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Household Assets and Food Security: Evidence from the Survey of Program Dynamics

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Abstract

This study uses the Survey of Program Dynamics data to examine the independent role of household assets in food security. It further examines whether assets provide a buffer for low-income households to food insecurity in the face of income losses. Results of the Two-Part Model analyses show that household assets have a significant association with food security in both the full sample and the low-income sample. In the presence of household assets, income’s effect on food security decreases. In addition, the significant interaction terms of income loss and household assets indicate that assets provide resources to smooth food consumption. The findings of this study suggest a consideration of asset building strategies in asset related provisions of current food assistance policy. KeywordsFood security–Food stamp program–Household assets–Income

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... Food insecurity prevalence is highest among renters, followed by homeowners with a mortgage and mortgagefree homeowners [24,25,26]. In the present study, food insecurity was found to be associated with households living in rental communities. ...
... In the present study, food insecurity was found to be associated with households living in rental communities. Owning a home is an important asset, and homeownership may reduce food insecurity risk by facilitating access to credit in times of financial constraints [24,26,27]. Further, mortgage and rent payments can represent a large recurrent expense that may not only reduce households' ability to afford food [28] but also their ability to save and buffer unexpected financial shocks [24,29]. ...
... Owning a home is an important asset, and homeownership may reduce food insecurity risk by facilitating access to credit in times of financial constraints [24,26,27]. Further, mortgage and rent payments can represent a large recurrent expense that may not only reduce households' ability to afford food [28] but also their ability to save and buffer unexpected financial shocks [24,29]. ...
... Based on previous research [18,19,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31], several variables of farming land and household characteristics were added to the econometric model. The gender of the household head and the education of the household head are added to this research. ...
... The gender of the household head and the education of the household head are added to this research. In addition, the research added age to the estimations based on the research of Tran and Vu [21], Baorong Guo [28], and household savings from the research of Abdullah et al. [29]. In addition, Cholo et al. [19] pointed out other variables such as total cultivated area, productivity, number of assets, access to credit, types of seeds, and socks. ...
... Likewise, the research indicates that households with savings can reduce their household food insecurity status. This result is in line with the results reported by Guo [28]. Households saving is frequently used to cope with future risks such as diseases and reduction of their income. ...
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The objective of this study is to examine the impact of land fragmentation in rice production on household food insecurity in Vietnam. This study provides the first evidence on the effect of land fragmentation on household food insecurity in rice production. This study uses a relatively rich panel dataset of rice farming households across different regions from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) 2012, 2014, and 2016. The research applies the ordered pro-bit model to identify land fragmentation and other factors affecting household food insecurity at different food insecurity levels. Findings indicate that land fragmentation and rice seed types are positively correlated with household food insecurity. Importantly, the odds of an increase of 1% fragmentation land index increase the probability of household food insecurity at a very high level of 4.79% after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Other factors such as total cultivated area, access to credit, and household savings help reduce household food insecurity. These findings suggest that the government needs to foster the process of consolidating fragmented rice plots to help households produce efficiently and reduce food insecurity for their families. In addition, other approaches such as increasing farm size for each rice farmer and access to credit can increase the probability of food security for rural households in Vietnam.
... This may be because the level of effort they put into obtaining healthy drinking means that quality food must also be available. House ownership also significantly affects rural and urban households, with those who own their homes having higher food security than those who do not (Guo, 2011). ...
... Finally, we traced four types of household assets in this study; the results show that all assets have a positive and significant impact on individual food security. Vehicle ownership has a positive effect because it allows people to access food stores and markets more easily (Martinez, Clark, & Gudzune, 2019) and choose food stores that sell quality products at low prices (Guo, 2011). Savings also have a positive effect because when the household faces a difficult time, they can withdraw money from the savings account (Guo, 2011;Yenerall & Jensen, 2022). ...
