Labor market and crisis: an analysis of sectoral segmentation in Brazilian rural

The article aims to analyze which factors contributed to the inequality across income distribution of Brazilian workers in rural areas, occupied in agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Quantile regression with sample selection bias correction and counterfactual decomposition of income by quantiles were applied, using the microdata from the National Continuous Household Survey (PNAD-C) for the years 2012 and 2019. The results showed that there is income inequality favorable to workers occupied in non-agricultural activities concerning agricultural activities, which is intensive for those with lower incomes, as well as for those with high incomes. The presence of sectorial segmentation was also confirmed, of which the largest portion in 2012 corresponds to the labor market duality. However in 2019, in lower quantiles the segmentation obtained greater explanatory power for the difference in income between the groups, while in higher quantiles the theory of human capital prevailed.

The distribution of wealth in Spain and the USA: the role of socioeconomic factors

The literature has typically found that the distribution of socioeconomic factors like education, labor status and income does not account for the remarkable wealth inequality disparities between countries. As a result, their different institutions and other latent factors receive all the credit. Here, we propose to focus on one type of wealth inequality, the inequality of opportunities (IOp) in wealth: the share of overall wealth inequality explained by circumstances like inheritances and parental education. By means of a counterfactual decomposition method, we find that imposing the distribution of socioeconomic factors of the USA into Spain has little effect on total, financial and real estate wealth inequality. On the contrary, these factors play an important role when wealth IOp is considered. A Shapley value decomposition shows that the distribution of education and labor status in the USA consistently increase wealth IOp when imposed into Spain, whereas the opposite effect is found for the distribution of income.

Deciphering disparities in childhood stunting in an underdeveloped state of India: an investigation applying the unconditional quantile regression method

Background Unacceptably high rate of childhood stunting for decades remained a puzzle in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Despite various programmatic interventions, nearly half of the under-five children (numerically about 10 million) are still stunted in this resource-constrained state. Data and methods Using four successive rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data spread over more than two decades and by employing unconditional quantile regressions and counterfactual decomposition (QR-CD), the present study aims to assess effects of various endowments as well as returns to those endowments in disparities in childhood stunting over the period. Results The results show that although the child’s height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) disparity largely accounted for differing levels of endowments during the earlier decades, in the later periods, inadequate access to the benefits from various development programmes was also found responsible for HAZ disparities. Moreover, effects of endowments and their returns varied across quantiles. We argue that apart from equalizing endowments, ensuring adequate access to different nutrition-centric programmes is essential to lessen the burden of childhood stunting. Conclusion The state must focus on intersectoral convergence of different schemes in the form of state nutrition mission, and, strengthen nutrition-centric policy processes and their political underpinnings to harness better dividend.

Deciphering Disparities in Childhood Stunting in an Underdeveloped State of India: An Investigation Applying the Unconditional Quantile Regression Method

BackgroundUnacceptably high rate of childhood stunting for decades remained a puzzle in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Despite various programmatic interventions, nearly half of the under-five children (numerically about 10 million) are still stunted in this resource-constrained state. Data and MethodsUsing four successive rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data spread over more than two decades and by employing quantile regressions and counterfactual decomposition (QR-CD), the present study aims to assess effects of various endowments as well as returns to those endowments in disparities in childhood stunting over the period. Results The results show that although the child’s height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) disparity largely accounted for differing levels of endowments during the earlier decades, in the later periods, inadequate access to the benefits from various development programmes was also found responsible for HAZ disparities. Moreover, effects of endowments and their returns varied across quantiles. We argue that apart from equalizing endowments, ensuring adequate access to different nutrition-centric programmes is essential to lessen the burden of childhood stunting. ConclusionThe state must focus on intersectoral convergence of different schemes in the form of state nutrition mission, and, strengthen nutrition-centric policy processes and their political underpinnings to harness better dividend.

