关于带动北京周边贫困地区发展问题研究

在北京周边地区存在着一条贫困发生率高、经济结构水平低、发展效率低的环京贫困带。在分析该贫困地区的发展现状、形成原因及其对北京经济社会发展影响的基础上,本文提出了带动这一地区发展的基本思想、指导原则和政策建议,并进一步探讨了“十一五”期间北京在这一方面的具体措施。     

Anti‐Poverty Family Policies in China: A Critical Evaluation

Despite its rapid economic growth, China remains a developing country facing serious challenges of poverty and inequality. This article examines the development and effectiveness of China's primary anti‐poverty family policy, the Minimum Living Standard Assurance (MLSA, or Dibao). Using rich administrative data and building on the existing literature, this article provides a critical evaluation of MLSA's benefit generosity, coverage, targeting, and anti‐poverty effectiveness. To help reinforce MLSA's anti‐poverty impacts, local governments in recent years have implemented a series of supplementary policies and programs, including health, education, housing, and work support programs. This article also provides an assessment of these supplementary policies and programs and draws policy implications for the ongoing expansion of the Chinese government's anti‐poverty efforts.     

New Poverty in the Era of Globalization The Case of Taiwan

Over the past decade, Taiwan has witnessed a rapid increase in its population of newly impoverished individuals. Driving this increase is the shift of Taiwan's traditional production centers overseas, especially to Mainland China. Using a qualitative research approach to explore this new phenomenon, the research finds that most of the new poor are able and hope to work, but suffer from job instability and/or the ability to find any reemployment. If the government does not intervene in a timely manner to create a stronger safety net for them, their families may become caught in a long-term poverty trap.     

项目制扶贫的运作逻辑与地方性实践--以精准扶贫视角看A县竞争性扶贫项目

通过对国家级贫困县A县竞争性扶贫项目运作逻辑的探析发现,依附于科层制之下的扶贫项目在实施前的选择性平衡、实施中的反科层制逻辑以及落地后的短期效应,共同造成项目制在扶贫开发中功能的式微。扶贫项目在地方实践中的非均衡分配规制了贫困地区脱贫的步伐,项目进村时呈现出的“委托—代理”关系使地方在扶贫项目打包中以“反控制”的策略从中谋利,项目制“短、平、快”的目标导向弱化了扶贫开发的可持续性。面对扶贫项目存在的一系列问题,需要进一步加强项目执行的监管力度,提高基层政府的精准扶贫治理能力,制定扶贫开发的后续扶持政策。     

Microfinance as a Development and Poverty Alleviation Tool in Rural Bangladesh: A Critical Assessment

Poverty is multidimensional in nature and exists in every part of the world. Microfinance is considered one of the most important programs to achieve poverty reduction, particularly in Bangladesh. It has been estimated that nearly 45% of Bangladesh's population lives below the poverty line. This qualitative research study was conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of microfinance programs and the contributing factors to the high‐level of poverty among microfinance beneficiaries in the district of Bogra, Bangladesh. Study findings indicated that microfinance programs were ineffective as a result of high interest rates; insufficient loans; unproductive use of loans; corruption and poor skills of microfinance institution staff; weekly repayment schedules; and physical and mental harassment of poor women. Additionally, the lack of employment opportunities, education, healthcare facilities and social safety nets; natural disasters; the dowry system; and the rising cost of basic daily needs have also contributed to chronic poverty.     

The Costs of Disability and the Incidence of Poverty

Both disability and poverty have been the subject of extensive research, although relatively few Australian studies have examined the relationship between them. Most poverty studies make no allowance for the higher needs (and costs) associated with disability, while few disability studies have focused on poverty among the disabled. Yet disability often leads to greater need and this will increase the risk of poverty. This paper uses data from the 1998–99 Household Expenditure Survey to estimate the costs of disability using a ‘standard of living’ approach and uses these estimates to compare poverty rates among those with and without disability. The results imply that where there is an adult in the household with a disability, poverty rates are higher even before allowing for the extra costs of disability. After account is taken of the costs of disability, estimated poverty rates rise substantially where there is a disability present. Taking account of costs that vary with the severity of the restriction associated with the disability is also shown to make a large difference to comparisons derived from conventional poverty research.     