... Vehicle ownership has a positive effect because it allows people to access food stores and markets more easily (Martinez, Clark, & Gudzune, 2019) and choose food stores that sell quality products at low prices (Guo, 2011). Savings also have a positive effect because when the household faces a difficult time, they can withdraw money from the savings account (Guo, 2011;Yenerall & Jensen, 2022). Household supplies, loans, and jewelry also positively affect food security because they are indicators of household wealth. ...
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The government of Indonesia has launched various programs to increase community resilience, but the effectiveness of these programs has yet to be discovered. Previous studies have found a relationship between social capital and improving community food security. However, only limited tracing of rural and urban typologies has been conducted, especially in Indonesia. Therefore, this study analyzes whether social capital improves food security in rural and urban communities in Indonesia. We use data from 10,301 rural and 13,946 urban individuals obtained by the Indonesian Family Life Survey 5 (IFLS5) and employ three variables—bonding, bridging, and community participation—to examine the effect of social capital on food security. The ordered probit regression analysis results show that bridging and community participation significantly increase food security in rural and urban communities. Meanwhile, bonding has no significant effect. We recommend the implementation of efforts to increase social capital, primarily bridging and community participation, in rural and urban areas in Indonesia.
... These include, the use of savings, reliance on less expensive food, reduction of meals consumed per day, purchase of food on credit and reducing portion of food for household members. Guo [52] noted that given income losses, the impact of savings on food security is greater, suggesting that savings has significant buffering effects on smoothing consumption and preventing food insecurity in low-income households. Spending from savings helps low-income households to limit the impact of income loss while also ensuring their food intake [52]. ...
... Guo [52] noted that given income losses, the impact of savings on food security is greater, suggesting that savings has significant buffering effects on smoothing consumption and preventing food insecurity in low-income households. Spending from savings helps low-income households to limit the impact of income loss while also ensuring their food intake [52]. However, the reduction in number of meals consumed in a day due to insufficient resources may lead to low food security and reduction in quality and diversity of food consumed [53] and consequently lead to poor health. ...
... We found that renters, relative to homeowners, were nearly three times more likely to experience food insecurity. The vulnerabilities of renters to food insecurity relative to homeowners have been documented in prior studies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (21,51,59,60). Individuals and families that struggle with housing instability tend to experience food insecurity (61). ...
... Owning a home or having stable, affordable housing might help individuals set aside a larger part of their budget for food and other needed items. Even in the case of income loss, homeownership might provide buffering effects to mitigate the negative consequences of income loss on food security (59). In our sample, the percentage of participants who were homeowners decreased from 79.7% (2018) to 65.9% (2020), while the percentage of participants who were renters nearly doubled from 15.3% (2018) to 30.0% (2020). ...
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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the health and wellbeing of older adult populations through increased morbidity, mortality, and social exclusion. However, the impact of COVID-19 on the health of older adults through food security has received relatively little attention, despite the strong impact of diet quality on the health and longevity of older adults. Objective The objective of this study was to identify sociodemographic and socioeconomic predictors of self-reported food insecurity before and early in the COVID-19 pandemic among community-dwelling older adults in the United States. Methods Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults in the United States, we examined the associations between sociodemographic and socioeconomic predictors of self-reported food insecurity between 2018 (N = 2,413) and June 2020 (N = 2,216) using population-weighted multivariate logistic regression models. Results The prevalence of food insecurity doubled among participants from 2018 (4.83%) to June 2020 (9.54%). In 2018, non-Hispanic Black and rural residents were more likely to report food insecurity, while individuals with higher education and greater wealth were less likely to report food insecurity in adjusted models. In June 2020, those who were relatively younger, not working due to a disability, and renting were more likely to report food insecurity. Those with an increased number of functional limitations, a recent onset of a work-limiting disability, and those who were no longer homeowners experienced an elevated longitudinal risk for food insecurity. Conclusion Future research should examine effective policies and interventions to address the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on populations at a heightened risk of experiencing food insecurity.
