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Article
Publication date: 18 October 2018

Hellen Adzo Seshie-Nasser and Abena Daagye Oduro

Contrary to the gender gap in favour of men in entrepreneurial activity elsewhere, in Ghana more women own businesses. This paper aims to examine the correlates between women’s…

Abstract

Purpose

Contrary to the gender gap in favour of men in entrepreneurial activity elsewhere, in Ghana more women own businesses. This paper aims to examine the correlates between women’s business ownership and household welfare in Ghana and the socio-economic factors that affect business size.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a nationally representative survey data and ordinary least squares and IV regression methods.

Findings

The findings reveal that more businesses are owned by women and their business ownership is associated with improved welfare for the household, yet still there exists size gap in favour of men. The implication is that potentials exist for poverty reduction and economic growth if policy invests in the size of women businesses. Also, while unpaid work limits entrepreneurial activity for women, older children help to reduce the time constraint.

Originality/value

The study uses individual-level business ownership data on a developing country (Ghana) to examine the link between women entrepreneurship and household welfare. This is new in the literature, when individual level data is readily not available in developing countries.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2020

Jyotirmayee Satapathy, Narayan Chandra Nayak and Jitendra Mahakud

The welfare impacts of the food security on the beneficiaries can be understood from multiple dimensions. This paper, thus, examines the impact of the India's National Food…

Abstract

Purpose

The welfare impacts of the food security on the beneficiaries can be understood from multiple dimensions. This paper, thus, examines the impact of the India's National Food Security Act (NFSA) on the welfare of the beneficiary households from a multidimensional perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on a sample household survey covering three different states of India. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the states, districts and blocks. Sample villages and households were selected purposively. A total of 1,523 households comprising 1,069 beneficiary and 454 non-beneficiary households constituted the sample. In order to find out the impact of the programme on different dimensions of welfare, the endogenous switching regression model is employed as it helps control for any absence of randomization and the unobserved heterogeneity bias. Propensity score matching is also employed to supplement the results.

Findings

The substitution effect and income effect of the food subsidy policy combined improve the overall welfare of the households presented through the subjective measures of food consumption behaviour, income transfer and educational achievements. The bargaining effect of the food subsidy programme is reflected in the enhanced social status and women's empowerment. The food security programme seems to augment the food consumption of the beneficiaries as observed from the food consumption score.

Research limitations/implications

The food security policy has improved the overall welfare of the households and can play a major role in enhancing household welfare even further. The non-beneficiaries' welfare could have increased if they would have been included in the food security programme. The subjective assessment may, however, be subjected to personal biases, and there is also absence of a common reference point. Hence, the implications of the findings may be generalized with caution.

Originality/value

This study provides evidences of the impacts of food subsidy from a multidimensional standpoint considering both subjective and objective dimensions of household welfare.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 47 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2019

Li Li, Atsushi Tsunekawa, Ian MacLachlan, Guicai Li, Atsushi Koike and Yuanyuan Guo

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors (including conservation payments) that influence household decisions to participate in off-farm work and estimate the impact of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors (including conservation payments) that influence household decisions to participate in off-farm work and estimate the impact of participation on household welfare under the auspices of the Grain for Green (GfG) program.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used survey data from 225 farm households on the Loess Plateau and addressed the possible sample selection and endogeneity problems by employing a jointly estimated endogenous switching regression (ESR) model.

Findings

The findings of this paper are as follows: off-farm participation is positively related to households’ educational attainment and negatively related to their land resource endowment and the presence of children; participation in off-farm work exerts positive effects on household income and per capita household income, but negative effects on farm productivity; and conservation payments show no significant impact on off-farm participation, no significant impact on any of the three household welfare indicators for off-farm non-participant households, but a significantly negative impact for off-farm participant households.

