Incidence, Depth and Severity of Children in Poverty

Recently, the first ever estimate of the number of children living poverty in developing countries was undertaken. The incidence of child poverty was estimated by establishing how many children suffer severe deprivation in at least one out of seven indicators which are internationally recognized as their rights as well as constitutive of poverty. This is a major step forward in the analysis of poverty. In this paper, we generalize these findings on the incidence of children living in poverty by exploring how to estimate the depth and severity of child poverty. Two countries can have the same proportion of children living in poverty, however, the actual plight of children could be very different depending on how many deprivations, on average, children suffer. In addition, even if they suffer from the same average number of deprivations, these deprivation could be the same for all children or be very unevenly distributed. We show how these considerations can be used to estimate the depth and severity of poverty. We use regional data to provide applied examples of this methodology. The method proposed in this paper is similar to the one used to estimate the incidence, depth and severity of income poverty. The paper also offers some possible generalizations and ways forward for future research.     

中国城市老年群体的社会分层及其结构——以长春市为例

中国老龄化社会早已到来,但养老保障制度的改革却相对滞后,究其原因在于人们没有准确把握膨胀的养老需求和有限的养老能力之间的矛盾。据此,从社会分层的视角以收入水平为标准对庞大且复杂的城市老年群体进行层级划分,深入分析养老需求,为保障制度的建构提供依据。由于经济体制改革、社会政策调整、离岗方式等多方面原因,导致当代社会城市老年群体内部由于对经济资源占有的不同而呈现出明显的"战斗机型"层级结构。     

新疆城镇贫困及反贫困研究

新疆目前的贫困是农村地区的贫困。随着改革开放事业的逐步深入,新疆城镇出现了大量的贫困群体,他们对新疆的社会稳定和经济发展的影响比较大,其消极影响不能忽视。造成新疆城镇贫困的主要原因是就业不足、市场机制不完善和城镇社会保障制度不健全等。为解决城镇贫困问题,我们必须以人为本,扩大就业,逐步完善社会保障制度,政策上采取各种优惠措施,尽量保证城镇贫困群体的根本利益。     

城市新移民贫困救助和社会保障机制研究

城市新移民是城市化过程中的一个新兴事物,通过对我国城市贫困救助及社会保障制度现状的考察,重新构建了城市新移民的贫困救助和社会保障机制。对于不同类别的城市新移民,社会保障机制的目标不同,对于长期在城市工作,已经有了相对固定住所和工作的城市新移民,社会保障机制的作用应该是通过规范的、系统的制度来保障他们与城市居民一样享受正常的社会保障。对于短期务工、常年流动的城市新移民,社会保障机制的作用是进行贫困救助,帮助他们在没有收入、没有工作、发生意外伤害的时候得到援助。     

城市贫困:原因分析及治理对策

城市贫困问题已成为中国改革和发展中急需解决的重要问题 ,治理城市贫困关系到稳定大局 ,实现“共同富裕”的发展目标 ,也是全面建设小康社会的必然要求。本文分析了城市贫困现状及其产生的原因 ,并提出扶贫解困的政策措施。     

Child and Family Outcomes in New York and Tel AVIV: Using Social Indicators in a City Level Comparative Analysis

This article presents a comparative study in which social indicators were employed as a means to examine differences in living conditions and family and children outcomes on a local level. The study obtained household-level data on the well-being of children and families in two cities: New York (NYC) and Tel Aviv (TLV). Data were collected using computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) technology and random digit dialing (RDD). Telephone interviews were conducted with the randomly selected adults in English, Spanish and Chinese in NYC and in Hebrew in TLV. The study reported here documented differences in family and child well-being between the two cities. It further documented that family size and caregiver level of education play a similar role in both cities and their importance in regard to child and family outcomes. The significant differences found in adults’ and especially children’s outcomes were analyzed by the caregiver’s level of education and further support the need for policies that alleviate the burden of less educated caregivers and aim to improve the well-being of them and their families. The study demonstrates the relevance of social indicators at the local level, not only for measuring outcomes among specific populations, but also in regard to their possible implications for social policies, a most timely task in an era of social services devolution.     

论我国社会转型期的城市贫困问题

城市贫困是一个综合性概念。我国目前城市贫困问题具有非常明显的突发性、困难性、交融性、多元性和分散性等特性。在我国社会转型过程中,城市贫困加剧的原因主要是贫富差距拉大、分配不公、机会不均等。对解决现阶段的城市贫困问题提出相应对策。     

Poverty and Subjective Well-being in Mexico

There are two tendencies in the literatureregarding the relationship between income andsubjective well-being. The first tendencymaintains that there is a strong relationshipbetween these two variables, and that thepoorer the population, the more pronounced thisrelationship. The second tendency downplaysthis relationship, arguing that a largepercentage of happiness cannot be explained byeconomic variables. The objective of this studywas to compare the subjective well-being ofthree socioeconomic groups – extremely poor,moderately poor and not poor – and to discoverthe combination of subjective well-beingfactors that makes it possible to predict thesocioeconomic group to which subjects belong.Subjective well-being was measured by using aninstrument developed by Palomar Lever (2000) andconsisting of eleven related factors thatinquire into the subjects' satisfaction ineleven areas of life. The results indicatestatistically significant differences in nearlyall the subjective well-being factors inrelation to the socioeconomic group to whichsubjects belong, with the poorest subjectsreporting the least satisfaction. In additionsome differences were found in relation to sexand age. Also, low correlations were observedbetween income and subjective well-being in theextremely poor and moderately poor groups, withmore of these correlations in the first group,followed by the last. Finally, it was foundthat membership in the socioeconomic groups canbe predicted by a combination of subjectivewell-being factors such as satisfaction withone's recreational activities, socialsurroundings, personal development and couplerelationship.     

