Child poverty in South Africa: an assessment based on microdata for 1995

In this study we assess child poverty in South Africa by estimating multivariate models using household-survey microdata from 1995. The applied poverty line defines children as poor if they live in households with a disposable per capita income less than US$1 Purchasing Power Parity. In South Africa, people living under such income conditions must be considered extremely poor. The results show that children living in South Africa face a risk of being poor comparable to that of the average world inhabitant. Child poverty in South Africa is an issue with strong racial connotations. Large variations in child poverty rates across provinces are found and most of South Africa's poor children live in rural areas. The educational level of household head is a strong predictor of child poverty. The probability of child poverty is vigorously reduced if a household receives wage earnings, but is affected by households' demographic structure.     

The effectiveness of poverty reduction and the target efficiency of social security transfers in South Korea, 1999–2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of social security transfers between 1999 and 2003 in South Korea, the period during which the Asian economic crisis of 1997 occurred. The study used a secondary data set, which is part of the Korea Labour Panel Data. Of 5,000 original household samples, the results for the 2,728 households (54.6 per cent) that completed the surveys for all five years studied were analysed. One finding was that the average percentage of social security transfers appeared to be nominal, as was the 1.9 per cent in 1999, which grew to 2.4 per cent in 2003. Another finding was that the average poverty-reduction effectiveness for the five-year period was as low as 7.9 per cent, indicating a slightly increasing pattern. This percentage is only one-seventh to one-tenth that of Western countries. Target efficiency appeared to be 31.8 per cent. We give the following reasons to explain why the level of the poverty-reduction effectiveness of Korean social security transfers is comparatively low: the immaturity of the Korean Old Age Pension; the lack of diversity in social transfer programmes; and a cultural factor of stronger dependency on private transfers within the family structure.     

Unemployment and psychological distress among young adults in the Nordic countries: A review of the literature

This article reviews Nordic research, published from 1995 and onwards, on the relationship between unemployment and mental health among young adults. Cross‐sectional, longitudinal and time‐series studies are included. Cross‐sectional studies show that the unemployed experience more mental health problems than the non‐unemployed. Leaving unemployment is associated with increased well‐being. Economic problems, feelings of shame and poor social support increase the likelihood of psychological distress. The longitudinal studies show that unemployment increases the risk of psychological distress and attempted suicide, after initial mental health status and confounding factors are accounted for. The relationship remains significant when time‐invariant characteristics of the individuals are controlled for. The time‐series studies found no relationship between unemployment and suicide, but levels of psychological distress were found to vary with changes in the labour market. This relationship remained significant after excluding the non‐employed, indicating that unemployment trends have effects beyond those directly associated with unemployment.     

Unemployment and economic security for young adults in Finland,Norway and Sweden: From unemployment protection to poverty relief

In this study, we investigated if there has been a displacement in the type and coverage of welfare services available for young unemployed adults in Finland, Norway and Sweden over the last two decades. This question is important because a number of studies have argued that the generous unemployment benefits and extensive labour market intervention found in the Nordic welfare states shield young people from the most severe consequences of economic inactivity. In this article, we instead show that during this period, less generous means‐tested unemployment and social assistance benefits have become the most important form of income protection for young people. In evidence, earnings‐related unemployment benefits now cover only 10 per cent of unemployed Swedes and Finns and 45 per cent of unemployed Norwegians aged 24 years or younger. This development marks a significant change in our understanding of unemployment protection for young people in Nordic countries.     

The Associations between income,informal social networks,and health among older adults in South Korea: A multi‐group analysis based on the level of age‐friendly environments

The aim of the present study was to empirically investigate the role of age‐friendly environments (AFE) on the associations between income, informal social networks, and health among South Korean older adults. We used data from the “2017 Age Integration Survey” collected nationally and ultimately analyzed 615 older adults over 50 years of age. Structural equation modeling and multi‐group analysis were used to test the hypothesis. Specifically, two groups of perceived levels of AFE (top 25%, bottom 25%) were compared in order to examine the moderating effects. The results indicated that poor income and scarce informal social networks each had a significantly adverse impact on health. However, the effect of income on health was no longer significant for older adults living in environments that were more age‐friendly. In both groups, the presence of fewer informal social networks adversely impacted health, although the sizes of the effects decreased when the level of AFE perceived by older adults was improved. Finally, several implications of the study findings were discussed.