Search results
1 – 10 of over 16000Jean-Yves Duclos and Paul Makdissi
This paper develops criteria for an alternative concept of inequality dominance and shows how they relate to criteria for comparing relative poverty. The results warn inter alia…
Abstract
This paper develops criteria for an alternative concept of inequality dominance and shows how they relate to criteria for comparing relative poverty. The results warn inter alia against the use of some popular indices of inequality. They do, however, provide an ethical basis for the use of other popular indices of (restricted) inequality as potential relative poverty indices. The results also suggest an interesting extension of the Schutz coefficient as well as a use of Lorenz curves for the analysis of relative poverty and restricted inequality. A graphical illustration shows how the new criteria of restricted inequality dominance extend the ranking power of previously proposed inequality dominance criteria.
Introduction: As a type of poverty, relative poverty can be defined as being below the average welfare of society. Basic needs can be afforded, but individuals can’t take…
Abstract
Introduction: As a type of poverty, relative poverty can be defined as being below the average welfare of society. Basic needs can be afforded, but individuals can’t take advantage of the welfare created by society. Today coding the reflection of welfare, sharing experiences has new meanings by new social media means. Instagram is especially preferred in visual sharing because of its filter options, live feed, or story mode. These features help the message sender to increase the effect of the message and the receiver to understand the reality with its different dimensions. It is not shocking that the images of welfare and its indicators are shared increasingly in social networks because storytelling in this media is fed. The visual strengthening is underlining the possession of the owner and the deficiency of the non-owner from their perspectives.
Purpose: This study examines the emotional effects of ideal life images shared on Instagram on other individuals. The aim is to reveal and define the meaning ascribed to such fractions of life with a visual appeal by people who cannot lead this kind of life.
Methodology: In accordance with the Social Learning Theory, the study assumes that people with relative poverty take notice of their own poverty through social media. The study investigates the emotions manifested by individuals who take notice of the things that they lack through social media. Thus, a qualitative study was designed and conducted using a phenomenological approach. The phenomenon of this study is failing to have. The objective of the study is to understand and determine what the individuals who do social comparisons feel they lack. For this purpose, the fundamental research questions of this study are as follows: RQ1: What are the main categories of Instagram posts that evoke a sense of deprivation in individuals?; RQ2: What do glamorous Instagram posts mean to individuals who are above the relative poverty threshold? The data gathered via the in-depth interview technique were analyzed using the computer-assisted qualitative analysis program (MaxqDa 2020). Qualitative content analysis and descriptive analysis were the forms of analysis used in the study.
Findings: The fact that there are negative links between passively consuming information on social media and well-being is supported by previous studies. This study exposes the experiences of “failing to have” due to upward social comparison in individuals who are above the relative poverty threshold in Turkey. The categories of shared content that evoke the feeling of deficiency in the participants are as follows: Travel/vacation, participation in social life, physical attractiveness, material possessions, and professional/academic career. The participants of the study are individuals who are above the relative poverty threshold for Turkey. The participants want to have “more than what they already have.” For this reason, it can be suggested that the main keyword summarizing the findings of the study is “more.” The study demonstrates that failing to travel and participate in social life deeply affects the participants and causes them to experience negative emotions.
Details
Keywords
Satya R. Chakravarty, Nachiketa Chattopadhyay, Joseph Deutsch, Zoya Nissanov and Jacques Silber
A recent trend in the study of poverty is to consider a relative poverty line, one that is responsive to the nature of the income distribution. We develop an axiomatic approach to…
Abstract
A recent trend in the study of poverty is to consider a relative poverty line, one that is responsive to the nature of the income distribution. We develop an axiomatic approach to the determination of an amalgam poverty line. Given a reference income (e.g., the mean or the median), the amalgam poverty line becomes a weighted average of the absolute poverty line and the reference income, where the weights depend on the policy maker’s preferences for aggregating the two components. The paper ends with an empirical illustration comparing urban and rural areas in the People’s Republic of China and India.
