scholarly journals Does Income Inequality Impair Health? Evidence from Rural China

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Wencong Cai ◽  
Yuanjie Deng ◽  
Qiangqiang Zhang ◽  
Haiyu Yang ◽  
Xuexi Huo

In the context of the Healthy China strategy and the targeted poverty alleviation policy, based on the survey data of 1710 apple planters in Shandong, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, we selected the Probit model and the mediating effect test model to analyze the impact of income inequality on the self-rated health of farmers in this paper. The main results are as follows: First, income inequality within villages and townships had a significant negative impact on self-rated health, with both showing inverted U-shaped relationships, while income inequality within counties had no significant impact on self-rated health. Second, income inequality can impact the health of farmers, in terms of tobacco and alcohol behaviors, social trust, and sense of relative deprivation, where the mediating effect ratio of these three factors combined accounted for 32.4% of the total effect. Furthermore, the effect of income inequality on health was heterogeneous among different income groups, where the negative impact of income inequality on the self-rated health of the high-income group was less than that of the low-income group, indicating that an increase in income inequality serves to aggravate the degree of health inequality. Therefore, the government should adopt differentiated policies to improve the health of farmers. In rural areas with high income inequality, the government should focus on increasing the income of low-income groups, guide them to develop a healthy lifestyle, improve their social trust, and reduce their sense of relative deprivation. In rural areas where incomes are generally low, the government should first guide qualified farmers to become rich, then encourage others to become rich later.

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabiul Islam ◽  
Ahmad Bashawir Abdul Ghani ◽  
Irwanshah Zainal Abidin ◽  
Jeya Malar Rayaiappan

Poverty and income inequality are extreme issues that still exist in Malaysia. Any rise in poverty and income inequality definitely affect economic growth. There are many great efforts taken by the government of Malaysia to eradicate poverty and to reduce the gap of income inequality which occurs since 1970’s. The incidence of poverty and income inequality is higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. This paper is mainly to study the level of poverty and income inequality in Malaysia together with government intervention to develop Malaysia’s economic growth. The research is focused among the working people at Ipoh, Perak. In this paper, questionnaire forms are being distributed to get information regarding the issue of poverty and income inequality. It also looks into the strategies taken by the government of Malaysia to eradicate poverty and income inequality. Few recommendations are given in terms of education policy, financial aid and assistance from government and non-government organization (NGO) to upgrade the standard and quality of living among the poor and lower-income group of people.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 781
Author(s):  
Congjia Huo ◽  
Lingming Chen

With the continued development of the economy, the income gap among Chinese rural households continues to widen. The land system plays a decisive role in developing “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” and land circulation is a factor in the increase in income inequality among farm households. Based on the 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP), this article used the re-centered influence function (RIF) regression method to empirically test the impact of rural land circulation on the income gap of rural households in China in three regions: the central, eastern and western regions. The quantile regression tested the impact mechanism of income inequality of rural households from the perspective of labor mobility and land circulation. The empirical results showed that land circulation increases the income inequality of rural households. The theoretical mechanism test proved that the dynamic relationship between land circulation and labor mobility increases rural household income. However, this increase has a greater effect on rural households with a high income and a small effect on rural households with a low income, resulting in a further widening of the income gap. Therefore, while increasing the income of rural households through land circulation, the government should also consider income equity. Finally, this article puts forward the policies and opinions on land reform and provides a brief discussion on the future direction of development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-314
Author(s):  
Azlina Mokhtar ◽  
Maimunah Abdul Muna'aim ◽  
Tengku Amatullah Madeehah T Mohd ◽  
Hafiz Jaafar

‘Klinik Pakar Mata Bergerak’ (KLiP Mobile), translated to specialised ophthalmology mobile clinic is a programme that provides ophthalmology care in the rural community of Negeri Sembilan. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of cataracts and its associated factors among rural adults in Malaysia through an outreach programme of specialised ophthalmology services by KLiP Mobile. This is a cross-sectional study carried out from January 2016 until March 2018 and was conducted in rural areas of all seven districts in the state of Negeri Sembilanvisited by the KLiP Mobile. Universal sampling was applied to all adults attending the mobile clinic. The participants are those who were referred by the government community clinics and walk-in patients. The total number of participants in this study was 1480. The mean (SD) age for the study population was 56 (16.9), by which majority were Malay (n = 1220, 82.4%) and female (n = 809, 54.7%). Most of them received either primary (n = 604, 42.4%) or secondary education (n = 577, 40.5%). The majority of participants were categorized into the low-income group, with a monthly income of less than RM 3,000 (n = 1118, 92.4%). The prevalence of cataracts in the study population was 28.6%. In the multivariate analysis, factors significantly associated with cataracts were being male, having no formal education, race and suffering from hypertension. The prevalence of cataracts in rural areas is considerably high. This study highlights the need for baseline information for future study or as the main reference by the policymakers for policy development related to improving vision and eye care among the populations in Malaysia.  