老年社会贫困影响因素的定量和定性分析

中国的社会转型和家庭变迁一方面对传统家庭的养老功能提出挑战,另一方面,由于社会养老制度的缺失或不完善,也由于家庭中老年人口比例的增加,老人对家庭养老的需求依旧十分强烈。利用定量和定性数据,探讨在家庭变迁和公共福利不足背景下老年社会贫困(衡量为健康欠佳、精神慰藉不足)的发生率和发生概率。模型分析结果显示,公共福利的有无、家庭形式和居住安排、子女数量和性别、子女的经济支持都作用于自评的健康水平和精神慰藉。因此,改善公共支持及服务体系、且将公共福利真正落到实处将有助于提高老人的社会福利。     

中国西部少数民族地区人口的贫困原因及其政策启示

中国的少数民族人口主要分布在生态环境恶劣、经济社会发展落后的西部地区,这些地区同时也是贫困人口分布最多的区域。本文首先从地域、人口增长以及国家扶贫战绩几方面分析了西部少数民族地区人口与贫困在地域上的重合性,进而从区域发展、社会公平和政策效果以及贫困人口的人文因素等方面分析了造成少数民族地区人口贫困的原因,认为虽然造成区域性少数民族贫困状况的主要原因来自于区域发展的滞后,但在摆脱贫困的难易方面,政府提供的脱贫服务和民族人口的人文制约因素则起着更为重大的作用。     

失地农民不同群体养老保障问题探析及政策建议--以淄博市为例

城镇化已成为当今社会发展的一大趋势,传统的以土地为中心的家庭养老模式也随之受到巨大的冲击。土地征用的发生,直接导致农村人口中的老年人失去了老年生活的依靠、中青年人失去了就业领域、未成年人失去了未来本该享有的就业和收入的权利。而这三个问题直接或间接地关系到农民的养老保障。针对淄博市土地被征用农民所进行的调查表明,这三个问题已成为农民在征地之后所面临的主要问题,而解决问题的关键在于土地征用制度的完善、补偿费使用监管的加强以及征地补偿措施的创新和多样化。     

农村50岁以上独生子女父母与子女经济互动及养老预期——基于对全国5县调查

根据对全国5县(区)抽样调查,农村50岁以上独生子女老年父母家庭有近6成空巢。尽管这些父母的大多数觉得2个及以上孩子对于养老来说更好,但依靠子女养老和多代同堂观念已大为削弱。这些家庭代际间财富流动以子女对父母反哺为主。6成独生子女父母赞成与子女分开住,即使子女今后搬到城镇住,也有近一半人明确表示不会到子女家住,但他们同时并未显示出对社会养老保障的信任,这种窘境使这些曾为人口控制做出突出贡献的老人面临严峻的养老挑战。     

Multinational Corporations,Democracy and Child Mortality: A Quantitative,Cross-National Analysis of Developing Countries

This study presents quantitative, sociological models designed to account for cross-national variation in child mortality. We consider variables linked to five different theoretical perspectives that include the economic modernization, social modernization, political modernization, ecological-evolutionary, and dependency perspectives. The study is based on a cross-lagged effects regression analysis of a sample of 59 developing countries. Our preliminary analysis based on additive models replicates prior studies to the extent that we find that indicators linked to economic and social modernization have beneficial effects on child mortality. We also find support for hypotheses derived from the dependency perspective suggesting that multinational corporate penetration fosters higher levels of child mortality. Subsequent analysis incorporating interaction effects suggest that the level of political democracy conditions the effects of dependency relationships based upon multinational corporations. Transnational economic linkages associated with multinational corporations adversely affect child mortality more strongly at lower levels of democracy than at higher levels of democracy–that is intranational, political factors interact with the international, economic forces to affect child mortality. We conclude with some brief policy recommendations and suggestions for the direction of future research.     