... Similarly, Guo (2011) and Gjertson (2016) observed that higher household savings were associated with a lower probability of encountering food insecurity. Brewer (2020) showed that having assets predicted a lower risk of food insecurity, reflecting that assets can ameliorate competition between daily needs. ...
... While empirical studies have established that higher household income and assets are valid predictors of lower food insecurity (Brewer, 2020;Chang et al., 2014;Gjertson, 2016;Gundersen et al., 2011;Guo, 2011;Leete & Bania, 2010), researchers have paid little attention to how income and assets are associated with the distinct food insecurity trajectories experienced by different subgroups in a sample. Given the evidence demonstrating that economically vulnerable households are less likely to effectively address food insecurity in the short term (Kaiser & Cafer, 2016;Pollard, 2019;Wilde et al., 2010), we hypothesized that lower income and assets could be associated with a higher risk of experiencing food insecurity that endures or worsens over time. ...
Article
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Food insecurity remains prevalent in the United States, affecting millions of households. Research has confirmed that low income and limited assets are risk factors for food insecurity, but how income and assets are associated with food insecurity has not been fully explored in light of the fact that food insecurity endures or worsens over time for some people but not others. Using 2015, 2017, and 2019 waves of the panel study of income dynamics, this study (1) investigated the heterogeneity of food insecurity trajectories using Growth Mixture Modeling; (2) performed a multinomial logistic regression to examine how income and assets are associated with the relative risk of facing a more severe food insecurity trajectory; and (3) compared the coefficient of income with the coefficient of assets. Results of this study showed that both higher income and more assets are associated with a lower probability of facing food insecurity that worsens rather than improves with time. This study also observed that the association strength was stronger for income than for assets. These results offer insights for policies aimed at creating efficient financial support strategies (e.g., income assistance, asset building) that reduce recipients’ risk of experiencing long-term food insecurity.
... However, some temporarily low-income individuals may be able to afford food by drawing down savings or incurring debts. The literature reveals that various individual assets have a significant relationship with FI [58,59]. Specifically, on the one hand, savings enhance the capacity for current consumption, but on the other hand, debts reduce it [59,60]. ...
... The literature reveals that various individual assets have a significant relationship with FI [58,59]. Specifically, on the one hand, savings enhance the capacity for current consumption, but on the other hand, debts reduce it [59,60]. ...
Article
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Food security (FS) is influenced by primarily financial but also sociodemographic factors. Identification of correlates of food insecurity (FI) is a crucial issue in the context of achieving sustainable development goals. The aims of the study were: (1) to recognize FI in the selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, (2) to examine common socioeconomic and demographic characteristics for FI. The analysis used the set of eight-item FI indicators adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization, applying the Gallup World Poll survey data from 2017 to 2019. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine FI at mild and moderate or severe levels compared with FS. Differences in the profiles of FI were observed in analyzed countries: Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia. Lithuanians experienced the lowest FS, and Slovaks the highest. The FI status was associated with education, gender, age, household composition and income. It was found that the impact of these factors was not the same in the examined countries. Differences in profiles of FI in CEE countries indicate the need to analyze the problem individually for each country. Identifying groups particularly vulnerable to FI may allow appropriate targeting of instruments counteracting FI and adapt them to people with different characteristics.
... Financial resources can mitigate against food insecurity (Gundersen & Ziliak, 2018). For example, households with physical assets (e.g., owning a home, rather than renting it) and financial assets (e.g., savings accounts, access to credit) are less likely to be food insecure (Fitzpatrick, 2017;Guo, 2011). 9 Based on a longitudinal analysis, Gjertson (2016) finds that households with emergency savings are less likely to experience food insecurity. ...
... Black and Latino/a/x people are also less likely to own their homes than white people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). Previous research finds that households with financial assets and physical assets (e.g., a home that they own) are better able to buffer themselves against food insecurity (Fitzpatrick, 2017;Gjertson, 2016;Gundersen & Ziliak, 2018;Guo, 2011). A host of racist policies and practices have led to racial disparities in home ownership (e.g., see Korver-Glenn, 2018;Rothstein, 2017). ...