Author(s):  
Yinhao Wu ◽  
Shumin Yu ◽  
Xiangdong Duan

Pollution-intensive industries (PIIs) have both scale effect and environmental sensitivity. Therefore, this paper studies how environmental regulation (ER) affects the location dynamics of PIIs under the agglomeration effect. Our results show that, ER can increase the production costs of pollution-intensive firms (PIFs) by internalizing the negative impact of pollutant discharge in a region, and thus, directly reduces the region’s attractiveness to PIFs. Meanwhile, ER can indirectly reduce the attractiveness of a region to PIFs by reducing the externality of the regional agglomeration effect. Moreover, these influences are regulated by the level of local economic development. Based on the moderated mediating effect model, we find evidence from the site selection activities of newly built chemical firms in cities across China. The empirical test shows that compared with 2014, the proportion of the direct effect of ER to the total effects significantly decreased in 2018, while the proportion of indirect effects under the agglomeration effect increased significantly. Our findings provide reference for the government to design effective environmental policies to guide the location choice of new PIFs.


2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Chanyong Park ◽  
Khalid Ikram

This case study analyzed how Korea achieved rapid economic growth with i.t1ere-JSing equity and poverty aJlcviarion. Korean GDP per capita increased 110 times and absolute poverty rate dccn.:ased from 48.3 percent to 9.8 percent l:x:tween 196 l and 2001. Ir is true to say in rhe Korean case that the most efiecrive measure in reduction of the absolute pwerty level has been to make the economic pie biggcr. It is called growth-firsr~istrihution-larcr principle and brought abJut economic success hy overcoming a sc:vere shortage of natural endowments. TI1e Korean government prioritized certain development-led industries in order to accelerate economic μ;ro\\•th. It was called '"imbalanced development strate,gy" and assessed as being more effective than "balanced development strategy" within the limited budget for ernnomic development. Although income inequality became aggravated Jue to the grmvrh-first polity and imbalanced strate,gy, the sizl' of the economic pie increased drastically. The income levels of middle and low income households increased to such an extent that much income inequality could l:x: rolernted. le can be said that in Korea. rapid economic growth raised welfare levels during rhe period between the l 960s and the 1990s even as income inequality worsened. Korea ran into serious economic difficulties in late 1997. The poverty rates rose sharply from 7.67 rercem in 19'-)7 to 14.28 pen:ent in ·19'-)8. TI1e Korean govemrnenr w1dertook various anti-poverty programs designed to ease the impan of ma-.s lay-offS by implementing a new public assistance program and expanded the coverage of sx·ial insuranu.c:. In addition, hwnan resource development programs \Vere intrOOuced thar enhanced the access of the vulnerable class to the labor market by laying stress on labor welfare, raking mea,ures to protect irregtUar employees, and extending the application of the minimum wage system to all industries. Thanks to these efforts of the government, the p.>verty rates have decreased since 1999. 1bis study has led us to six tentative but useful lessons learned from the Korean success to lx applied to ocher developing countries: establishment of a clear objective of development and. the cornmirmenr of authorities; r,crn.ptive sdt·ction of rtprcscntative kx:omotive engines for rapid economic gro¥.-th and properly designed management; lx.'St investment in human rt'Source development; fair land reform and rural development; job creation and expansion of employment; and building-up of country's capacity to implement plans and projects expeditiously within budgeted costs.


