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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Sane Zuka

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of market-based approach to provision of housing to low-income households in urban Malawi.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of market-based approach to provision of housing to low-income households in urban Malawi.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted in Blantyre, Malawi, between 2019 and 2022 and used both quantitative (household survey) and qualitative (in-depth interviews and document study) methods of data collection. Interviews were conducted with key players and investors in the housing sector. Household survey data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, which allowed the generation of descriptive housing valuables, whereas qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis.

Findings

This paper demonstrates that, rather than ameliorating the housing problems facing low-income households, the market approach to provision of housing in Malawi has worsened the housing situation in the country. This is so because the market approach to the provision of housing in Malawi is not only enforcing the logic of capitalistic accumulation in the housing sector but also supporting mechanisms of exclusion based on economic stratification within the community.

Research limitations/implications

Completeness of data over time as there is no market data bank available in the country.

Practical implications

The findings from this study suggest that some degree of state intervention in addressing the housing problem in Malawi is required.

Social implications

The study findings suggest that a market approach to the provision of housing can increase social inequality as low-income households face challenges in accessing housing.

Originality/value

There is a paucity of research on the effects of the market approach on the provision of affordable housing to low-income households in Malawi. This paper assesses this important policy gap and provides significant policy directions.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 June 2023

Rafael Bakhtavoryan, Vardges Hovhannisyan and Desire Djidonou

This paper empirically investigates the demand for pastured eggs in the United States and evaluates the welfare consequences of Japan's egg import tariff reductions for the US…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper empirically investigates the demand for pastured eggs in the United States and evaluates the welfare consequences of Japan's egg import tariff reductions for the US consumers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using household-level Nielsen Homescan panel data, a fixed-effects Heckman two-stage sample selection model is estimated.

Findings

The estimation results ascertain the importance of a set of household socioeconomic characteristics, which are found to influence both the purchase probabilities and the consumption amounts associated with pastured eggs. In addition, demand for pastured eggs is estimated to be inelastic, and pastured eggs are found to be a normal good, more specifically a luxury.

Research limitations/implications

The dataset used in this study reflect purchases only for at-home consumption, lacking information on away-from-home purchases.

Originality/value

Building upon previous research, this study makes the following distinct contributions to the current literature. To the best of our knowledge, it constitutes the first study to empirically examine the demand for pastured eggs, using household-level panel data and an estimation model that not only allows for left-censoring but also controls for regional and time fixed effects. Second, the present study reflects a unique effort in analyzing the adverse welfare consequences of the increased egg prices in the United States brought by a reduction of Japanese import tariffs on US-supplied eggs, focusing specifically on pastured eggs.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 December 2023

Prabhat Kumar Rao and Arindam Biswas

This study aims to assess housing affordability and estimate demand using a hedonic regression model in the context of Lucknow city, India. This study assesses housing…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess housing affordability and estimate demand using a hedonic regression model in the context of Lucknow city, India. This study assesses housing affordability by considering various housing and household-related variables. This study focuses on the impoverished urban population, as they experience the most severe housing scarcity. This study’s primary objective is to understand the demand dynamics within the market comprehensively. An understanding of housing demand can be achieved through an examination of its characteristics and components. Individuals consider the implicit values associated with various components when deciding to purchase or rent a home. The components and characteristics have been obtained from variables relating to housing and households.

Design/methodology/approach

A socioeconomic survey was conducted for 450 households from slums in Lucknow city. Two-stage regression models were developed for this research paper. A hedonic price index was prepared for the first model to understand the relationship between housing expenditure and various housing characteristics. The housing characteristics considered for the hedonic model are dwelling unit size, typology, condition, amenities and infrastructure. In the second stage, a regression model is created between household characteristics. The household characteristics considered for the demand estimation model are household size, age, education, social category, income, nonhousing expenditure, migration and overcrowding.

Findings

Based on the findings of regression model results, it is evident that the hedonic model is an effective tool for the estimation of housing affordability and housing demand for urban poor. Various housing and household-related variables affect housing expenditure positively or negatively. The two-stage hedonic regression model can define willingness to pay for a particular set of housing with various attributes of a particular household. The results show the significance of dwelling unit size, quality and amenities (R2 > 0.9, p < 0.05) for rent/imputed rent. The demand function shows that income has a direct effect, whereas other variables have mixed effects.