Originality/value

This paper makes two contributions. First, the authors address the selection bias and endogeneity problem of GfG participating households by employing the ESR method and explicitly estimating the treatment effects of off-farm participation on their household welfare. Neglecting these problems leads to biased estimates and misleading policy implications. Second, this analysis stresses the important role of government in reducing market or institutional failure and other barriers that impede farmers’ efficient allocation choices instead of compensating households for conserving sloping land, shedding new light on the most effective policy options to achieve the program’s goals.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Handbook of Microsimulation Modelling
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-570-8

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2012

Charles Ackah and Denis Medvedev

Using a recently compiled dataset on migration and remittances in Ghana, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the determinants of an individual's likelihood to be an internal…

2417

Abstract

Purpose

Using a recently compiled dataset on migration and remittances in Ghana, the purpose of this paper is to estimate the determinants of an individual's likelihood to be an internal migrant and the relationship between internal migration and welfare.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses treatment regression techniques to assess the characteristics of Ghanaian migrants, the determinants of migration, and its impact on household welfare.

Findings

The paper finds that the likelihood to migrate is determined by a combination of individual (pull) and community‐level (push) characteristics. The probability of migration is higher for younger and more educated individuals, but communities with higher levels of literacy, higher rates of subsidized medical care, and better access to water and sanitation are less likely to produce migrants. It is found that households with migrants tend to be better off than similar households without migrants, even after controlling for the fact that households with migrants are a non‐random sample of Ghanaians. However, the positive relationship is only true for households with at least one migrant in urban areas.

Research limitations/implications

Clearly, if the authors had access to panel data, they would have been able to do something very nice and clean (on both theoretical and econometric grounds).

Originality/value

This paper adds to the Ghana migration literature by offering a novel empirical assessment of the characteristics of Ghanaian migrants, the determinants of migration, and its impact on household welfare by drawing on a recently‐assembled, nationally‐representative sample of Ghanaian households.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 39 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 July 2022

Talent Zwane, Mduduzi Biyase and September Rooderick

This study aims to investigate the impact of social grants on rural household welfare in a village located in one of the poorest provinces in South Africa – KwaZulu Natal…

4461

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of social grants on rural household welfare in a village located in one of the poorest provinces in South Africa – KwaZulu Natal Province. Actually, since the inception of democratic rule, the South African government has turned to social grants to address the issues of poverty, income inequality and to improve household welfare. The coverage of social grants has increased substantially with more than 17 million (about 34% of the population) South Africans being recipients of social grants. Despite having relatively well-developed social security system, poverty levels in rural parts of South Africa remains very high.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a cross-sectional households survey data conducted in Hlokozi village. A propensity score matching technique, which accounts for non-random selection of households, is applied.

Findings

The results reveal that social grants have a significant and positive impact on rural household welfare. Specifically, the nearest neighbour matching estimates suggest that the causal effect for social grants on household welfare is the region of about R5,830. Consistent with the nearest neighbouring method, the results obtained using the Kernel matching method show that social grants are significant in improving rural household welfare.

Originality/value

While there are a number of studies that have shed some light on how social grant reduces poverty in South Africa, there are some gaps. Firstly, only a few studies have interrogated the impact of social grants on household welfare. Secondly, most of these studies have relied on descriptive analysis, and finally, besides poverty being high in rural areas, research on the impact of social grants on rural household welfare remains thin.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2020

Danang Budi Santoso, Christopher Gan, Mohamad Dian Revindo and Natanael Waraney Gerald Massie

This study investigates the welfare impact of microfinance on rural households in Indonesia. Its finding will bridge the gap in the Indonesian microfinance literature.

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates the welfare impact of microfinance on rural households in Indonesia. Its finding will bridge the gap in the Indonesian microfinance literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted by collecting primary data and administering a structured questionnaire to rural households in Bantul District, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. We employed the logistic model to measure welfare impacts of microcredit borrowers.

Findings

The research finds that purpose of loan, monthly income, monthly expenditure, interest rates, loan amount, education and marital status have significant effects on the probability of increasing borrowers' welfare after accessing microcredit.

Practical implications

This study will propose some policy recommendations for Indonesian policymakers that may yield better strategies to help improve the impact of their microcredit programmes on the welfare of rural households.

Originality/value

The authors confirm that the article has not been submitted to peer review, nor is in the process of peer reviewing and nor has been accepted for publishing in another journal. The author(s) confirms that the research in their work is original, and that all the data given in the article are real and authentic.

