Lo necesario, lo superfluo y la medición de la pobreza

El objetivo de este trabajo es unir la aportación de la filosofía escolástica con la técnica de la medición de la pobreza a fin de clarificar cuánto ingreso debe ser normativamente considerado para adquirir “lo necesario” para vivir. La escolástica ha diferenciado –desde Tomás de Aquino- los bienes necesarios, los socialmente necesarios y los superfluos. Sobre los dos primeros se reconocieron derechos de propiedad usufructuaria, pero no sobre los superfluos. Lo que el trabajo investiga es saber si la línea de pobreza absoluta, nacional o internacional (actualmente establecida en $1,90 diarios en PPP de 2011) da buena cuenta de la capacidad para adquirir “lo necesario”. Rechazada esta opción se propone un Índice de Acceso a lo Necesario y se analizan las consecuencias de políticas públicas que conlleva la ambigüedad de “lo necesario”. The goal of this work is to combine the contribution of scholastic philosophy with the technique of poverty measurement in order to clarify how much income should be normatively considered in order to acquire "what is necessary" to live. Scholasticism has differentiated - from Thomas Aquinas - the necessary, socially necessary and superfluous goods. On the first two rights of usufruct property were recognized, but not on the superfluous ones. What the research investigates is whether the absolute poverty line, national or international (currently set at $ 1.90 per day in PPP 2011) gives a good account of the capability to acquire "what is necessary". Once this option is rejected, an Index of Access to the Necessary is proposed and the consequences of public policies that entail the ambiguity of "what is necessary" are analyzed.

Poverty as the impact of the COVID-19

This is an ethnography study which aimed to find out the real condition of poverty in Indonesia. Preliminary study showed that there are massive social impacts in the new normal due to COVID-19. There are three kinds of poverty that can be seen in real terms namely extreme poverty, absolute poverty, and relative poverty. Moreover, when viewed from the biblical approach, there are two words used that helped us in our research on poverty, namely "race” = “poor people" and "dal” which is more translated as “weaker” than “poor”. The Bible does not state a single view on poverty but mentioned some Bible passages. The first is idleness poverty. This poverty is caused by laziness or negligence over personal responsibility to look for means to meet needs. The Bible uses ants as an opposite example of laziness in the book of Proverbs 6:6. The second is theodise poverty. This poverty is illustrated by Job who was stripped off of his riches, yet he was able to accept and embrace whatever the Lord gave to him.

Experience of Female Entrepreneurs With Disabilities in Zimbabwe

The global population of people with disabilities is estimated to be around one billion which represents 15% of the population. It is further estimated that the majority of people with disabilities are found in developing countries to which the majority are women. Adding on to the challenge, 82% percent of disabled people live below the poverty line and can barely employ sustainable means of earning a living and neither can they widen livelihood options due to their circumstances. Thus, they are languishing in absolute poverty. Developing countries are lagging behind in promoting the economic rights of women with disabilities. This is mainly shown by their absence in formal employment because many developing countries do not have policies which facilitate the employment of women with disabilities. Women with disabilities in Zimbabwe are concentrated in light industry entrepreneurship. The majority are found in vending, buying, and selling of cloth and electrical items, others are involved in cross-border trading.

Multidimensional Relative Poverty of Farmers in Tibetan Areas – Based on a Data Analysis on Micro Surveys

In 2020, the issue of absolute poverty has been solved, and China is building a well-off society in an all-round way. The issue of relative poverty is an important content of poverty reduction. Based on a survey data from Danba County in October 2020, this paper uses the AF method to calculate the incidence of multidimensional poverty and the multidimensional poverty index. The results showed that 44.65% of the farmers have multidimensional deprivation of any three indicators of relative poverty, and 2.79% of the farmers have serious multidimensional deprivation; the incidence of one-dimensional poverty in terms of “educational level index of head of household,” “per capita non-transfer income of households in 2019,” and “per capita household income in 2019” is the highest; at the same time, the contribution rate of the three indicators to the multidimensional poverty index is also higher than other indicators. Therefore, several suggestions have been put forward to alleviate the multidimensional relative poverty in the region from the aspects of industry development and education.

Poverty reduction in rural China: Does the digital finance matter?

