Poverty Human Capital and Economic Development Nexus: A Case Study of Multan Division

Countries across the world have acknowledged that poverty alleviation has to be of critical importance among the objectives of economic development. This paper sheds light on the Multan division, as one the important division of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. The primary data was collected through a household survey during the year 2019.The study concluded that occupation of the household head in the primary sector and household size are significant and positively associated with household poverty. However, human capital of the household is found to be significant and negatively related to household poverty in the Multan division. Economic development or per capita income of the households are found to be significant and positively related with human capital of the households.

Determinants of Women’s Empowerment and Household Poverty Reduction in Imbulpe DS Division, Sri Lanka

Women empowerment and poverty reduction are interrelated key driving forces to achieve the sustainable development of a country. However, most of the women farmers in rural areas have lack of access to adequate assets and resources, credit facilities and freedom of decision making within the households. Therefore, women empowerment is a timely important requirement to reduce the household poverty among them. This study was conducted to identify the determinants of empowerment of women farmers and also roles of them in reduction of poverty in Imbulpe Divisional Secretariat (DS) Division in Sri Lanka. In this study, 238 women farmers were selected using simple random sampling method, from purposively identified seven Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions in this area. Primary data was gathered from a field survey using a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire from May to July 2019. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were used as the statistical methods in data analyzing process. The result revealed that, age, education, monthly income of the respondents, economic resource accessibility, participation in decision making and freedom of mobility act as the determinants of empowerment of women farmers. The moderately significant positive nature of relationship was showed between the age of the women farmers and their role in poverty reduction. And also, the level of education, monthly income, economic resources accessibility of the respondents and participation of decision making within the household of the women farmers were showed moderately significant positive relationship with their role in poverty reduction. Therefore, encourage women farmers as rural entrepreneurs while performing their farming practices to earn additional income, enhance economic resource accessibility and motivate women farmers to express their ideas for enhance the active participation in the household decision making process are timely important requirements to empower women farmers and enhance their role in poverty reduction.

Disability in Older People and Socio-Economic Deprivation in Italy: Effects on the Care Burden and System Resources

The sustainability of European Long-Term Care systems faces the demographic and socio-economic circumstances, mainly the increasing ageing of the population, with its chronic disease conditions, and the simultaneous economic general crises, exacerbated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the increase in general rate of relative poverty, there is a higher risk of poverty among elderly and families in a high demand of care, especially if situations of Activities Daily Living (ADL) disability are present. Italian welfare, which is based on family care regimes and regional strategies, and is oriented to private or public care, is a relevant case study with which to analyze such a relationship. This paper aims to study the relationship between ADL disability and the socio-economic deprivation of families, that is, household poverty. Variables came from the ISTAT Health for All Italian Database and the INAIL Disability Allowance Database. A pool of statistical methods, based on bivariate and multivariate analyses, from bivariate correlation, through multiple linear regression to principal component factor analysis, were used to reduce the number of the variables and compute the indicators. The multivariate analysis underlines how ADL disability impacts on a household’s poverty, confirming the existence of statistical correlation between them. Moreover, the study identifies and measures two answer capability models to cope with household poverty. The answer capability of the formal system is the main tool for reducing poverty due to one family member’s ADL disability. Integration and collaboration between the formal system and family capabilities remains the main solution.

The Impact of Rural Livelihood Diversification on Household Poverty: Evidence from Jimma Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Southwest Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, agriculture is the principal source of food and livelihood for many rural households, making it a central component of programs that seek to reduce poverty and achieve food security. Since the sector is faced with many challenges, rural households are compelled to develop strategies through diversification to cope with the increasing vulnerability associated with agricultural production. As a result, the purpose of this research is to assess the impact of livelihood diversification on household poverty in the Jimma zone of Ethiopia’s Oromia regional state. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 385 sample household heads. The study utilized data obtained from a cross-sectional survey using an interview schedule, focus group discussion, key informant interview, and personal observations. Both descriptive and econometric data analysis techniques were applied. The result of the FGT poverty measure revealed that the incidence of poverty among rural households was 37.14%, implying that 62.86% were non-poor. The descriptive statistics revealed that age of household, dependency ratio, year of schooling, sex of household, livestock ownership, landholding, non-farm income, market distance, and extension contact were found to have a significant influence on the poverty status of a household at different probability levels. Based on the cost of basic needs approach, it was applied to measure poverty status. The results of the logit model indicate that family size, landholding, livestock ownership, year of schooling, access to credit services, and off-farm income of the households were found to have significantly determined livelihood diversification. Moreover, the results of the propensity score matching indicate that household participation in livelihood diversification has a positive and significant impact on household poverty. Accordingly, households with diversified livelihoods were found to be 9% better off than those that were not diversified in terms of poverty. Policies aimed at increasing the income generation ability of the household should be strongly considered. Therefore, to ensure the capacity of rural households to practice farming along with a wide range of income-generating activities to improve the well-being of the rural poor and have a significant impact on poverty reduction, participating in livelihood diversification should be given emphasis in development planning.

Quantifying the association of natal household wealth with women’s early marriage in Nepal

Background Women’s early marriage (<18 years) is a critical global health issue affecting 650 million women worldwide. It is associated with a range of adverse maternal physical and mental health outcomes, including early childbearing, child undernutrition and morbidity. Poverty is widely asserted to be the key risk factor driving early marriage. However, most studies do not measure wealth in the natal household, but instead, use marital household wealth as a proxy for natal wealth. Further research is required to understand the key drivers of early marriage. Methods We investigated whether natal household poverty was associated with marrying early, independently of women’s lower educational attainment and broader markers of household disadvantage. Data on natal household wealth (material asset score) for 2,432 women aged 18–39 years was used from the cluster-randomized Low Birth Weight South Asia Trial in lowland rural Nepal. Different early marriage definitions (<15, <16, <17 and <18 years) were used because most of our population marries below the conventional 18-year cut-off. Logistic mixed-effects models were fitted to estimate the probabilities, derived from adjusted Odds Ratios, of (a) marrying at different early ages for the full sample and for the uneducated women, and (b) being uneducated in the first place. Results Women married at median age 15 years (interquartile range 3), and only 18% married ≥18 years. Two-thirds of the women were entirely uneducated. We found that, rather than poverty, women’s lower education was the primary factor associated with early marriage, regardless of how ‘early’ is defined. Neither poverty nor other markers of household disadvantage were associated with early marriage at any age in the uneducated women. However, poverty was associated with women being uneducated. Conclusion When assets are measured in the natal household in this population, there is no support for the conventional hypothesis that household poverty is associated with daughters’ early marriage, but it is associated with not going to school. We propose that improving access to free education would both reduce early marriage and have broader benefits for maternal and child health and gender equality.