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Rates of food insecurity skyrocketed during the COVID‐19 pandemic, doubling overall and tripling among households with children. Even before the pandemic, the rate of food insecurity in the United States was “unusually high” compared to other rich democracies, and rates have not improved substantially over the last 25 years. What explains the lack of progress in addressing food insecurity? This article maps out an overview of the experiences, causes, and consequences of food insecurity in the United States. We demonstrate that racism is a fundamental cause of food insecurity, both because racism contributes to racial disparities in income and wealth, and because racism is linked to food insecurity independent of poverty and socioeconomic status. For example, people of color are more likely to experience racial discrimination, which is associated with food insecurity, and to live in states where stricter regulations and harsher punishments are tied to social assistance programs, including food assistance programs. Because racism is a fundamental cause of food insecurity, eliminating it requires going beyond “just” eliminating poverty. Instead, the fundamental cause must be tackled directly: racism itself, which is built into the structure of American society and entrenched in its institutions.
... Some studies found gender, age, and disabilities [2,5]. Other studies identified social norms, natural disasters, civil conflicts, and climate change, household assets, homeownership [6][7][8]. Some other studies determined access to market information, nonefarm work, family size, irrigation access, farm size, land quality (soil fertility) and household head sex [9][10][11][12][13]. ...
... This study revealed that 59.09% of the resident in the rural area of Paktia Province are food insecure while 40.91% is food secure. According to this study, more than half of the people are food insecure; also, another study shows that about one-third of the Afghan population suffered from food insecurity [7]. This high rate of food insecurity is due to low household income, lack of education and health services, household size, internal displacement, spending a huge amount of their income on food because of high prices, flood, and insufficient cultivable land. ...
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This study aimed to explore the factors affecting food security in the rural area of Paktia province, Afghanistan. The study was based on household-level data collected from rural areas of all districts of the province. The data were collected from randomly selected 154 households. The respondents were both males and females. A face-to-face interview with a structured questionnaire was done with both male and female household heads. The study recorded 59.1% of households were food insecure, and on average, 48.1% of the household had poor food consumption, while, 38.3% had borderline and 13.6% had acceptable food consumption. The study also calculated food consumption scores and examined the correlation between different factors determining food security. The regression result showed lower-income, farm size, household size, flood, food price, and internal displacement factors determined food insecurity.
... non-Hispanic households, with and without children, were most likely to suffer food insecurity. Guo (2011) documented that, regardless of socio-economic status, family food security is related to household assets. This is because the interaction between household assets and income loss buffered changes in food consumption patterns. ...
... Factors leading to food insecurity • Regardless of socio-economic status, family food security was related to household assets. When faced with liquidity constraint and asset inadequacy, risk of food insecurity increased among low-income families, regardless of household income level (Chang et al. 2014;Guo 2011) • Food insecurity, resulted partly from the interaction between unstable income and nonstandard work schedules, was most pronounced in maleand female-headed households and weakest among married couples (Coleman-Jensen 2011) ...
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Scholarship on families in poverty, in the last decade, documented various struggles and challenges faced by low-income families and expanded our understanding of their complicated life circumstances embedded within the contexts of community, culture, and policies. The research articles published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues during this time, that highlighted poverty, focused primarily on three topic areas: economic security, family life issues, and food security. Overall, findings conclude that family well-being and stability cannot be promoted without the consideration of environmental factors. They depend on the interaction among individual (e.g., increased human capital), family (e.g., positive co-parental relationship), community (e.g., affordable childcare), and policy changes (e.g., realistic welfare-to-work programs). Collectively, the articles have provided a road map for future research directions.