Details

Agricultural Finance Review, vol. 80 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-1466

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2015

Azzeddine Azzam and Belaid Rettab

The purpose of this paper is to estimate a complete demand system for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and use the estimates to evaluate the welfare impact of price inflation. Eight…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to estimate a complete demand system for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and use the estimates to evaluate the welfare impact of price inflation. Eight expenditure groups are considered: food, clothing, housing, furniture, transportation, medical care, recreation, and miscellaneous.

Design/methodology/approach

Household survey data are used to estimate the elasticities separately for Emiratis and expatriates by income quintile using seemingly unrelated regression within a Linear Expenditure System that accounts for demographic variables.

Findings

Welfare loss is inversely related to income quintile and is lower for Emirati households. Transportation, housing, and food are the sources of the bulk of the welfare loss. The shares of the three consumption groups, combined with their respective inelastic demands, explain why they figure prominently as the leading sources of welfare loss when their prices rise.

Originality/value

First ever demand system estimated for the UAE. Welfare loss estimates provide some rational basis on which examination may be made of existing UAE policies that effect commodity prices, like price controls, and policies currently being discussed, like commodity taxation, and their distributional effects.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Taiwo Aderemi and Fidelis Ogwumike

The primary motive of a minimum wage policy is to provide a wage floor for poorly paid workers and improve their welfare. In Nigeria, real minimum wage declined by 60 per cent…

Abstract

Purpose

The primary motive of a minimum wage policy is to provide a wage floor for poorly paid workers and improve their welfare. In Nigeria, real minimum wage declined by 60 per cent between 1974 and 2011, thus reducing the welfare of workers. The wage gap between low skilled and high skilled workers have also widened over the years in favour of the latter. There are concerns that the series of minimum wage increase in Nigeria may not be welfare-enhancing. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examined the welfare effects of minimum wage increase in Nigeria using a computable general equilibrium model. The model was calibrated using a 2006 Social Accounting Matrix and four sets of scenarios (20, 35, 50 and 140 per cent wage increases), were simulated.

Findings

The findings show that employers substituted other labour categories for minimum wage workers. This increases the wage rates of other labour. The consumer price index also increased as firms partly pass-on increased labour cost to consumers. Generally, the simulations show that minimum wage policies worsen the welfare of its intended beneficiaries, due to negative impact on prices and employment.

Originality/value

This study deviates from existing studies on minimum wage in Nigeria, by providing a proper disaggregation of the labour market that represents the Nigerian economy. In this regard, the informal sector was accommodated and the potential impact of the minimum wage on this sector determined. It also adopted the equivalent variation welfare measure which incorporates price and consumption effects in measuring welfare.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 44 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2010

Subhrendu Pattanayak, Shubhayu Saha, Pravash Sahu, Erin Sills, Ashok Singha and JuiChen Yang

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether mining can serve as a pathway for economic development despite the environmental externalities. The extensive literature on the…

1174

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether mining can serve as a pathway for economic development despite the environmental externalities. The extensive literature on the “resource curse” phenomenon at the national level generally finds that economic dependence on mineral resources is associated with lower levels of economic growth. This paper shows that further insight can be obtained by studying micro‐level resource curse because of heterogeneity in institutions, natural resources and economic behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper empirically tests the resource curse hypothesis with data from a stratified random sample of 600 households in 20 villages in the mining district of Keonjhar, Orissa. Household surveys were used to collect data on demography, forest dependence, health and household economics. Using geographical information system (GIS), the household data were integrated with secondary spatial data on land cover and location of mines to construct multiple measures of exposure to iron ore mines.

Findings

Microeconometric models demonstrate the multi‐faceted nature of the relationships between mine exposure, forest resources and human welfare. Households closer to mines experience higher incidences of many illnesses, rank lower on indicators of human development and own fewer production assets. They also derive fewer forest benefits because forests are more degraded and less accessible in villages closer to mines.

Originality/value

This analysis remains timely because of on‐going violent conflicts and concern over negative impacts on the welfare of rural populations in the mining areas of India, which is consistent with the notion of a resource curse. The paper's findings on the magnitude of negative impacts can inform the policy discourse (e.g. benefits sharing schemes) related to mining‐led growth.

Details

Indian Growth and Development Review, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8254

Keywords

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