Research limitations/implications

This study is case-specific and uses a data set generated from a primary survey. Although household surveys for a large sample size are resource-intensive exercises, they provide an opportunity to exploit microdata for a better understanding of the complex housing situation in slums.

Practical implications

All the stakeholders can use the findings to create an effective housing policy. The variables that are statistically significant and have a positive relationship with housing costs should be deliberated upon to provide the basic standard of living for the urban poor. The formulation of policies should duly include the housing preferences of the economically disadvantaged population residing in slum areas.

Originality/value

This paper uses primary survey data (collected by the authors) to assess housing affordability for the urban poor of Lucknow city. It makes the results of the study credible and useful for further applications.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 February 2023

Xiaojun Wu and Huijia Chang

This paper aims to explore the role of digital inclusive finance (DIF) in influencing household tourism consumption, whether this influence differs between households with…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the role of digital inclusive finance (DIF) in influencing household tourism consumption, whether this influence differs between households with different characteristics and determining the intermediate mechanisms that influence the relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual framework of this study was designed on the basis of the research on DIF in residential consumption practices. The China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) and the Peking University DIF Index were used in the study, which included four years of unbalanced panel data from 25 provinces in China. A fixed effects model was used to validate the conceptual framework and hypothesis testing.

Findings

Both hypothesis paths proposed in this study were supported. Results of this study show that DIF has a significant contribution to household tourism consumption and shows a positive impact in terms of both breadth of coverage and depth of use, and that Internet usage is an important mediating mechanism for DIF to promote household tourism consumption. Thus, the use of DIF as a tool can have a positive impact on tourism consumption.

Research limitations/implications

Results of this study will help researchers and tourism businesses understand the relationship and mechanisms at play between DIF and household tourism consumption and leverage financial tools to drive tourism revival. However, the lack of third-country data for comparative analysis may render the conclusions inapplicable to every economy.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine the relationship between DIF and household tourism consumption, using an “individual + time + region” fixed effects model to conduct specific empirical tests.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Shiyan Lou, Junhao Wang, Yi Ting Zeng and Chun Cheong Fong

With the rapid development of the economy in China, the wealth of residents has continued to increase, and most families have gradually been aware of the importance of commercial…

Abstract

Purpose

With the rapid development of the economy in China, the wealth of residents has continued to increase, and most families have gradually been aware of the importance of commercial insurance. The family purchase of insurance in China was still not optimistic. Many scholars focus on wealth allocation, but the attention to the commercial insurance market was still less. Based on previous research studies, this study aims to investigate the impact of education and financial literacy on the commercial insurance purchase in China.

Design/methodology/approach

China Household Finance Survey data was used to investigate the purchase of commercial insurance in Mainland Chinese families. Factor analysis was used to construct financial literacy, and the education data were combined to analyze the commercial insurance purchase using the Probit model and the Tobit model. Finally, the contributions of education and financial literacy to commercial insurance purchases were analyzed.

Findings

Both education and financial literacy exerted a positive impact on the purchase of commercial insurance in China. Individual characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, risk attitude, purchase of social insurance and consultation with a financial advisor possessed significant effects; household factors like household size and assets, macro factors such as the density of financial institutions and the density of financial industry staff, and regional factors as local unemployment rate excreted influences on the commercial insurance purchase.

Originality/value

Based on the current economic development in China, this study investigated and expressed opinions on the public and insurance companies regarding commercial insurance purchases. It accentuated financial literacy and education as factors that facilitated commercial insurance development.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 February 2024

Sarah Khalaf

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of conscientiousness on entrepreneurship over and above the impact of other factors that are associated with entrepreneurship…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of conscientiousness on entrepreneurship over and above the impact of other factors that are associated with entrepreneurship in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The design uses household responses from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) biennial survey that follows the same heads of households over time to measure their conscientiousness, businesses owned and other demographic and financial characteristics. Ordinary least squares (OLS), Probit and Poisson regression techniques are applied at the head of household and state level to examine the relationship.