Details
Keywords
Outlines a method for controlling for compositional factors in the measurement of poverty. Bases the method on “shift‐share analysis” and “direct standardization”, consistent with…
Abstract
Outlines a method for controlling for compositional factors in the measurement of poverty. Bases the method on “shift‐share analysis” and “direct standardization”, consistent with Sen’s (1976) influential axiomatic approach to poverty measurement. Employs the popular poverty index proposed by Foster et al. (1984), which is one of the few summary poverty measures that can be directly standardized and also meets Sen’s criteria. The method is illustrated by examining the trend in absolute and relative poverty in the UK. Uses data from the “Family Expenditure Survey”, covering the period 1968 to 1986, and places specific empirical focus on the relationship between household structure and poverty.
Details
Keywords
Poverty alleviation has been a major theme of China's modernization process since the founding of New China. This paper points out that China's poverty alleviation process…
Abstract
Purpose
Poverty alleviation has been a major theme of China's modernization process since the founding of New China. This paper points out that China's poverty alleviation process presents three stylized facts: “Miraculous” achievements of poverty alleviation have been made on a global scale; the poverty alleviation achievements mainly occurred in the high growth stage after reform and opening up; the poverty alleviation process is accompanied by the structural transformation of the urban–rural dual economy.
Design/methodology/approach
Therefore, a logically consistent analytical framework should form among the structural transformation of the dual economy, economic growth and the achievements in poverty alleviation. In logical deduction, the structural transformation of the dual economy affects rural poverty alleviation through the effects of labor reallocation, agricultural productivity improvement, demographic change and fiscal resource allocation.
Findings
The first two refer to economic growth, and the latter two are alleviation policies. The combination of economic growth and poverty alleviation policies is the main cause for poverty alleviation performance. China's empirical evidence can support the four effects by which the structural transformation of the dual economy affects poverty alleviation.
Originality/value
China's socialist system and its economic system transformation after reform and opening up provide an institutional basis for the effects to come into play. After 2020, China's poverty alleviation strategies will enter the “second-half” phase, namely, the phase of solving the problems of relative poverty in urban and rural areas by adopting conventional methods and establishing long-term mechanisms. This requires the facilitation of the reconnection between poverty alleviation strategies and the structural transformation of the dual economy in terms of development ideas and policy directions.
Details
Keywords
This paper examines several measures of poverty and hardship for the United States to illustrate how a single measure of poverty may identify different groups of people as “in…
Abstract
This paper examines several measures of poverty and hardship for the United States to illustrate how a single measure of poverty may identify different groups of people as “in need.” Individuals and families may encounter difficulty meeting needs on many dimensions and there are a variety of measures designed to identify those who experience poverty or difficulty making ends meet. In general, there is agreement that all of the approaches capture different pieces of the puzzle while no single indicator can yield a complete picture. To understand this multidimensional aspect of poverty, several measures are examined in this paper: the official U.S. poverty measure, a relative poverty measure, a new supplemental measure that follows recommendations of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), an index of material hardship, a measure of household debt, and responses to a question about inability to meet expenses. This study uses the 2008 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and updates a similar analysis that used the 1996 panel of SIPP (Short, 2005). The SIPP is a longitudinal survey that allows us to examine all of these various indicators for the same people over the period from 2009 to 2010. The study uses regression analysis to assess the relationship among several indicators of economic hardship. Results suggest that an understanding of relationships between various indicators can allow only one indicator of poverty alone to be interpreted more appropriately and used more wisely to target the needs of the disadvantaged.
In the past two decades, Thailand experienced a prolonged economic boom followed by a collapse. During the boom the incidence of absolute poverty fell dramatically but relative…
Abstract
In the past two decades, Thailand experienced a prolonged economic boom followed by a collapse. During the boom the incidence of absolute poverty fell dramatically but relative inequality increased. The collapse of 1997 had the reverse effects. The poor became significantly worse off in an absolute sense but proportionately less so than the rich; inequality thus declined. The significance of these events depends on a fundamental question: does the welfare of the poor depend on their absolute standard of living, as reflected in measures of poverty incidence, or on their position relative to the rich, as reflected in measures of inequality?