... These results from our feature extraction exercise and identification of key predictors of resilience are in line with a growing literature linking resilience with financial inclusion (Arouri et al., 2015;Belayeth Hussain et al., 2019;Islam et al., 2016;Islam & Maitra, 2012;Jordan, 2015;Khandker et al., 2012;Sakyi-Nyarko et al., 2022), resilience with agricultural mechanization (Amare & Endalew, 2016;Daum & Birner, 2020;Emami et al., 2018), and resilience with household assets (Ansah et al., 2019;Gilligan & Hoddinott, 2007;Guo, 2011;Hidrobo et al., 2018;Little & Ahmad, 2002;Manlosa et al., 2019). However, it is important to note that the characterization of resilient and non-resilient households presented in this study must be interpreted with caution. ...
Article
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Leveraging advancements in remote data collection and using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) as a proxy measure of resilience, we show that machine learning models (such as Gradient Boosting Classifier, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, and Artificial Neural Networks), can predict resilience with relatively high accuracy (up to 81%). Key household‐level predictors include access to financial institutions, asset ownership, the adoption of agricultural mechanization as evidenced by the use of tractors, the number of crops cultivated, and ownership of nonfarm enterprises. Our analysis offers insights to researchers and policymakers interested in the development of targeted interventions to bolster household resilience.
... Traditionally, income has been considered a primary economic determinant of wellbeing. Consequently, home income is commonly used to replace consumption, and it is rarely acknowledged that household assets contribute independently to wellbeing [108]. ...
Article
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Every facet of life, including health, social, and economic aspects, has undergone a tremendous transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This condition is exacerbated by socioeconomic fragility and vulnerability amid economic uncertainty, with an enormous debt burden and inequality increasingly spreading to regions. Elements of society in Indonesia experience the problem of a lack of income and capital, in addition to vulnerability and helplessness. Social, economic, community–institutional, and resource vulnerabilities are inevitable; therefore, they must be identified, anticipated, and dealt with to avoid worsening. This research aims to identify the affected households and their economic resilience when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed approach with a sequential exploratory strategy was employed, whereby qualitative data were first collected and analyzed. Based on the findings of the first stage, quantitative data were obtained and examined in the second stage. This study was conducted in two rural locations with distinct characteristics: the Gunungkidul District on Java Island and the Bangkalan District on Madura Island. These findings demonstrate the economic resilience of households in Bangkalan and Gunungkidul. The factors that significantly influence economic resilience are household income, assets, and product availability in the market.
... However, this study found that there was not significant relationship between lower income and FI with severe hunger. The voluminous number of positive responds on the HFSSM module has been used as outcome variable in other studies [34][35][36][37]. This study also showed that a change in individual food insecurity scale score is an important indicator of economic changes within households. ...
Article
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Background Food security is a function of food access and dietary diversity. Older age is a period when adequate and diverse dietary intake is a challenge. This study aimed to investigate the association between food security on the one hand and dietary diversity and socioeconomic factors on the other hand among the free-living older people in the city of Tehran. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 583 older people, aged 60–80 years living in Tehran city, were selected through the systematic cluster sampling method. Food security was determined by the United States Household Food Security Survey Module (US-HFSSM (.Socioeconomic status (SES) and two 24-h recalls were obtained. Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) was calculated using the FAO 2010 guideline. Multinomial logistic regression was applied. Results The average age of participants was 67.87 ± 5.86 years. Based on US-HFSSM, 56.9% of older people were food secure; while 25.7%, 14.2% and 3.2% suffered from food insecurity (FI) without hunger, with moderate hunger, and with severe hunger, respectively. There was no association between FI and DDS, even after controlling for confounders. FI with mild hunger was associated with household income (OR = 2.744, 95% CI = 1.100–6.846), while FI with severe hunger was associated with Fars ethnicity (OR = 0.146, 95% CI = 0.051–0.424). Conclusions Overall, socio-economic status and demographic characteristics were the predictors of FI among older people. The findings can have implication in design and targeting of interventions directed at older people.
