressive symptoms, but there is still a lack of studies that examine the association between objective job demands of oneself and one’s partner and depressive symptoms. Methods: Data were derived from the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), which is a representative sample that includes individuals aged 40 years and older. Psycho-social, physical, and overall job characteristics were assessed objectively, using a validated index developed by Kroll. Depressive symptoms were quantified by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: Regarding fixed-effects regression, we found no significant association between the own or the partner’s job demands and depression among the total sample and among men. However, among women, both increasing psychosocial demands of one’s own occupation and physical job demands of one’s partner’s occupation were related to higher levels of depression, as well as the partner’s overall job demands. Conclusions: The findings of the present longitudinal study highlight the association between job demands and depressive symptoms in women, but not in men, especially regarding the partner’s employment characteristics. Efforts to reduce the burden of high job demands may be helpful. This could help alleviate depressive symptoms. In turn, geriatric giants caused by increased depressive symptoms, such as frailty, could be postponed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2098556
Author(s):  
Karsten Hank

Despite the important role of adult parent–child and sibling relations in the family system, only few studies have investigated yet, how the common adult experience of parental death impacts sibling relations. Estimating fixed-effects regression models using four waves of data from the German Family Panel (pairfam; n = 4,123 respondents), the present note focused on changes in three dimensions of adult siblings’ relationship qualities following the first parent’s death. Our analysis revealed a short-term positive effect of parental death on sibling contacts as well as longer-lasting increases in emotional closeness and conflicts. Next to an intensification of sibling relations following the first parent’s death, we also detected significant spillover effects from respondents’ relationship with the surviving parent to their sibling relations. Our analysis thus provided evidence for adult parent–child and sibling relations to be “linked in life and death,” underlining the benefits of jointly analyzing intra- and intergenerational family relationships.


Author(s):  
Cody A Drolc ◽  
Lael R Keiser

Abstract Government agencies often encounter problems in service delivery when implementing public programs. This undermines effectiveness and raise questions about accountability. A central component of responsiveness and performance management is that agencies correct course when problems are identified. However, public agencies have an uneven record in responding to problems. In this paper we investigate whether, and to what extent, capacity both within the agency and within institutions performing oversight, improves agency responsiveness to poor performance indicators. Using panel data on eligibility determinations in the Social Security Disability program from U.S. state agencies from 1991-2015 and fixed effects regression, we find that indicators of agency and oversight capacity moderate the relationship between poor performance and improvement. Our results suggest that investments in building capacity not only within agencies, but also within elected institutions, are important for successful policy implementation. However, we find evidence that while agency capacity alone can improve responsiveness to poor performance, the effect of oversight capacity on improving performance requires high agency capacity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 1110-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kipkirong Tarus ◽  
Federico Aime

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of boards’ demographic diversity on firms’ strategic change and the interaction effect of firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper used secondary data derived from publicly listed firms in Kenya during 2002-2010 and analyzed the data using fixed effects regression model to test the effect of board demographic and strategic change, while moderated regression analysis was used to test the moderating effect of firm performance. Findings – The results partially supported board demographic diversity–strategic change hypothesis. In particular, results indicate that age diversity produces less strategic change, while functional diversity is associated with greater levels of strategic change. The moderated regression results do not support our general logic that high firm performance enhances board demographic diversity–strategic change relationship. In effect, the results reveal that at high level of firm performance, board demographic diversity produces less strategic change. Originality/value – Despite few studies that have examined board demographic diversity and firm performance, this paper introduces strategic change as an outcome variable. This paper also explores the moderating role of firm performance in board demographic diversity–strategic change relationship, and finally, the study uses Kenyan dataset which in itself is unique because most governance and strategy research uses data from developed countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-145
Author(s):  
Woosik Yu