Details
Keywords
Abdul Rashid and Maurizio Intartaglia
The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of financial development on poverty reduction in developing countries. The paper also investigates whether financial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of financial development on poverty reduction in developing countries. The paper also investigates whether financial development affects poverty via institutional quality and GDP growth.
Design/methodology/approach
To take into account the dynamics nature of panel data and country-specific effects, the authors use a two-step system GMM estimator. The authors also employ a large array of measures of financial development in order to check the robustness of the results. The analysis is carried out for a sample of developing countries using an unbalanced panel data set covering the period 1985-2008.
Findings
The authors find that financial development plays a significant role in reducing absolute poverty. However, the authors do not find any pro-poor impact of financial development when poverty is measured in relative terms. The authors show that the impact of financial development on poverty alleviation is statistically significant when liquid liabilities and credit granted to the private sector are used as a proxy of financial development. The results on the indirect effect of financial development indicate that financial sector development has larger effects on poverty reduction when institutional arrangements are sound or/and when economic growth is high.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the inference for a pro-poor effect of financial development depends primarily on the measure of poverty and the choice of the proxy for financial development. Banking sector reforms may be an effective instrument to tackle absolute levels poverty. However, the policy makers should not rely only on financial reforms, regardless of whether they are based on banks or stock markets, to narrow the gap between the poorest quintile of the population and the richer quintiles. Rather, they should also utilize fiscal policies, such as progressive taxation and public-expenditure projects, to redistribute resources.
Originality/value
The paper differs from the previous studies in several ways. First, it studies the financial development-poverty nexus using three alternative indices of poverty. Second, this study focusses on a sample of developing countries only. As the structure and development level of the financial sector in poor and rich countries could differ significantly, focussing on developing countries helps mitigate the problem of heterogeneity arising from using a pooled sample of rich and poor countries. Third, robust estimation methods are applied that take into account the dynamic nature of empirical models and country-specific effects.
Details
Keywords
Alan Barrett and Bertrand Maître
In this paper, the authors aim to assess whether immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments relative to natives across a range of European countries. They also seek to…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors aim to assess whether immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments relative to natives across a range of European countries. They also seek to examine relative rates of poverty across immigrants and natives.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for 2007. They present descriptive statistics and results from probit regressions.
Findings
The authors find very little evidence that immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments when all payments are considered together. This is true whether they use descriptive analysis or regression analysis in which they control for relevant characteristics such as age, gender and education. They do find evidence of higher rates of poverty among immigrants.
Research limitations/implications
As the data used do not give an indication of the length of time an immigrant has been in a destination country, the authors are unable to assess whether their observed patterns change with length of stay.
Social implications
The results run counter to what seems to be a popular perception, namely, that immigrants are intensive users of welfare. Hence, attitudes may be altered.
Originality/value
While other papers may have considered this issue, to the authors’ knowledge, none have linked the poverty and welfare analyses. The findings raise the possibility that welfare systems are failing to keep immigrants out of poverty and this is important in the context of the inclusion agenda.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to quantify the impact of social or government transfers on income inequality and poverty in South Africa.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to quantify the impact of social or government transfers on income inequality and poverty in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
A top-down, bottom-up (TD-BU) model which combines an econometrically estimated labor supply model, a detailed tax-benefit module and a computable general equilibrium model is used in order to analyze the impact of government transfers on income inequality and poverty in South Africa. The paper uses a merged South African income and expenditure household survey and labor force survey for the year 2000, and a South African social accounting matrix as the main data sets.
Findings
Simulation results suggest that doubling of government transfers lead to a 5.5 percent reduction in poverty if a relative poverty measure is used and a 7 percent reduction if an absolute poverty line is used. In addition, simulation results show differences in poverty and inequality measures between the MS-only model and the linked TD-BU model confirming the importance of linking the two models.
Originality/value
The TD-BU approach is important since it explicitly accounts for the following aspects: that labor supply should adjust to changes in the tax-benefit model, general equilibrium effects and the heterogeneity of economic agents. This allows for a richer micro-household modeling.
Details