中国城乡弱相对贫困测算及时空演变：2012—2018

相对贫困的识别和测算是瞄准贫困人口和制定减贫政策的基础,但常用于识别相对贫困人口的比例收入法和测度相对贫困程度的FGT指数在理论基础、比例设定和贫困性质方面遭到质疑。采用基于社会融入成本理论的弱相对贫困人口识别方法,及与弱相对贫困线相适应的分层可加综合贫困指数,且考虑与现阶段我国绝对贫困线衔接性及国际标准的可比性,使用2012—2018年中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)数据估计了中国城乡收入(消费)弱相对贫困线,并测算分析了中国城乡收入(消费)弱相对贫困程度及时空演变特征。研究表明,基于弱相对贫困线构造的综合贫困指数兼顾绝对贫困和相对贫困,可以避免传统FGT指数分别测度绝对贫困和相对贫困时动态变化趋势出现分歧的问题,可更为直观地综合评估经济增长和扶贫政策的减贫效应。无论城乡,尽管不平等导致相对贫困始终处于高位水平,但绝对贫困更大的下降幅度使得中国收入(消费)弱相对贫困程度仍呈稳健下降趋势。从社会融入成本角度出发,建议未来考虑住房成本和子女养育成本,分家庭类型进一步细化弱相对贫困标准。本研究有助于进一步分类瞄准弱相对贫困人口,监测弱相对贫困程度演变并综合评估减贫效应。     

流动人口社会阶层结构及地区差异

本文根据2011年国家人口计生委流动人口动态监测抽样调查资料,以流动人口职业分类和收入为基础,分析了当前流动人口的社会阶层结构状况。研究发现,当前流动人口的社会阶层结构是一个“金字塔”型结构,位于塔尖的人数极少,而处于底层的人数庞大,同时,流动人口各阶层的收入结构和消费结构分化明显。分地区来看,流动人口阶层分化显示出地域的不平衡性,经济不发达的地区,社会阶层结构相对简单;经济发达的地区,不仅社会阶层结构比较复杂,更接近现代社会阶层结构的特点,其收入分配结构也更趋于合理。     

从“城乡二元结构”到“城市二元结构”及其影响

在我国工业化和城市化快速发展过程中,传统体制下形成的以户籍制度为核心的“城乡二元结构”不仅没有消除,反而逐步向城市蔓延,伴随着农村劳动力进城就业,在城市中形成了规模庞大的农民工阶层,他们与城市居民共同构成了“城市二元结构”。“城市二元结构”的日益强化,将导致严重的城市贫困问题,加大城市管理的难度,并造成城市化进程的不稳定。为此,应从城市和农村两个维度加以考虑,积极推动土地制度改革,加强城乡统一社会保障体系建设,加强农村基础教育和职业培训,建立以社会保障制度为核心的征地补偿机制,逐步消除“城市二元结构”。     

社会转型与辽宁人口职业结构的变迁

通过对三普、四普和五普资料的整理,分析了辽宁人口职业结构变迁与广东、浙江两省以及全国总体变迁趋势的差异,发现辽宁人口职业结构变迁是一个农林牧渔业人员所占比例上升和工业在业人口所占比例下降两种趋势并存的局面,这两种趋势表明单位制国有大中型企业高度集中的辽宁处于一种复杂的职业结构和社会结构,这种职业结构变迁过程的形成,不仅仅是经济因素的影响,原有体制因素也发挥了重要的作用。     

The Rich and the Poor: The Construction of an Affluence Line from the Poverty Line

The paper proposes a simple methodology to estimate an affluence line that depends on the knowledge of the income distribution and the poverty line for a given population. The idea that poverty is morally unacceptable and can be eradicated through redistribution of wealth provides the grounds for the methodology. The line is defined as the value that delimitates the aggregated income required to eradicate poverty by the way of transfers from the rich to the poor. I estimate an affluence line using Brazilian 1999 National Household Survey data and briefly discuss the results.     

独生子女家庭结构演变与养老方案选择研究①——以安徽省为例

独生子女家庭关系简单、脆弱,具有很强的风险性,为此引起学界和政府高度关注。文章利用2010年全国第六次人口普查数据资料,利用生命表方法构建独生子女家庭生命表．并推算丧子家庭、丧偶家庭、单人家庭等各类家庭结构演变趋势。得出：独生子女家庭中,丧子家庭在子女60岁时达到高峰,比例达到3．1％,其中丧子的父母单人家庭比例达到高峰值2．6％,丧子的父母空巢家庭在独生子女50岁达到高峰1．1％：独生子女单亲家庭（丧父或丧母）在独生子女55岁时达到峰值50％。不同的独生子女家庭,有着不同的养老需求,政府应该根据不同的家庭属性设置多样化的养老支持方案。     

Household Budgets as a Social Indicator of Poverty and Inequality in South Africa

In the absence of a universally accepted method of calculating poverty, household expenditure can be used to provide an indication of inequality of wealth and serve as an indicator of poverty. Household expenditure comprises expenditure of private households on goods and services, irrespective of their durability. The portion of household budgets allocated to different types of goods and services provides an indication of the material standard of living of a population. The article discusses different definitions of poverty and compares the state of poverty according to these definitions in selected countries. This is followed by an analysis of South Africa’s economic position in the world and a comparison of the household budgets and demographic profile of South African households that fall into different income groups in order to identify the differences between the poorest and the wealthiest households in South Africa. Income inequality in South Africa is further elucidated by means of the Gini coefficient. A comparison is also made between the household budgets of the poorest households with the minimum financial living level requirements in South Africa to maintain their health and have acceptable standards of hygiene and sufficient clothing for their needs.