This paper analyzes the effect of the so-called ‘brain drain’ on economic growth through the channel of growth in total factor productivity. We analyze panel data that measure the severity of brain drain, which are from IMD and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Our analysis shows that middle-income countries have more brain drain compared to the group of high-income countries. Also, emerging economies that grow fast tend to experience more brain drain. Our results from fixed effects regression models show that that brain drain has a significant and positive impact on economic growth, and the main channel is productivity growth. This can be considered as evidence of the positive effects of ‘brain circulation’, which is one of the brain drain phenomena that settlement of the talents in advanced countries can eventually help improve the productivity of home country by the sharing of advanced technologies and skills around them with colleagues in motherland. Therefore, a strategy of utilizing overseas resident talents should also be considered, alongside the brain-attraction policy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saganga Mussa Kapaya ◽  
Gwahula Raphael

The study analyzed effects of bank-specific, industry-specific and macroeconomic determinants on banks profitability. It used a maximum of 350 firm-years, from 52 banks from 1998 to 2010 in Tanzania. It did proxy profitability using return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and net interest margin (NIM). The static fixed effects regression model indicated that; credit facilities (CFA), capital adequacy (TEA), credit risk (CFR), diversification ratio (DIV), bank risk (BAR) and financial market development (MCAd) were significantly influencing ROA. The dynamic fixed effects regression model indicated that lagged ROA, TEA, loan losses provisions (PLT) and BAR, were significantly influencing ROA.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Erin E Esaryk ◽  
Sarah Anne Reynolds ◽  
Lia CH Fernald ◽  
Andrew D Jones

Abstract Objectives: To examine associations of household crop diversity with school-aged child dietary diversity in Vietnam and Ethiopia and mechanisms underlying these associations. Design: We created a child diet diversity score (DDS) using data on seven food groups consumed in the last 24 h. Generalised estimating equations were used to model associations of household-level crop diversity, measured as a count of crop species richness (CSR) and of plant crop nutritional functional richness (CNFR), with DDS. We examined effect modification by household wealth and subsistence orientation, and mediation by the farm’s market orientation. Setting: Two survey years of longitudinal data from the Young Lives cohort. Participants: Children (aged 5 years in 2006 and 8 years in 2009) from rural farming households in Ethiopia (n 1012) and Vietnam (n 1083). Results: There was a small, positive association between household CNFR and DDS in Ethiopia (CNFR–DDS, β = 0·13; (95 % CI 0·07, 0·19)), but not in Vietnam. Associations of crop diversity and child diet diversity were strongest among poor households in Ethiopia and among subsistence-oriented households in Vietnam. Agricultural earnings positively mediated the crop diversity–diet diversity association in Ethiopia. Discussion: Children from households that are poorer and those that rely more on their own agricultural production for food may benefit most from increased crop diversity.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 818
Author(s):  
Salima Al Maamari ◽  
Saleh Al Shammakhi ◽  
Ibtisam Alghamari ◽  
Jana Jabbour ◽  
Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh

Despite proven benefits, most countries fail to meet international targets for appropriate complementary and Breast Feeding (BF) practices. This study assessed feeding practices of children under two years of age and correlated them with family parameters in Oman, a high income country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Methods: Data from this study originated from the latest Oman National Nutrition Survey (ONNS). Assessment of children and their mothers’ socioeconomic, anthropometric, and nutritional variables was conducted at the household level. Evaluated feeding practices included age appropriate BF, diet diversity, and minimum acceptable diet (MAD). Results: Pairs of mothers and infants (n = 1344) were assessed. Early BF, exclusive BF at 6 months, infant formula, and iron rich meals were provided to 81, 29, 44, and 84% of children, respectively. Age appropriate BF and MAD were found in 58% and 35% of children, respectively. Low maternal education, younger age, low household income, and governorate negatively affected diet acceptability. Conclusion: Omani children successfully received early BF postpartum and consumed iron rich meals. Yet, rates of exclusive BF rates at six months and MAD for children under two were low. Comprehensive strategies should be placed to assess and influence children feeding practices in the Sultanate.


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