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1 – 10 of 94Benjian Wu, Linyi Niu, Ruiqi Tan and Haibo Zhu
This study explores whether targeted microcredit can effectively alleviate households’ multidimensional relative poverty (MdRP) in rural China in the new era following the poverty…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores whether targeted microcredit can effectively alleviate households’ multidimensional relative poverty (MdRP) in rural China in the new era following the poverty elimination campaign and discusses it from a gendered perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a fixed-effects model, propensity score matching (PSM) and two-stage instrumental variable method to two-period panel data collected from 611 households in rural western China in 2018 and 2021 to explore the effects, mechanisms and heterogenous performance of targeted microcredit on households’ MdRP in the new era.
Findings
(i) Targeted microcredit can alleviate MdRP among rural households in the new era, mainly by reducing income and opportunity inequality. (ii) Targeted microcredit can promote women’s empowerment, mainly by enhancing their social participation, thereby helping alleviate households’ MdRP. The effect of the targeted microcredit on MdRP is more significant in medium-educated women households and non-left-behind women households. (iii) The MdRP alleviation effect is stronger in villages with a high degree of digitalization.
Research limitations/implications
Learn from the experience of targeted microcredit. Accurately identify poor groups and integrate loan design into financial health and women empowerment. Particularly, pay attention to less-educated and left-behind women households and strengthen coordination between targeted microcredit and digital village strategies.
Originality/value
This study clarifies the effect of targeted microcredit on women’s empowerment and households’ MdRP alleviation in the new era. It also explores its various effects on households with different female characteristics and regional digitalization levels, providing ideas for optimizing microcredit.
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This research investigates the Islamic banks’ intermediation role (e.g. branches and deposits) in financing. It also examines how financing contributes to the regions' economic…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates the Islamic banks’ intermediation role (e.g. branches and deposits) in financing. It also examines how financing contributes to the regions' economic growth and poverty alleviation as a predictor and mediator variable.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 297 observations were extracted from 33 Indonesian districts and 14 Islamic banks during the period 2012–2020. Fixed-effect regression analysis was used to examine variable’s interactions.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that Islamic banks have adopted a channelling role towards redistributing capital from lender to borrower. Besides, there are crucial roles in developing economies and reducing poverty at the district level. This study also reinforces the critical role of financing in mediating the relationship between branches and deposits as predictor variables and GDP and poverty as outcome variables.
Research limitations/implications
The current study was limited to Indonesian Islamic banks and the district’s perspective. Future research needs to cover sub-districts and other poverty measurements (e.g. human education and development perspectives), including conventional and Islamic banks. It can help practitioners, regulators and researchers observe the dynamic behaviour of the banking sector to understand its role in the economic and social fields.
Practical implications
Bank managers and regulators should promote branches, deposits and financing. It also enlightens people about the essential role of Islamic banks and their fundamental operations in business and economics.
Originality/value
This study contributes to economic literature, bank managers and local governments' decision-making processes by developing and testing an economic growth and poverty model.
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Hauwah K.K. Abdulkareem, Sodiq Olaiwola Jimoh and Olatunji M. Shasi
This study examines the roles of poverty reduction and social inclusion as socioeconomic factors in achieving sustainable development (SD) in Nigeria from 1970 to 2019.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the roles of poverty reduction and social inclusion as socioeconomic factors in achieving sustainable development (SD) in Nigeria from 1970 to 2019.
Design/methodology/approach
Vector error correction model (VECM) is adopted as the analytical technique. Three groups of factors are employed when determining SD: economic (per capital gross domestic product [GDP] and the inflow of foreign direct investment [FDI]), social (life expectancy, school enrollment, poverty and the proportion of women in parliament) and environmental (CO2 emission and natural resource endowment).
Findings
The findings reveal that the economic factors (GDP per capita and the inflow of FDI to the GDP ratio) and two of the social determinants (life expectancy and school enrollment) have a positive effect on SD while the remaining two social determinants (poverty gap and the proportion of women in parliament) and the environmental determinants (CO2 emission and natural resource endowment) have a negative influence on SD in Nigeria during the period under study.
Originality/value
First, this study integrates social inclusion into the poverty–SD nexus in the same study framework for a thorough analysis given that social inclusion has been identified as one of the leading variables affecting sustainability. Second, this study fills a gap in the literature by accounting for economic, social and environmental factors that influence SD, as opposed to the majority of existing studies that only employed environmental variables when examining the relationship between poverty and sustainability.
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Jiaxin Wu, Jigang Zhang and Hongjuan Yang
This study aims to construct an evaluation system for farmers’ livelihood capital in minority areas and evaluate the impact of relocation in response to climate change on farmers’…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to construct an evaluation system for farmers’ livelihood capital in minority areas and evaluate the impact of relocation in response to climate change on farmers’ livelihood capital.
Design/methodology/approach
According to the characteristics of Yunnan minority areas, the livelihood capital of farmers in minority areas is divided into natural, physical, financial, social, human and cultural capital. The improved livelihood capital evaluation system measures farmers’ livelihood capital from 2015 to 2021. The net impact of relocation on farmers’ livelihood capital was separated using propensity score matching and the difference-in-difference (PSM-DID) method.
Findings
The shortage of livelihood capital makes it difficult for farmers to resist climate change, and the negative impacts of climate change further aggravate their livelihood vulnerability and reduce their livelihood capital. Relocation has dramatically increased the livelihood capital of farmers living in areas with poor natural conditions by 15.67% and has enhanced their ability to cope with climate change and realise sustainable livelihoods.