As digital finance is widely spread and applied in China, this new format of financial technology could become a new way to reduce poverty in rural areas. By matching digital financial indexes of the prefectural-level cities with microdata on rural households from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) in 2017, we find that digital finance significantly suppresses absolute poverty and relative poverty among rural households in China, which is supported by a series of robustness tests, such as the instrumental variable approach, using alternative specifications, and excluding extreme observations. Additionally, we provide evidence that the poverty reduction effect of digital finance is likely to be explained by alleviating credit constraints and information constraints, broadening social networks, and promoting entrepreneurship. Our findings further complement the research field on financial poverty reduction and offer insights for the development of public financial policies of poverty reduction in other countries, especially in some developing countries.

An Assessment of Poverty Alleviation Measures and Sustainable Livelihood Capability of Farm Households in Rural China: A Sustainable Livelihood Approach

This paper aims to identify effective mechanisms for government poverty alleviation measures based on the livelihood sustainability of farm households in Southern Shaanxi province, China. The paper utilizes data from 414 farm households, collected through field observations and in-depth interviews in 24 rural communes in Qinba Mountain Area of Shaanxi province, China. Using theoretical research methods and employing the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) framework, this paper analyzes poverty alleviation measures as well as the impact of varied capital availability on sustainable livelihood. The study shows that developing local industries and governmental financial support improve the sustainable livelihood of farmers and eradicate absolute poverty. The findings of this study further indicate that there is a positive correlation between poverty alleviation measures and natural and social capital for sustainable livelihood. The paper provides empirical and quantitative evidence on alleviation of poverty, and the findings will help improve the sustainability of livelihood capability of farming households. This study suggests impactful approaches to stabilizing mechanisms for poverty alleviation in rural areas over the longer term.

The Case of Pakistan

This article represents a qualitative investigation of the vulnerabilities of displaced households in Pakistan caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyses are conducted through the lens of social quality theory and the social quality approach according to four societal dimensions that condition household life chances. Our findings reveal that these households reflect a reversal of the sustainable development cycle. They are at risk of being economically unstable, being unable to gain new skills, falling into absolute poverty, increased morbidity rates, and disrupted education. The most severe form of deprivation is the disruption of their networks of social cohesion, leading to greater isolation and marginalization; this is especially true for women and children. The Pakistani government must take immediate and substantive action to improve the situations of these most vulnerable of households.

Does Closing the Donut Hole Reduce Financial Burdens Among Medicare Part D Beneficiaries?

The Medicare Part D donut hole has been gradually closed since 2010. But it is still unclear how it has impacted the beneficiaries’ relative financial burdens, especially in the later stage of the closing plan. The measurement of catastrophic health expenditure induced by prescription drugs (CHE-Rx) reflects the relative financial burdens to beneficiaries’ household income, which bears more information than the measure of dollar-value expenses or the absolute poverty line used in prior studies. Using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2008-2017 longitudinal national representative data and the method of difference-in-differences, this study found that the donut hole closing policy was associated with more usage of prescription drugs (b=2.84, p=0.023) and a higher likelihood of experiencing CHE-Rx (b=2.4%, p=0.011) among those who fell in the donut holes. Besides, the results show that the donut hole closing policy did not generate any immediate effects on prescription drug usage, CHE, and CHE-Rx. For the first time, this paper examined both the aggregated and marginal impact of the policy implementation, which had closed by an additional 35% between 2013 and 2017, on the relative financial burden among the beneficiaries.

A Survey on Income Inequality in China

After China’s recent great success in eliminating absolute poverty, addressing relative income inequality becomes a more important issue. This survey finds that income inequality rapidly increased in the first three decades since 1978 but stabilized and slightly declined in the past decade, consistent with the well-known Kuznets hypothesis. In addition to documenting the trend and patterns over time and across groups and regions, seven sources of income inequality are systematically discussed with an effort to reconcile and extend the existing literature. Furthermore, a negative correlation is documented between income inequality and intergenerational mobility, consistent with the Great Gatsby curve observed in developed countries. (JEL D31, D63, O15, P36)

Eradicating Absolute Poverty in Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China

This paper describes the specific poverty reduction practices applied in Hunan Province, People’s Republic of China. Government-subsidized programs are aimed at elderly living in poverty, people with disabilities, and migrant workers and their left-behind children. They reduce poverty mainly by building a support system for living, housing, medical care, old-age care, education, and employment. Tailored financial support are also intended for natural resources of poverty-stricken areas to be used in developing industries and forming self-development capabilities to eradicate poverty, including through industrial development, employment, and financial tool utilization.