Deciphering Disparities in Childhood Stunting in an Underdeveloped State in India: an Investigation Applying the Unconditional Quantile Regression Method

BackgroundUnacceptably high rate of childhood stunting for decades remained a puzzle in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Despite various programmatic interventions, nearly half of the under-five children (numerically about 10 million) are still stunted in this resource-constrained state. Data and MethodsUsing four successive rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data spread over more than two decades and by employing quantile regressions and counterfactual decomposition (QR-CD), the present study aims to assess effects of various endowments as well as returns to those endowments in disparities in childhood stunting over the period. Results The results show that although child’s height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) disparity was largely accounted for differing levels of endowments during earlier decade, in the later periods, inadequate access to the benefits from various development programmes was also found responsible for HAZ disparities. Moreover, effects of endowments and their returns vary across quantiles. We argue that apart from equalizing endowments, ensuring adequate access to different nutrition-centric programmes are essential to lessen the burden of childhood stunting. ConclusionThe state must focus on intersectoral convergence of different schemes in the form of state nutrition mission, and, strengthen nutrition-centric policy processes and their political underpinnings to harness better dividend.

An Environmental Justice Assessment of the Waste Treatment Facilities in Shanghai: Incorporating Counterfactual Decomposition into the Hedonic Price Model

Environmental justice (EJ) has become an increasingly significant issue for environmental management and has thus attracted increasing government and public attention. Although some studies have used techniques of proximity based on geographical information systems to assess EJ, their research is limited to individual or household data. Unlike the conventional hedonic price model (HPM) examining the effects of environmental features on housing rent, this article incorporates counterfactual decomposition into the HPM to estimate the environmental pressure on different groups by comparing the externality effects of municipal solid waste treatment facilities (MSWTFs) on two separate groups of people. To explore whether and, if so, the extent to which, vulnerable groups of people are restricted to disproportionate impacts of hazardous environmental facilities, this research uses Shanghai as the study area to highlight specific locations and exemplify the environmental injustice between the rich and the poor. The results, which represent the relationship between environmental quality and property prices, indicate that environmental quality is a robust predictor of housing rent. Simultaneously, the results suggest that some people conform better to environmental pressure than do others. Thus, the environmental impact of MSWTFs on different populations should be considered, and compensation policies should be implemented for disadvantaged groups.

Endowments or Returns to Endowments or Both? Deciphering Disparities in Childhood Stunting in Bihar, India

Background Unacceptably high rate of childhood stunting for decades remained a puzzle in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Despite various programmatic interventions, nearly half of the under-five children (numerically about 10 million) are still stunted in this resource-constrained state. Data and Methods Using four successive rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data spread over more than two decades and by employing quantile regressions and counterfactual decomposition (QR-CD), the present study aims to assess effects of various endowments as well as returns to those endowments in disparities in childhood stunting over the period. Results The results show that although child’s height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) disparity was largely accounted for differing levels of endowments during earlier decade, in the later periods, inadequate access to the benefits from various development programmes was also found responsible for HAZ disparities. Moreover, effects of endowments and their returns vary across quantiles. We argue that apart from equalizing endowments, ensuring adequate access to different nutrition-centric programmes are essential to lessen the burden of childhood stunting. Conclusion The state must focus on intersectoral convergence of different schemes in the form of state nutrition mission, and, strengthen nutrition-centric policy processes and their political underpinnings to harness better dividend.

Endowments or Returns to Endowments or Both? Deciphering Disparities in Childhood Stunting in Bihar, India

Background Unacceptably high rate of childhood stunting for decades remained a puzzle in the Indian state of Bihar, located in the eastern part of the country. Despite various programmatic interventions, nearly half of the under-five children (numerically about 10 million) are still stunted in this resource-constrained state. Data and Methods Using four successive rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data spread over more than two decades and employing quantile regressions and counterfactual decomposition (QR-CD), the present study aims to assess effects of various endowments as well as returns to those endowments in disparities in childhood stunting over the period. Results The results show that although child’s height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) disparity was largely accounted for differing levels of endowments during earlier decade, in the later periods, inadequate access to the benefits from various development programmes was also found responsible for HAZ disparities. Moreover, effects of endowments and their returns vary across quantiles. We argue that apart from equalizing endowments, ensuring adequate access to different nutrition-centric programmes are essential to lessen the burden of childhood stunting. Conclusion The state must focus on intersectoral convergence of different schemes in the form of state nutrition mission, and, strengthen nutrition-centric policy processes and their political underpinnings to harness better dividend.