Originality/value
An improved livelihood capital evaluation system is constructed to realise the future localisation and development of livelihood capital research. The PSM-DID method was used to overcome endogeneity problems and sample selection bias of the policy evaluation methods. This study provides new ideas for academic research and policy formulation by integrating climate change, poverty governance and sustainable livelihoods.
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Mustapha Immurana, Kwame Godsway Kisseih, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Muniru Azuug, Ayisha Mohammed and Toby Joseph Mathew Kizhakkekara
Bipolar and depression disorders are some of the most common mental health disorders affecting millions of people in low-and middle-income countries, including those in Africa…
Abstract
Purpose
Bipolar and depression disorders are some of the most common mental health disorders affecting millions of people in low-and middle-income countries, including those in Africa. These disorders are therefore major contributors to the burden of diseases and disability. While an enhancement in income is seen as a major approach towards reducing the burden of these disorders, empirical evidence to support this view in the African context is lacking. This study therefore aims to examine the effect of per capita income growth on bipolar and depression disorders across African countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data from secondary sources comprising 42 African countries over the period, 2002–2019, to achieve its objective. The prevalence of bipolar and major depressive disorders (depression) are used as the dependent variables, while per capita income growth is used as the main independent variable. The system Generalised Method of Moments regression is used as the estimation technique.
Findings
In the baseline, the authors find per capita income growth to be associated with a reduction in the prevalence of bipolar (coefficient: −0.001, p < 0.01) and depression (coefficient: −0.001, p < 0.1) in the short-term. Similarly, in the long-term, per capita income growth is found to have negative association with the prevalence of bipolar (coefficient: −0.059, p < 0.01) and depression (coefficient: −0.035, p < 0.1). The results are similar after robustness checks.
Originality/value
This study attempts at providing the first empirical evidence of the effect of per capita income growth on bipolar and depression disorders across several African countries.
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Abasiama-Arit Aniche, Hannah Bundy and Katherine E. McKee
The Agents of Change program is a two-year, project-based learning program to develop Extension Professionals’ capacity to engage in Adaptive and Transformative Leadership. Its…
Abstract
Purpose
The Agents of Change program is a two-year, project-based learning program to develop Extension Professionals’ capacity to engage in Adaptive and Transformative Leadership. Its primary goal is to develop the capacity of Extension Professionals to engage in leadership to create more diverse, equitable, inclusive and just Extension programs and community change initiatives. This manuscript describes the program and an initial evaluation and results.
Findings
Results of an evaluation of the first year of the program indicate that regular training sessions and support are appropriate for leadership development and that Extension Professionals are using the learning, awareness and tools from this program to address challenges with Adaptive and Transformative Leadership elements. Also, Extension professionals demonstrated commitment to personal growth, community engagement and understanding of their multifaceted roles as change agents.
Originality/value
Participants are sharing resources from the program with colleagues, leading meetings differently, questioning the status quo and pushing others to try new ways forward.
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In this study, the impact of access to electricity on poverty reduction for Botswana is examined using the annual data from 1990 to 2021. The study was motivated by the need to…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the impact of access to electricity on poverty reduction for Botswana is examined using the annual data from 1990 to 2021. The study was motivated by the need to establish if access to electricity could be a panacea on poverty reduction in Botswana. Given that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals deadline is fast approaching, and Botswana being one of the signatories, is expected to end poverty in all its forms – Goal 1. Establishing the role that electrification plays in poverty alleviation, helps in refocusing Botswana’s poverty alleviation strategies on factors that have high impact on poverty. The main objective of this study, therefore, is to investigate the relationship between poverty alleviation and access to electricity in Botswana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the nature of the relations. Two poverty proxies were used in this study namely, household consumption expenditure and life expectancy.
Findings
The study found access to electricity to reduce poverty in the long run and in the short run, regardless of the poverty measure used. Thus, access to electricity plays an important role in poverty alleviation and Botswana is recommended to continue with the rural and urban electrification initiatives.
Originality/value
The study explores the impact of access to electricity on poverty reduction in Botswana, a departure from the current studies that examined the same relationship using energy consumption in general. This is on the back of increasing dependence of economic activities on electricity as a major source of energy.
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This study aims to apply the appreciative inquiry approach (AI) to develop a tourism strategy for poverty alleviation in marginalised communities. The focus is to provide…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to apply the appreciative inquiry approach (AI) to develop a tourism strategy for poverty alleviation in marginalised communities. The focus is to provide practical insights for leveraging tourism to drive positive socio-economic change for the impoverished, using Rosetta, a port city in Egypt with cultural and historical significance, as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative applied study uses the four-D phases of AI and thematic analysis to strategise tourism development in Rosetta. Through interviews, focus groups and field visits, the study identifies tourism potential, stakeholder aspirations and actionable strategies for sustainable development. The approach prioritises a bottom-up, community-centric and stakeholder-involved process, aiming for inclusive and equitable growth.
Findings
The study revealed Rosetta’s underutilised tourism potential, emphasising heritage tourism. Although tourism offers some economic benefits, its impact on alleviating poverty in Rosetta remains limited. A holistic strategy for tourism development in Rosetta is proposed for economic growth and poverty reduction, focusing on sustainable management, local empowerment, enhanced marketing, improved infrastructure and diversified tourism offerings.
Originality/value
While AI is not new in qualitative studies, the novelty of this study lies in its application to tourism planning for poverty alleviation in a marginalised community like Rosetta, introducing a comprehensive tourism strategy with an original framework applicable to comparable destinations. The study’s significance is emphasised by providing actionable strategies for policymakers, valuable insights for practitioners and enriching the discourse and methodology on pro-poor tourism for academics, representing a step towards filling the gap between theoretical concepts and practical strategies.
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