... Hence, the question emerges how resilient is household demand for various food categories to shocks that abruptly increase food prices and/or reduce the household budget available for food consumption. Guo (2011) finds that households endowed with more assets and capital have better food security. Also, French et al. (2019) and Gibson (2013) find that households having limited purchasing power tend to sacrifice expensive but nutrient-rich food items for cheap, energy-dense foods to cope with adverse shocks. ...
Article
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Policy interest often focuses on specific instruments that effectively enhance household resilience to food security shocks. Based on microeconomic household demand and resilience theory, this paper investigates to what extent increased household resilience capacities result in household food consumption being more robust to adverse food price and income shocks. Using nationally representative household data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey, baseline parameters estimated from a micro-econometric quadratic almost ideal demand system are used to simulate the impacts of income and price shocks on food demand of urban and rural non-poor as well as urban and rural poor households. We assess how policy instruments that increase household resilience capacities, proxied by the values of assets owned, livestock, or household crop buffer stocks, affect shocks' impacts on food demand. Results show that a 20% general increase in food prices induces a demand switch from all other foods to basic staples and miscellaneous foods while a 20% reduction in available food expenditure dampens demand for pulses, greens, protein foods, and oils. Policy instruments that increase assets, livestock, and crop stocks of only poor households are more beneficial to the urban poor—increasing their demand for greens, protein foods, and oils—than policy instruments that raise resilience capacities of all households. On the other hand, rural poor households' protein demand tends to be enhanced by a general increase in assets, livestock, and crop buffer stocks. These findings illustrate that governments in low-income countries should focus their policy efforts on ensuring food affordability by avoiding price peaks for those food commodities playing major roles in typical national diets. We also conclude that the ongoing Investment for Food and Jobs policy in Ghana helps improving poor households' resilience capacities by raising their buffer stocks, boosting their assets, or increasing the number of livestock kept.
... Hence, the question emerges how resilient is household demand for various food categories to shocks that abruptly increase food prices and/or reduce the household budget available for food consumption. Guo (2011) finds that households endowed with more assets and capital have better food security. Also, French et al. (2019) and Gibson (2013) find that households having limited purchasing power tend to sacrifice expensive but nutrient-rich food items for cheap, energy-dense foods to cope with adverse shocks. ...
Article
Policy interest often focuses on specific instruments that effectively enhance household resilience to food security shocks. Based on microeconomic household demand and resilience theory, this paper investigates to what extent increased household resilience capacities result in household food consumption being more robust to adverse food price and income shocks. Using nationally representative household data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey, baseline parameters estimated from a micro‐econometric quadratic almost ideal demand system are used to simulate the impacts of income and price shocks on food demand of urban and rural non‐poor as well as urban and rural poor households. We assess how policy instruments that increase household resilience capacities, proxied by the values of assets owned, livestock, or household crop buffer stocks, affect shocks' impacts on food demand. Results show that a 20% general increase in food prices induces a demand switch from all other foods to basic staples and miscellaneous foods while a 20% reduction in available food expenditure dampens demand for pulses, greens, protein foods, and oils. Policy instruments that increase assets, livestock, and crop stocks of only poor households are more beneficial to the urban poor—increasing their demand for greens, protein foods, and oils—than policy instruments that raise resilience capacities of all households. On the other hand, rural poor households' protein demand tends to be enhanced by a general increase in assets, livestock, and crop buffer stocks. These findings illustrate that governments in low‐income countries should focus their policy efforts on ensuring food affordability by avoiding price peaks for those food commodities playing major roles in typical national diets. We also conclude that the ongoing Investment for Food and Jobs policy in Ghana helps improving poor households' resilience capacities by raising their buffer stocks, boosting their assets, or increasing the number of livestock kept.
... Less income also deprives LGB persons of opportunities to save and accumulate assets, which decreases the risk of food insecurity when there is a loss of income. 38 Food insecurity in LGB adults might also be explained by persistent sexual minority earnings gaps. Research has found a consistent pattern of gay and bisexual men earning less than heterosexual men with identical socioeconomic attributes. ...
