The Shared Economy

The theory of marginal utility describes how consumers choose between goods. However, marginal utility has also found application in a wide range of weightier subjects. For example, marginal utility can be used in the allocation of resources in healthcare programmes. This paper posits that marginal utility is also applicable in the allocation of the national income among corporations, government, and households. Using data from the UK Office for National Statistics, this paper finds that for the most part of the decade, from 2009 to 2018, household disposable income fell short of what might be considered an optimal share of the national income.

Determinants of household over-indebtedness in South Africa

The proportion of household debt to disposable income is high in South Africa, signifying over-indebtedness which reduces the welfare of households. High debt leads to low savings, negatively impacting economic growth. This paper presents the determinants of household debt distress in South Africa and comes up with recommendations on how to manage household debt. The objectives are achieved through systematic literature review. Findings suggest that households are over-indebted because of several reasons. They lack necessary finance management skills and proper protection from predatory practices by lenders. Household indebtedness is also caused by the rising cost of living which leads to low household disposable income and savings, high interest rates, misfortunes and adverse trigger events and income inequalities. Education, age and being a recipient of a social grant all have positive and negative impacts on household indebtedness. Findings also suggest that female-headed households, renting households, large households, urban based households, households with a mortgage and households where the head is not working, is sick or disabled are more likely to be over-indebted. A framework is presented with recommendations on how household debt can be effectively managed in South Africa. Upskilling in finance management can help improve the way households manage their finances. Moneylending institutions should avoid predatory lending and disclose vital information affecting household borrowing decisions. A downward review of interest rates on debt is necessary with a balance between profitability and sustainability of loan repayments. Consumption insurance on loans is recommended to cushion debt distressed households.

Energy costs will squeeze Greek firms’ profitability

Significance During the coming winter months October-March, rising electricity and heating prices will reduce household disposable income, dampening domestic demand. The low profitability of Greek corporates makes them particularly vulnerable to an additional squeeze on profit margins due to rising energy costs. Impacts The European energy crisis could dampen popular support for greater use of renewable energy sources. Privatisation of DEPA Commercial might be put on hold to offer the government more control over price setting. New investments in gas storage facilities could hedge against future supply shocks. The rising prices of fertilisers will push up costs in agriculture and could undermine future output if less fertiliser is used.

How the shadow economy can be detected in National Accounts

The paper examines how indicators of the shadow economy correspond to the National Accounts values. More precisely, we focus on household accounts assuming that the shadow economy should be visible in the difference between household income and consumption, as household (disposable) income is grossly underreported. Household consumption seems therefore to be a more accurate indicator in this context, as most shadow economy income is eventually spent on consumption. This implies that household savings figures should be negatively related to the values of the shadow economy; consequently, if the values relating to the shadow economy are high, savings should be low, or even negative, and vice versa. We verify this hypothesis using European cross-country data covering the years 1991–2017 with the application of MIMIC model calculations as a point of reference. The estimation results lend very little support to the hypothesis assuming that the shadow economy depresses household savings, even though we can otherwise explain comparatively well the cross-country variation in household savings and consumption growth rates.

The fall in income inequality during COVID-19 in four European countries

We here use panel data from the COME-HERE survey to track income inequality during COVID-19 in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Relative inequality in equivalent household disposable income among individuals changed in a hump-shaped way between January 2020 and January 2021, with an initial rise from January to May 2020 being more than reversed by September 2020. Absolute inequality also fell over this period. Due to the pandemic some households lost more than others, and government compensation schemes were targeted towards the poorest, implying that on average income differences decreased. Generalized Lorenz domination reveals that these distributive changes reduced welfare in Italy.