Findings

The results show heads of households’ conscientiousness positively relating to the average number of businesses owned, beyond other Big Five traits and the impact of other characteristics. A one-standard deviation increase in conscientiousness is significantly associated with a 0.012 increase in the number of businesses owned. This association is robust to alternative regression specifications and variable measurements.

Originality/value

The results are original to the finance literature, complementing studies by linking intrinsic head of household-level traits to entrepreneurship while controlling for external financial and demographic factors. The study also attempts to externally validate previous findings using aggregate-level outcomes. The data and setting used to measure personality traits as well as entrepreneurial outcomes are original to the entrepreneurship literature, validating previous findings.

Details

Review of Behavioral Finance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1940-5979

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 January 2024

Sayamol Charoenratana and Samridhi Kharel

As climate change increasingly affects rural food production, there is an urgent need to adopt agricultural adaptation strategies. Because the agricultural sector in Nepal is one…

Abstract

Purpose

As climate change increasingly affects rural food production, there is an urgent need to adopt agricultural adaptation strategies. Because the agricultural sector in Nepal is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, the adaptation strategies of household farmers in rural areas are crucial. This study aims to address the impacts of agricultural climate change adaptation strategies in Nepal. The research empirically analyzed climate hazards, adaptation strategies and local adaptation plans in Mangalsen Municipality, Achham District, Sudurpashchim Province, Nepal.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a purposive sampling of household lists, categorized as resource-rich, resource-poor and intermediate households. The analysis used primary data from 110 household surveys conducted among six focus groups and 30 informants were selected for interviews through purposive random sampling.

Findings

Climate change significantly impacts rainfall patterns and temperature, decreasing agriculture productivity and increasing household vulnerability. To overcome these negative impacts, it is crucial to implement measures such as efficient management of farms and livestock. A comprehensive analysis of Nepalese farmers' adaptation strategies to climate change has been conducted, revealing important insights into their coping mechanisms. By examining the correlation between farmers' strategies and the role of the local government, practical policies can be developed for farmers at the local level.

Originality/value

This study represents a significant breakthrough in the authors' understanding of this issue within the context of Nepal. It has been conclusively demonstrated that securing land tenure or land security and adopting appropriate agricultural methods, such as agroforestry, can be instrumental in enabling Nepalese households to cope with the effects of climate change effectively.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 December 2023

Keunbae Ahn, Gerhard Hambusch, Kihoon Hong and Marco Navone

Throughout the 21st century, US households have experienced unprecedented levels of leverage. This dynamic has been exacerbated by income shortfalls during the COVID-19 crisis…

Abstract

Purpose

Throughout the 21st century, US households have experienced unprecedented levels of leverage. This dynamic has been exacerbated by income shortfalls during the COVID-19 crisis. Leveraging and deleveraging decisions affect household consumption. This study investigates the effect of the dynamics of household leverage and consumption on the stock market.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors explore the relation between household leverage and consumption in the context of the consumption capital asset pricing model (CCAPM). The authors test the model's implication that leverage has a negative risk premium by transforming the asset pricing restriction into an unconditional linear factor model and estimate the model using the general method of moments procedure. The authors run time-series regressions to estimate individual stocks' exposures to leverage, and cross-sectional regressions to investigate the leverage risk premium.

Findings

The authors show that shocks to household debt have strong and lasting effects on consumption growth. The authors extend the CCAPM to accommodate this effect and find, using various test assets, a negative risk premium associated with household deleveraging. Looking at individual stocks the authors show that the deleveraging risk premium is not explained by well-known risk factors.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on the role of leverage in economics and finance by establishing a relation between household leverage and spending decisions. The authors provide novel evidence that households' leveraging and deleveraging decisions can be a fundamental and influential force in determining asset prices. Further, this paper argues that household leverage might explain the small, persistent, and predictable component in consumption growth hypothesised in the long-run risk asset pricing literature.