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Purpose We sought to describe the prevalence of food insecurity and its relationship with mental health, health care access, and use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults in the U.S. Design and Setting We analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a cross-sectional study of noninstitutionalized adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Sample The study sample was restricted to LGB adults ≥18 years (N = 1178) from the 2021 NHIS survey. Measures Food security was assessed using the 10-item U.S Adult Food Security Survey Module. Study outcomes were mental health (depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, and serious psychological distress), health care utilization, and medication adherence. Analysis Descriptive statistics and linear and generalized linear regressions. Results The study sample consisted of 69% White, 14% Hispanic/Latinx, 9% Black, and 8% people of other races. Approximately half (53%) identified as bisexual and 47% identified as gay or lesbian. Eleven percent were food insecure. Sexual orientation, income-to-poverty ratio, and health insurance were significant correlates of food insecurity. In multivariable analyses, food insecurity was significantly associated with mental illness (including depression, anxiety, and serious psychological distress), limited health care access and use (including inability to pay medical bills, delay in getting medical and mental health care, and going without needed medical and mental health care), and medication nonadherence (including skipping medication, taking less medication, delay filling prescription, and going without needed prescription). Conclusion Food insecurity is a constant predictor of adverse mental health and low medical and mental health care use rates among LGB adults in the United States. Achieving food security in LGB people requires improving their financial and nonfinancial resources to obtain food.
... Empirical analysis has revealed a number of factors to influence household food security, such as, job loss and level of income (Ahmed et al., 2021) (Ibukun & Adebayo, 2021) (Loopstra, n.d.) (Rahman et al., 2020); size of the household (Bogale, 2012); education level (Arndt et al., 2020) (Ibukun & Adebayo, 2021) (Faridi & Wadood, 2010); number of dependents (Rahman et al., 2020); receipt of remittances (Mango et al., 2014) (Ahmed et al., 2021; household assets (Headey et al., 2020) (Guo, 2011); household savings (Frongillo et al., 1997); households ownership of business, participation in microcredit programs (Ahmed et al., 2021); better quality of housing, ownership of land, accessibility to electricity and inclusion in safety net programs (Faridi & Wadood, 2010). While (Ibukun & Adebayo, 2021) found that the level of education of the household head, income and the wealth status of the household are the dominant factors in analyzing food security during the pandemic rather than age, gender, household size, sectoral distribution, and dependency ratio; (Abdullah et al., 2019) found socio-economic factors including age, gender, education, remittances, unemployment, inflation, assets as key determinants of food security. ...
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This study explores the condition of household food security among the urban slum dwellers of Kalshi Slum, Dhaka through analyzing the differences that COVID-19 has brought to their lives in terms of income, food expenditure and consumption practices. Through conducting a community-based cross-sectional survey, the authors explore the key factors associated with household food security and observe how people of different occupations faced varying degrees of food insecurity during the pandemic. The study finds that majority of the respondents experienced negative income shock, however, spending on food didn't decline as much as the decline in income. Occupation wise, self-employed people are found more food insecure. Gender of the respondent, ownership of land, experience with income shock, number of dependents in the household-these variables are found significant to household food security. As coping measure households used savings, borrowed money, purchased food on credit, received assistance from government and local authorities.
... Household welfare status is inseparable from assets and the role of assets is significant in critical circumstances. Assets owned by households can be used to provide resources to facilitate food consumption (Guo, 2011) and meet food needs (Hoteit et al., 2021). Additionally, the increase in food prices adds to the financial burden on the poor, making access to food even more difficult. ...