Poverty among households in Estonia

Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union for 50 years. Now she has restored her independence and extensive transformation has started, creating acute social problems. The economic survival of the whole society has become a main goal. The authors examine different poverty lines using the family budget data of 239 households surveyed in May and August 1992 for comparison. The analysis reveals that, whereas the wages and expenditure are low compared with unregulated prices, the share of households living under the poverty line does not reflect the real situation. The poverty among Estonian households reveals a skewed structure of expenditure that indicates exclusion from the consumption-centered way of life. Empirical evidence is given that single-earner households and households with 3 or more children face the danger of falling into deep poverty.     

Poverty and quality of life of Chinese children: From the perspective of deprivation

Using data from the Family and Children Survey of Beijing 2011, the authors constructed a child poverty measure – Child Deprivation Indicators (CDIs) – and explored the relationship between poverty and children's quality of life. The CDIs were found to be a more valid child poverty measure than the conventional measure which is based mainly on individuals' social assistance status. The findings show that deprived children are worse off in terms of living conditions. Furthermore, deprived boys and girls are disadvantaged differently; boys in self‐efficacy and girls in physical development. The findings have four important implications: (i) policy makers should look beyond those on social assistance; (ii) more public funding should be invested in deprived children's informal education and social interaction; (iii) dealing with structural problems relating to parents' socioeconomic status (SES) would be helpful to alleviate child deprivation; (iv) different types of support should be provided to deprived boys and girls for their disadvantages are not identical.     

Measuring Third World Poverty by the International Poverty Line: The Case of Reform China*

This article selects a fast growing economy, China, under Deng Xiao-ping's economic reforms, as a case example for exploring the use of the median income-linked international poverty line in measuring third world poverty. Those third world countries which have a fast growing economy have the prospect of increased income inequality. Henceforth, the widening income inequality justifies a comparable poverty measurement which takes into account the relation between economic affluence and income distribution.     

THE INFLUENCE OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY ON INFORMAL SUPPORTS

No abstract available for this article.     

Child Poverty in Rural China: Multidimensional Perspective

This paper describes a pilot study on child multidimensional poverty in rural China by introducing the Alkire–Foster method based on survey data collected from five provinces/autonomous regions. Results showed that the headcount ratio of child multidimensional poverty was 14.29%. On average, multidimensionally poor children were deprived in 37.62% of all the dimensions, and their adjusted headcount ratio (multidimensional poverty) index was 0.054. Health was the most deprived dimension, followed by the subsistence and participation dimensions. Disabled children, children influenced by HIV/AIDS, and ethnic minority children were severely deprived. This study not only adds to the current literature on child poverty in China, but also provides policy suggestions for future action plans.     

Poverty and deprivation among children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Although there is now a large body of literature on poverty in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, there remains a dearth of comparative analysis of child poverty and wellbeing. This article uses household survey microdata for the period 2001–2003 to compare absolute poverty, relative poverty, material deprivation and participation in schooling among children in five countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Russia and Tajikistan. The analysis shows that low absolute levels of household consumption are associated with other deprivation indicators and with children's participation in schooling. The article also highlights the usefulness of relative poverty measures that effectively identify children at risk of exclusion in even the poorest countries in the region. The article concludes by arguing that household consumption is a good indicator of child poverty and deprivation in the region, and that relative poverty measures should be more widely used in monitoring global targets for poverty reduction.     

Kinship care in the UK: using census data to estimate the extent of formal and informal care by relatives

Until recently, little was known about kinship care in the UK. Research has begun to illuminate the circumstances which lead to children being cared for by relatives, and the stresses and strains experienced by carers. However, most UK research has only considered ‘looked‐after’ children placed with formal approved kinship foster carers, although this group forms the smallest proportion of children in kinship arrangements. In this paper, we use microdata from the 2001 UK Population Census to examine the characteristics of kinship carers and children, and demonstrate that most children in kinship care are growing up in informal unregulated arrangements. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Poverty and material deprivation among European workers in times of crisis

Many EU countries are faced with abysmal public debts and high unemployment, and may have to reduce their social expenditure and deregulate their labour market, which should lead to an increase in ‘working poverty’ (i.e., an increase in the number of working men and women who live in a low‐income household, or in a household that cannot afford certain goods and services considered essential for a decent life, respectively). However, working poverty remains an under‐analysed phenomenon in Europe. Moreover, the vast majority of existing definitions used in Europe are based on a relative income poverty line and the EU's official definition of ‘in‐work’, which raises concerns about the robustness of existing findings. This article first examines how the socioeconomic situation has evolved in seven EU Member States that have fared differently. In addition, the article examines whether the use of non‐monetary poverty indicators and of an encompassing definition of ‘working’ has an impact on the conclusions drawn. An attempt is made to identify the main macro‐level determinants of changes in ‘working poverty’ and to better understand their impact at the micro‐level.     