Details

International Journal of Managerial Finance, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1743-9132

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2023

Atika Ahmad Kemal and Mahmood Hussain Shah

While the potential for digital innovation (DI) to transform organizational practices is widely acknowledged in the information systems (IS) literature, there is very limited…

Abstract

Purpose

While the potential for digital innovation (DI) to transform organizational practices is widely acknowledged in the information systems (IS) literature, there is very limited understanding on the socio-political nature of institutional interactions that determine DI and affect organizational practices in social cash organizations. Drawing on the neo-institutionalist vision, the purpose of the study is to examine the unique set of institutional exchanges that influence the transition to digital social cash payments that give rise to new institutional arrangements in social cash organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on an in-depth case study of a government social cash organization in Pakistan. Qualitative data were collected using 30 semi-structured interviews from key organizational members and stakeholders.

Findings

The results suggest that DI is determined by the novel intersections between the coercive (techno-economic, regulatory), normative (socio-organizational), mimetic (international) and covert power (political) forces. Hence, DI is not a technologically deterministic output, but rather a complex socio-political process enacted through dialogue, negotiation and conflict between institutional actors. Technology is socially embedded through the process of institutionalization that is coupled by the deinstitutionalization of established organizational practices for progressive transformation.

Research limitations/implications

The research has implications for government social cash organizations especially in the Global South. Empirically, the authors gained rare access to, and support from a government-backed social cash organization in Pakistan (an understudied country in the Global South), which made the data and the consequent analyses even invaluable. This made the empirical contribution within this geographical setting even more worthy, since this case study has received little attention from indigenous scholars in the past. The empirical findings showcased a unique set of contextual factors that were subject to BISP and interpreted through an account of socio-cultural sensitivities.

Practical implications

The paper provides practical implications for policymakers and practitioners, emphasizing the need to address institutional challenges, including covert power, during the implementation of digitalization projects in the public sector. The paper has certain potential for inspiring future e-government related (or public sector focused) studies. The paper may guide both private and government policy-makers and practitioners in presenting how to overcome certain institutional challenges while planning and implementing large scale multi-stakeholder digitization projects in similar country contexts. So while there is scope of linking the digitization of public sector organizations to anti-corruption measures in other Global South countries, the paper may not be that straightforward with the private sector involvement.

Social implications

The paper offers rich social insights on the institutional interchanges that occur between the social actors for the innovation of technology. Especially, the paper highlights the social-embeddedness nature of technology that underpins the institutionalization of new organizational practices. These have implications on how DI is viewed as a socio-political process of change.

Originality/value

This study contributes to neo-institutional theory by theorizing covert power as a political force that complements the neo-institutional framework. This force is subtle but also resistive for some political actors as the force shifts the equilibrium of power between different institutional actors. Furthermore, the paper presents the social and practical implications that guide policymakers and practitioners by taking into consideration the unique institutional challenges, such as covert power, while implementing large scale digital projects in the social cash sector.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2023

Digvijay Singh Negi, Anjani Kumar, Pratap Singh Birthal and Gaurav Tripathi

This paper aims at understanding the causes of low adoption of hybrid rice technology. The paper also assesses the impact of adoption of hybrids and modern varieties on crop…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims at understanding the causes of low adoption of hybrid rice technology. The paper also assesses the impact of adoption of hybrids and modern varieties on crop yield, vis-à-vis the old or traditional varieties.

Design/methodology/approach

Using unit-level data from a large-scale survey of farm households (19,877 paddy cultivators), the authors applied multi-nomial regression method to understand the factors for adoption of hybrid rice and instrumental variable method of regression to estimate its impact.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that in India, hybrid rice is often grown on relatively poor soils, resulting in greater irrigation costs and for other inputs, such as fertilizers. Further, farmers' poor access to information on the traits of hybrid rice and the associated agronomic practices, as well as poor access to financial resources, hampers efforts to scale up its adoption. More importantly, the findings reveal that the relative yield advantage of hybrids over open-pollinated modern varieties is not large enough to incentivize the rapid adoption of hybrid rice technology.

Research limitations/implications

Given the higher cost of hybrids than the inbred varieties, enhancing paddy cultivators' access to financial resources can accelerate the adoption of hybrid rice in India.

Originality/value

The study is based on unit level data from a large-scale, nationally representative survey of farm households, comprising a sample of 19,877 paddy cultivators, spread across states in India.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000