Author(s):  
Bowen Wang ◽  
Desheng Hu ◽  
Diandian Hao ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Yanan Wang

Rural revitalisation in China relies heavily on the rural residential environment and is vital to the well-being of farmers. The governance of rural human settlements is a kind of public good. The external economy of governance results in the free-riding behaviour of some farmers, which does not entice farmers to participate in governance. However, current research seldom considers the public good of rural human settlements governance. This research is based on the pure public goods attribute of rural human settlements governance. It begins with government information and, using structural equation modelling (SEM), researchers construct the influence mechanism of government information, attitude, attention, and participation ability on the depth of farmers’ participation. The empirical results show that ability, attention, and attitude all have a dramatic positive influence on the depth of farmers’ participation, and the degree of impact gradually becomes weaker. Additionally, government information stimulus is not enough to promote farmers’ deep participation in governance. It needs to rely on intermediary variables to indirectly affect the depth of participation (ability, attention, attitude), and there is a path preference for the influence of government information on the depth of participation. As an important organisation in the management of rural areas, the village committee can significantly adjust the effect of the degree of attention on the depth of participation of farmers. Therefore, the government not only needs to provide farmers with reliable and useful information, but also needs to combine necessary measures to guide farmers to participate in the governance of rural human settlements.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-166
Author(s):  
Laily Dwi Arsyianti Laily Dwi Arsyianti

This paper aims to develop a framework to improve financial prudence through financial education and financial inclusion for low-income households in Indonesia. Knowledge shapes attitude, which later influences behavior. A household, in terms of its social production function, needs to feel secure financially in order not to fall into insolvency or bankruptcy. Households that are equipped with better financial education and knowledge are more likely to undertake recommended financial behaviors. By targeting the low-income group through a financial inclusion agenda, the government, Islamic social finance practitioners, and academicians enable low-income households to act with financial prudence.


The role of public sector bank, in raising the economic equality on low income or middle income group, the term financial inclusion emphasis on redistribution of income within the same household, the deprive section of society avail the benefit with some standard provided by the government and how the approach have been taken by public sector bank to distribute the same and their behavioral ethics trail over the schemes. The study focused the dominant properties which fabricate imperative on financial inclusion among various categories of customers in public sector banks and also investigated the recognition of public in stand point of financial assistance and financial features offered by public sector bank through correlation statistical analysis with the sample of 200 with Chennai arena..


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 339-353
Author(s):  
Nur Harena Redzuan ◽  
Amir Abidin Bashir

A microfinance scheme was introduced in Malaysia in the year 1987 as one of the alternatives to poverty eradication strategies in the country by the government. Since then, several institutions have created to carry out the agenda of providing small loans to the low-income group to start up their small-scale business to generate more sources of income to support their household consumption. However, for a certain reason, the people still do not find microfinance an important tool to uplift their economic positions. Most of the low-income groups are still unaware of this golden opportunity tailored for them. Besides, the sustainability of these subsidized microfinance systems implemented by Malaysia had not been appropriately studied. This study explores the attractiveness of the products offered by microfinance institutions and emphasizes the option that the participants must start utilizing the product. This research also explores microfinance facilities that contain conventional finance element which is prohibited in Islamic trade. The study also discusses the measures and actions taken by microfinance institutions in serving the low-income group in Malaysia. This paper employs a qualitative method through interviews and content analysis. The report, journal publications, and other related documents were also analyzed in achieving the objectives. The study provides the impact that it may pave the way to an indistinct understanding of how Islamic microfinance institutions sustain their operations.


Author(s):  
Ni Made Ratih Kusuma Dewi ◽  
I Wayan Sukadana ◽  
Anak Agung Ketut Ayuningsasi

The increasing prosperity of urban communities in Denpasar, responded by an increasing number of supermarkets and other modern food retailers has raised concerns about its negative impact on traditional retailers. In this paper we discuss about the choice pattern of public spending in the city of Denpasar in an increasingly demanding era of high quality standards. This paper also tries to explain how higher welfare of urban communities can also be distributed to farmers / ranchers in rural areas. This paper surveyed the urban community in Denpasar City to find out the choice of the shopping place for egg products. The results of the analysis using Multinomial Logit found that most people in Denpasar still shop at traditional markets and stalls for low-income and middle-income household, but some high-income household tend to shop in the modern market because they have higher quality compared to with traditional markets. People with higher education and younger household tend to shop in the modern market. Based on the choice of shopping place then we can conclude that the farmers/ranchers get a positive influence of increasing welfare in the city, because farmers/ranchers are only able to distribute their products to traditional markets, small shops and stalls.


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