Poverty and anti-poverty measures in China

During three decades of rapid economic development and governmental anti-poverty measures, China achieved considerable success in poverty alleviation. However, because poverty remains a severe problem, this research analysed the causes and implications of poverty as well as the associated social policies, based on official statistics and survey data. Three decades of successful anti-poverty measures, have largely reduced ‘absolute poverty’, yet ‘relative poverty’ is still severe and substantial challenges remain, caused by the changing socioeconomic circumstances. To enhance poverty alleviation, relevant social policies should be reformed, including changing the underlying approach from addressing absolute poverty to addressing relative poverty, increasing the beneficiary coverage and raising the level of benefits, increasing public funding and improving the relevant administrative systems.     

Poverty drug use in Hungary

There is little substantive information on the present trends on drug use in the countries of central and eastern Europe, including Hungary. There has been a substantial change in recent years in the illegal and legal use of psychoactive substances: the western type of drug trade and drug use has begun, with the influx of the classical drugs (heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD and hashish). In addition, a study based on data obtained from all district physicians shows that the rate of regular use of psychoactive substances is very high in the parts of Hungary with poor infrastructure. This "poverty" drug use, together with the poppy cult and the traditions of grape cultivation and wine drinking could be a serious obstacle to the wider spread of western type drug use in Hungary.     

对农村文化贫困女性的社会学考究

农村女性文化贫困体现在文化素质低、思想观念陈旧、生活方式落后、心理健康堪忧等方面。农村女性应以进城务工女性和都市现代女性作为参照群体,以她们的价值和规范作为评价自身和她人的基准,从自身主观意识的觉醒、自立意识的增强、文化水平的提高、文化生活品位提升等方面来解决其文化贫困问题,以积极状态面对生活,在社会主义新农村建设和农村文化建设中发挥积极作用。     

对贫富本质的认识

对贫富本质的认识是解决贫富问题的前提。从人与物及人与人的关系上看,贫富的本质在于贫富的主体对客体的占有。从财富的分享过程与贫富结果上分析,贫富问题是一个分配方式的问题。从政治哲学和道德哲学的高度进行概括,贫富问题则是正义的问题。     

Poverty Among Korean Immigrant Older Adults: Examining the Effects of Social Exclusion

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have shown that elderly Asian immigrants face greater risks for living in poverty compared with their native contemporaries. Particularly, Korean immigrant older adults are reported to be most likely to experience poverty among many Asian immigrant groups. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which demographic, human capital, and social exclusion factors contribute to such economic vulnerability among Korean immigrant older adults. Adding to previous research, this study broadly conceptualizes social exclusion and tests for its additive effects on poverty using nationally representative public data of Korean immigrant older adults. From the 2008–2010 Public Use Microdata Sample of the American Community Survey, this study extracts a sample that consists of individuals aged 65 years and older whose national origin is Korean, who were not born in the United States, and thereafter immigrated to the United States (N = 3,820). The findings indicate that 3 dimensions of social exclusion—exclusion from social and civic life, exclusion from asset building, and exclusion from the labor market—contribute significantly to Korean immigrant older adults’ odds of living in poverty. The study concludes with practice implications for socially inclusive workforce development as a way to ameliorate economic afflictions among Korean immigrant older adults.     

Poverty and social trends in Russia

The article describes the socioeconomic situation of the Russian population and its dynamics in 1992. The analysis is based on series of regional sociological surveys led by the All-Russian Living Standards Research Center and on official Russian statistical data. The basic unit of analysis is the family, and hence family typology approbated both in research and in practical social work is introduced. Besides describing and discussing the growing poverty tendencies in contemporary Russia, the article also contains methodological recommendations for social policy bodies and social workers on the strategy of work in social maintenance and social support of the least secure population strata.