A measurement strategy to address disparities across household energy burdens

Energy inequity is an issue of increasing urgency. Few policy-relevant datasets evaluate the energy burden of typical American households. Here, we develop a framework using Net Energy Analysis and household socioeconomic data to measure systematic energy inequity among critical groups that need policy attention. We find substantial instances of energy poverty in the United States – 16% of households experience energy poverty as presently defined as spending more than 6% of household income on energy expenditures. More than 5.2 million households above the Federal Poverty Line face energy poverty, disproportionately burdening Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities. For solar, wind, and energy efficiency to address socioeconomic mobility, programs must reduce energy expenditures by expanding eligibility requirements for support and access to improved conservation measures, efficiency upgrades, and distributed renewables. We recommend the United States develop a more inclusive federal energy poverty categorization that increases assistance for household energy costs.

Implication of Multi-National Corporations (MNC’s) and Commercial Tea Plantation Agriculture on the Small Scale Farmers of Kericho in Kenya, 1963 -2010.

The introduction of tea as a cash crop in Kericho revolutionised farming among the Kipsigis of Kericho. While the independence of Kenya in 1963 was expected to come along with economic empowerment and freedom among its people, many still struggle to meet their daily needs and live below the poverty line. For Kericho residents, MNC’s continued their domination in plantation tea farming at the expense of the local communities who are wallowing in poverty. Although MNC’s contribute in the provision of social services to the local community as part of their corporate social responsibility, this assistance is a drop in the ocean considering the massive capital and technology that these corporations wield and which have been instrumental in relegating the small scale farmers to the periphery and creating dependency. This study explored the implication of MNC’s engaged in plantation tea farming in Kericho District (presently Kericho County) on local peasant farmers.

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.

Consolidating and Upscaling Molecular Research Capacity in Nigeria: On Who's Account?

Molecular research and researchers engage in studies that seek to understand the structures, functions, and interactions of biomolecules as the basis for cellular and systemic effects in living organisms. This research approach was made possible by considerable technological advancements that equip researchers with tools to view biomolecules. Although molecular research holds great promises for improving lives and living, the technological requirements and equipment to undertake molecular research are quite expensive, often requiring a heavy start-up capital or investment. In developing countries such as Nigeria, where the majority of the population lives below the poverty line and research funding is abysmally low, such heavy investments into research that do not provide immediate solutions to societal problems are difficult. This is mostly due to limited resources available to tackle many urgent and pressing needs, and limited perspective and understanding of policymakers, leading to infrastructural and skilled personnel deficit to support molecular research. Despite all these, the field of molecular research continues to grow exponentially globally, hence, funding and investments into this critical life science research area have become imperative. With the rich biodiversity of humans, animals, and plants in Nigeria, and the huge burden of infectious diseases in the country or region, global advances in genomics and proteomics studies will be incomplete without adequate contribution from Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa region. This paper examines the progression and challenges of undertaking molecular research in Nigeria, and how Nigerian molecular research scientists are tackling these issues, with recommendations for improved molecular research capacity and output in the country or region.

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.

Innovative approach to improve information accuracy in a two-district cross-sectional study in Bihar, India

ObjectiveCombine Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) and probability survey data using the statistical annealing technique (AT) to produce more accurate health coverage estimates than either source of data and a measure of HMIS data error.SettingThis study is set in Bihar, the fifth poorest state in India, where half the population lives below the poverty line. An important source of data, used by health professionals for programme decision making, is routine health facility or HMIS data. Its quality is sometimes poor or unknown, and has no measure of its uncertainty. Using AT, we combine district-level HMIS and probability survey data (n=475) for the first time for 10 indicators assessing antenatal care, institutional delivery and neonatal care from 11 blocks of Aurangabad and 14 blocks of Gopalganj districts (N=6 253 965) in Bihar state, India.ParticipantsBoth districts are rural. Bihar is 82.7% Hindu and 16.9% Islamic.Primary outcome measuresSurvey prevalence measures for 10 indicators, corresponding prevalences using HMIS data, combined prevalences calculated with AT and SEs for each type of data.ResultsThe combined and survey estimates differ by <0.10. The combined and HMIS estimates differ by up to 84.2%, with the HMIS having 1.4–32.3 times larger error. Of 20 HMIS versus survey coverage estimate comparisons across the two districts only five differed by <0.10. Of 250 subdistrict-level comparisons of HMIS versus combined estimates, only 36.4% of the HMIS estimates are within the 95% CI of the combined estimate.ConclusionsOur statistical innovation increases the accuracy of information available for local health system decision making, allows evaluation of indicator accuracy and increases the accuracy of HMIS estimates. The combined estimates with a measure of error better informs health system professionals about their risks when using HMIS estimates, so they can reduce waste by making better decisions. Our results show that AT is an effective method ready for additional international assessment while also being used to provide affordable information to improve health services.

