A Study on the Role of Social Support for Low-Income Households of Youths or Adults with Disabilities that Devoid of Cultural Capital

In times of labour market insecurity and retrenchment of state support, low income families rely on friends and relatives as a safety net. This article explores the enhanced role of this ‘third source of welfare’ in light of these developments. It draws on qualitative longitudinal research to demonstrate how families’ situations fluctuate over two years and the importance of social support networks in hard times and periods of crisis. The research illustrates how social support is not necessarily a stable structure that families facing insecurity can fall back on, but rather a variable resource, and fluid over time, as those who provide such support experience changing capabilities and needs. A policy challenge is to help reinforce and not undermine the conditions that enable valuable social support to be offered and sustained, while ensuring sufficient reliable state support to avoid families having no choice but to depend on this potentially fragile resource as a safety net.

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Inheritance, gifts and the accumulation of wealth for low-income households

Journal of European Social Policy ◽

10.1177/09589287211040419 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 533-548

Author(s):

Salvatore Morelli ◽

Brian Nolan ◽

Juan C Palomino ◽

Philippe Van Kerm

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Transfer Scheme ◽

Wealth Transfer ◽

Policy Responses ◽

The Past ◽

Low Incomes ◽

Marked Decline ◽

Rich Countries ◽

Low Income Households

Many low-income households in rich countries have very little wealth, but the role of intergenerational wealth transmission in underpinning this deficit is not known. This article seeks to fill that gap by investigating patterns of past wealth transfer receipt for low-income versus other households in seven rich countries and assessing the contribution that these transfers, or their absence, make to current wealth levels. We find that households on low incomes are relatively disadvantaged in terms of intergenerational transfers received in the past, both in terms of the likelihood of having received any and the amounts received by those who do benefit from such transfers. The role that this disadvantage plays in the linkage between current low-income and low wealth is assessed and evidence presented that it is significant. Simulation of a universal wealth transfer scheme or ‘capital endowment’ on reaching adulthood for two countries shows that such a policy could lead to a marked decline in the proportion of low-income adults with negative or no wealth. This and alternative or complementary policy responses to these wealth deficits merit the most serious attention.

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Development Initiatives, Micro-Enterprise Performance and Sustainability

International Journal of Financial Studies ◽

10.3390/ijfs6030074 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 74 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Wan Mustapa ◽

Abdullah Al Mamun ◽

Mohamed Ibrahim

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Training Programs ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Enterprise Performance ◽

Enterprise Development ◽

Working Capital ◽

Development Organizations ◽

Development Initiatives ◽

Low Income Households

Towards improving the socio-economic condition of low-income households, development organizations offer a repertoire of initiatives. This study focused on the impacts of access to working capital and enterprise development training programs, on the performance and sustainability of micro-enterprises owned and managed by low-income households, in the state of Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. The data of 450 micro-entrepreneurs, was randomly selected from the participants’ list of three development organizations servicing Kelantan: Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM); National Entrepreneurs Economic Group Fund (TEKUN); and Malaysia Fisheries Development Board (LKIM). This study revealed several participation indicators (i.e., years of participation, total number of trainings, total number of training hours received, and number of center meetings or discussions attended, etc.), which have a positive effect on micro-enterprise performance and sustainability. However, the findings were inconclusive as one of the key participation indicators, ‘total amount of economic loans received’, showed a negative (not statistically significant) effect on micro-enterprise performance and sustainability. This study expanded the limited literature on micro-enterprise performance and sustainability, and the role of working capital and enterprise development training programs; thus providing a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of current development initiatives.

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