Poverty,undernutrition, and child mortality: Some inter-regional puzzles and their implicationsfor research and policy

This paper examines the relationship between measures of income poverty, undernourishment, childhood undernutrition, and child mortality in developing countries. While there is, as expected, a close aggregate correlation between these measures of deprivation, the measures generate some inter-regional paradoxes. Income poverty and child mortality is highest in Sub Saharan Africa, but childhood undernutrition is by far the highest in South Asia, while the share of people with insufficient calories (undernourishment) is highest in the Caribbean. The paper finds that standard explanations cannot account for these inter-regional paradoxes, particularly the ones related to undernourishment and childhood undernutrition. The paper suggests that measurement issues related to the way undernourishment and childhood undernutrition are measured might play a significant role in affecting these inter-regional puzzles, and points to implications for research and policy. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Not by Rent Alone: Analysing the Pro‐Poor Functions of Small‐Scale Fisheries in Developing Countries

The dominant view in academic and policy arenas is increasingly one in which the major contribution of capture fisheries to development should be derived from the capacity of society to maximise the economic rent of fishery resources. Drawing upon empirical experience from the South, this article highlights the potentially disastrous consequences that a universal implementation of the rent‐maximisation model would have in developing countries, and argues that a more gradual approach would be preferable. The welfare function of small‐scale fisheries, namely, their capacities to provide labour and cash income to resource‐poor households, should be preserved until the appropriate macroeconomic conditions for rent‐maximisation and redistribution are fulfilled.     

Poverty eradication programs in Indonesia: Progress,challenges and reforms

This study explores the progress of and the challenges to poverty eradication programs in Indonesia by analyzing various social assistance programs and subsidies. Earlier poverty eradication programs such as food-based assistance and energy subsidies were only designed to increase households’ purchasing power. Later, the government also developed more advanced programs, such as conditional cash transfer, school assistance, and health insurance contribution assistance, to address long-run poverty by improving human capital quality. Common challenges of the existing programs remain, including inaccurate target the poor and lack of complementarity between programs. An exercise using a dynamic Computable General Equilibrium model shows that integrating programs into the conditional cash transfer reduces poverty further in rural and urban areas.     

中国农村的动态贫困：状态转化与持续——基于中国健康与营养调查微观数据的生存分析

利用1989-2009年中国健康与营养调查数据,通过生存分析研究家户贫困或非贫困状态的转变,以及转变发生前,初始状态的持续期限对这种转变的影响。结果表明:家户陷入贫困与脱离贫困的过程以非对称的比例同时存在,持续贫困或持续非贫困的时间长度对贫困状态转换的影响,因选择绝对贫困线或相对贫困线而呈现不同的变动趋势。而且,就贫困动态变化而言,尽管从绝对贫困理念看,贫困家户具有很大的向上流动的可能性,但从相对贫困的视角看时,却发现贫困表现出持续性特征,从而揭示了社会阶层的固化趋势。     

Prevalence and economic well-being of families raising multiple children with disabilities

This study estimates the prevalence of households raising more than one child with disabilities, and examines these families' economic well-being. Using pooled data from the 2004 and 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation we compare households with multiple children with disabilities (n = 932) to households with one disable child (n = 3457) and to households with at least one child but none with disabilities (n = 21,378) on measures of material hardship. Three percent of U.S. households with children had more than one disabled child. Compared to other households with children, those with multiple children with disabilities were significantly more likely to have income below the federal poverty level and to report material hardships. The number of children with disabilities is an important contextual variable for studying the economic circumstances under which, care is provided to children with disabilities. Its implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Racism and anti-racism in placement reports

The focus of this article is upon the way in which practice teachers and students considered individual and institutional racism and anti-racism in a sample of 40 placement reports. First of all we will examine the background to the development of CCETSW policies and requirements for social work courses and the way in which they consider racism and anti-racism. Then we will consider the limitations and aims of our research. We will present a brief summary of our findings which contrasts the content of the placement reports from two cohorts of students in 1995 and 1997, whose reports were prepared using two different placement report frameworks: one framework developed from CCETSW's 1989 guidelines, the other framework from the revised guidelines dating from 1995. We go on to consider in some depth the overall comments of practice teachers and students in the placement reports about work with black clients/users, the use of 'what if' scenarios and case studies. We continue by examining the way in which students considered the numbers of black people in the local population, and the use made by black people of the placement agencies. Also examination is made of multiple oppression, any challenges to racism made by students, differences in terminology used to consider issues associated with 'race' and the attention given to racism and anti-racism as future learning needs. Finally, we consider implications for future research and a summary of the findings.     

民族文化产业反贫增收机制创新

“贫困”是可以进行多维解读的概念,反贫困也因此依托多重话语体系来指导具体行动思路,总体而言概括为经济、制度、文化三个层面。民族地区长期以“经济”贫困为基本导向,重点解决经济贫困问题,而反贫增收成为当下中国扶贫工作的重点,民族地区可以依托民族文化产业,创新反贫增收机制,开拓民族文化产业反贫增收新机制。     

Homelessness,housing instability,intimate partner violence,mental health,and functioning: A multi-year cohort study of IPV survivors and their children

Abstract

Homelessness and housing instability frequently accompany intimate partner violence and can negatively impact health and functioning. When children are exposed to homelessness or housing instability their ability to develop and function is compromised. The purpose of this study is to examine the differential impact of homelessness and unstable housing on health and functioning of women and their children over a 2-year period. Two hundred and seventy-seven mothers reporting intimate partner violence (stalking, physical, or sexual violence by an intimate partner) were asked about housing stability, abuse, risk for murder, mental health, employment/wages, and their child's functioning over a 2-year period. Outcomes of mothers reporting homelessness and unstable housing were compared to mothers reporting stable housing. Over one-third (36%) of the mothers reported at least one episode of unstable housing over the 2-year period and 11% reported homelessness. Measures of maternal mental health and child functioning were worse for both unstably housed and homeless women, compared to stably housed women, with a higher risk for sexual abuse and risk for murder for homeless women. New models of rapid rehousing are needed that address not only the housing problems of women who have experienced intimate partner violence but also the mental health and safety issues that the women and their children face.     

Zanzibari Social Entrepreneurs and Poverty Alleviation Strategies: Understanding Efforts to Build Local Community Sustainability

ABSTRACT

Poverty throughout Zanzibar, Tanzania encourages social entrepreneurs to think strategically about methods of human capital development, promoting economic sustainability and asset building. Local women social entrepreneurs are successfully active in (a) building the educational opportunities for girls and low income women, (b) evolving in business to meet change and economic growth, and (c) empowering vulnerable populations and people living with disabilities. This qualitative study interviews 15 women social entrepreneurs in the rural area of Jambiani and the urban area of Stone Town. Their ventures are alleviating poverty and social workers can support these local creative initiatives in diverse ways.     

新疆贫困地区农户参与扶贫活动的影响因素分析——基于3000农户问卷调查的实证分析

本文利用新疆30个扶贫重点县的3000农户的调查数据,对影响农户参与扶贫活动的因素进行了计量经济分析。分析结果表明:从农户所在社区情况、农户基本特征和具备的能力来看,总体反映出社区情况越恶劣、农户各方面条件和能力越差,越有可能参与扶贫活动的规律,从而验证了扶贫开发所具有的"趋害疏利"的特性;从农户的参与意愿来看,农户对扶贫活动或扶贫项目的了解程度显著影响其参与活动,同时还体现出农户参与愿望与扶贫资源相对有限的矛盾,这也是扶贫开发过程中存在的很多问题的根本原因所在。