Community Empowerment Through Red Onion Cultivation with Polybags on 1 Ilir Urban Village, Palembang City

1 Ilir Urban Village is a village located on the Musi River edge. These Urban Village is quite broad, however underdeveloped area compared to other places in the city of Palembang. Many people live below the poverty line, lack green open space, and have inadequate educational facilities. Most of the population earns a living as laborers, while the women are ordinary housewives. To increase the income of homemakers in helping to improve the family's economy, we conduct training to increase community knowledge in red onion cultivation in polybags by utilizing a narrow yard of the house. The purpose of the activity is to provide motivation, knowledge, and skills to residents, especially housewives, by using the house's yard for onion cultivation to increase productivity and welfare. The methods used to achieve the objectives are surveys, counseling, and training the community on the use of yard land for onion cultivation in polybags and direct practice of red onion cultivation. Based on the process and results of the service that has been carried out, the training participants are very enthusiastic and understand and can carry out onion cultivation in polybags.

PERBANDINGAN METODE EXPONENTIAL SMOOTHING DAN ARIMA PADA PERAMALAN GARIS KEMISKINAN PROVINSI JAWA TENGAH

Forecasting is a technique that uses past data or historical data to determine something in the future. Forecasting methods with time series models consist of several methods, such as Double Exponential Smoothing (Holt method) and ARIMA. DES (Holt method) is a method that is used to predict time series data that has a trend pattern. ARIMA model combines AR and MA models with differencing order d. The poverty line is calculated by finding the total cost of all the essential resources that an average human adult consumes in one year. The lack of poverty reduction in an area is the lack of information about poverty. The selection of the forecasting method was made by considering several things. The Exponential Smoothing method was chosen because this method was able to predict time series financial data well and revise prediction errors. While the ARIMA method is better for short-term prediction, it can predict values that are difficult to explain by economic theory and are efficient in predicting time series financial data. There is still little research on comparing time series data for forecasting methods. Researchers are interested in comparing the Exponential Smoothing and ARIMA methods in implementing poverty line forecasting in Central Java. The two methods are compared by determining the best method for forecasting the poverty line in Central Java. The best forecasting method can be seen from the MAPE value of each method

Local Policy Discretion in Social Welfare: Explaining Subnational Variations in China's De Facto Urban Poverty Line

How do subnational agents exercise policy discretion in the social welfare sphere? To what extent do they do so as a result of various bureaucratic and fiscal incentives? The literature has documented several explanatory frameworks in the context of China that predominantly focus on the realm of developmental policies. Owing to the salient characteristics of the social policy arena, local adaptation of centrally designed policies may operate on distinctive logics. This study synthesizes the recent scholarship on subnational social policymaking and explains the significant interregional disparities in China's de facto urban poverty line – the eligibility standard of the urban minimum livelihood guarantee scheme, or dibao. Five research hypotheses are formulated for empirical examination: fiscal power effect, population effect, fiscal dependency effect, province effect and neighbour effect. Quantitative analysis of provincial-level panel data largely endorses the hypotheses. The remarkable subnational variations in dibao standards are explained by a salient constellation of fiscal and political factors that are embedded within the country's complex intergovernmental relations and fiscal arrangements. Both a race-to-the-top and a race-to-the-bottom may be fostered by distinctive mechanisms. The unique role of provincial governments as intermediary agents within China's political apparatus is illuminated in the social policy arena.

Poverty as a global problem of humankind

Subject. This article considers poverty as a global economic problem and explores its level in the countries of the world. Objectives. The article aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the level of poverty of the population in the countries of the world according to international and national criteria. Methods. For the study, we applied a comprehensive approach using comparison, analysis and synthesis, and the normalized estimate method. Results. A comprehensive study of poverty shows that the phenomenon of poverty is inherent in all economies of the world, and the situation of the poor is deteriorating and complicated by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions. The activities of international organizations to overcome poverty bring good results – the percentage of the population in the countries of the world beyond the threshold of extreme poverty is decreasing. Overcoming the problem of hunger and extreme poverty, countries face a new challenge, namely, ensuring a decent standard of living and establishing adequate national criteria for the poverty line.