Sociodemographic factors associated with the first administration of anti-seizure medication in patients with focal epilepsy in Western China

Background Epilepsy is a severe chronic neurologic disease with a prevalence of 0.7% worldwide; anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are the mainstay of epilepsy treatment. The effects of sociodemographic factors on the characteristics of initial treatment in patients with newly diagnosed focal epilepsy in Western China are unknown. This study was conducted to explore sociodemographic factors associated with initial treatment characteristics. Methods Patients with focal epilepsy on continuous ASM treatment who visited to our epilepsy center at Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital between January 2018 and December 2019 were recruited. Data on initial treatment status and sociodemographic variables were obtained from the patients with a questionnaire designed by our researchers. We examined whether sociodemographic factors were associated with epileptic patients’ access to neurologists and prescriptions of individual ASMs. Results A total of 569 patients completed this study. We found that patients with a higher education level, aged < 16 years, and with a higher household disposable income were more likely to receive treatment from a neurologist than their counterparts. Patients with a lower personal income level and who were treated at a junior hospital were more likely to receive prescriptions for carbamazepine, and those who were younger than 16 years were less likely to receive prescriptions for carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine. Patients with a higher education level, with a higher household disposable income level, who were younger than 16 years, and who were treated at a senior hospital were more likely to receive prescriptions for levetiracetam than their counterparts. Adult, female patients with focal epilepsy treated at a senior hospital were more likely to receive prescriptions for lamotrigine. Conclusions This observation suggests that sociodemographic characteristics are associated with access to neurologists and prescriptions of individual antiepileptic drugs. These data may help public health officials establish guidelines for doctors and distribute resources according to the needs of different patient groups.

Developing a framework for managing household debt The case of South Africa

The proportion of household debt to disposable income is very high in South Africa, signifying over-indebtedness which reduces the welfare of households and ultimately reduces economic growth. This paper presents the determinants of the household debt in South Africa and comes up with a framework of recommendations on how to manage household debt. The objectives are achieved through systematic literature review, document analysis and secondary data analysis. Our findings suggest that households are over-indebted because they lack the necessary finance management skills, lack proper protection from the predatory practices by lenders and fail to obtain disclosure of vital information pertaining credit which affects their decision to borrow. Household indebtedness is also caused by the rising cost of living and low household disposable income, low household savings, high interest rates, misfortunes or adverse trigger events and living in urban areas. Education, age and being a recipient of a social grant all have positive and negative impacts on household indebtedness. Findings also suggest that female-headed households, renting households, large households, households with a mortgage and households where head is not working, is sick or disabled are more likely to be over-indebted. We develop a framework with recommendations for managing household debt in South Africa. We recommend upskilling to help households to effectively manage their finances and take responsibility. Moneylending institutions are encouraged to disclose vital information pertaining credit which affects decision to borrow by households and to avoid predatory lending. We also recommend a review of interest rates on debt and availability of consumption insurance on all loans to cover for cases when the household faces unforeseen circumstances affecting repayment.

Determinants of Rice Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Swampy Wetlands in Ghana’s Northern and Ashanti Regions

In light of the increased importance of sustainability issues in the world economy, this study calculates the economic value of the swampy wetlands in Ghana’s Northern and Ashanti region, based on rice farmers’ and community members’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the sustainable use of the wetlands. It also examines the factors influencing this WTP. Data from 160 rice farmers and community members in four districts were collected via a questionnaire survey. A logistic regression model was employed to determine the significance of the influencing factors, while the respondents’ WTP was estimated by the contingent valuation method. The results revealed that 89.4% of the respondents were willing to contribute about 54.90–213.11 USD/household/ha/year and an aggregated 0.298–1.158 million USD/year to ensure swampy wetland sustainability. On an average, they were willing to pay 180.17 USD/household/ha/year and an aggregated 0.979 million USD/year. Gender, household size, household disposable income, and knowledge of the importance of wetlands were found to be the determinants of WTP. We recommend that farmers and the public be educated on wetland ecosystems and family planning. In addition, reducing household size and providing rice farmers with adequate irrigation and postharvest facilities are worthwhile conservation measures.

The role of automatic stabilizers and emergency tax–benefit policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador

This paper makes use of tax–benefit microsimulation techniques to quantify the distributional effects of COVID-19 in Ecuador and the role of tax–benefit policies in mitigating the immediate impact of the economic shocks. Our results show a dramatic increase in income poverty and inequality between December 2019 and June 2020. The poverty rate, measured with the national poverty line, goes up from 25.7 to 58.2 per cent over this period and extreme poverty increases from 9.2 to 38.6 per cent. Inequality measured by the Gini coefficient increases substantially from 0.461 to 0.592. On average, household disposable income drops by 41 per cent. The new Family Protection Grant provides income protection for the poorest income decile. However, overall tax–benefit policies do little to mitigate the losses in household incomes due to the pandemic.