Article
Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected access to adequate and nutritious food, resulting in hunger, malnutrition and increased food insecurity. The purpose of this study was to identify the households in Indonesia that were most likely to experience the pandemic's effects. Design/methodology/approach Using raw data from nationwide Indonesian household socioeconomic and expenditure surveys (SUSENAS 2020 and SUSENAS 2021), food insecurity was measured using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). A multinomial logistic regression model was used to analyze the data. Findings The prevalence of mild, moderate and severe food insecurity increased from 20.61% to 21.67% and from 1.28% to 1.37%, respectively, between 2020 (the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2021 (the period during which the infection rapidly spread nationwide). The estimation results of the multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that urban households, which may have had more difficulties with income generation and access to food due to behavioral constraints, were more likely to be affected by the pandemic. Additionally, economically vulnerable poor households, households with low levels of education or unemployed heads were more likely to be affected by the pandemic. Originality/value To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study to access the impact of economic downturn and social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on household food insecurity in Indonesia, using the nationwide household survey data.
... For example, Koren and Bagozzi [48] used per capita cropland as a food security measure, which is not a valid indicator for the multidimensional food security concept (it cannot even fully capture the food availability dimension). Thirteen publications that we classified as methodological, two review articles [49,50], and three articles on seed insecurity [51], marine food insecurity [52] and political economy of food security [53] were also excluded. Finally, we reviewed, analysed, and summarised the scientific evidence of 78 articles on food security measurement (see Additional file 1 for the list of the articles and the data). ...
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Unlabelled: Measurement is critical for assessing and monitoring food security. Yet, it is difficult to comprehend which food security dimensions, components, and levels the numerous available indicators reflect. We thus conducted a systematic literature review to analyse the scientific evidence on these indicators to comprehend the food security dimensions and components covered, intended purpose, level of analysis, data requirements, and recent developments and concepts applied in food security measurement. Data analysis of 78 articles shows that the household-level calorie adequacy indicator is the most frequently used (22%) as a sole measure of food security. The dietary diversity-based (44%) and experience-based (40%) indicators also find frequent use. The food utilisation (13%) and stability (18%) dimensions were seldom captured when measuring food security, and only three of the retrieved publications measured food security by considering all the four food security dimensions. The majority of the studies that applied calorie adequacy and dietary diversity-based indicators employed secondary data whereas most of the studies that applied experience-based indicators employed primary data, suggesting the convenience of collecting data for experience-based indicators than dietary-based indicators. We confirm that the estimation of complementary food security indicators consistently over time can help capture the different food security dimensions and components, and experience-based indicators are more suitable for rapid food security assessments. We suggest practitioners to integrate food consumption and anthropometry data in regular household living standard surveys for more comprehensive food security analysis. The results of this study can be used by food security stakeholders such as governments, practitioners and academics for briefs, teaching, as well as policy-related interventions and evaluations. Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40066-023-00415-7.
... The model estimation has shown that total household asset value had significant and positive association with household food security in coffee and wheat growing farmers at p < 5%. Guo (2011), Thamaga-Chitja et al. (2004 and Lutomia et al. (2019) found similar results. ...
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Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries where food insecurity is dominant in rural households. Coffee and wheat are the most important cash and staple crops, respectively, in Ethiopia and yet their association with household food security is not sufficiently addressed. This study was conducted in coffee growers of Gomma district and wheat farmers of Dodota district to assess status and determinants of household food insecurity. A total of 370 households were interviewed in the two districts. Semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informants interview were used to engage with the farmers. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to measure household food insecurity. Determinants of household food security status (FSS) were elicited using ordered logit econometric model. The result indicated 43.2% and 56.8% of sample households were food secure and insecure, respectively. The majority (60.5%) of food insecure households were found in coffee growers. Educational level, land degradation, access to market, agricultural advisory services and credit positively influenced FSS of both wheat and coffee growers, yet purpose of production had significant effect only on FSS of wheat growers while remittance had strong association with coffee growers’ FSS. Household occupation, annual farm income and total household asset values also had positive effect on FSS of sample respondents. Hence, mixed development policies and strategies that aimed to address demographic, socioeconomic and institutional aspects of wheat and coffee producers should be designed to assure food security at household level.
... This construction is consistent with how previous studies have operationalized remittances (e.g., Verpoorten et al. 2013;Ivlevs, Nikolova, and Graham 2019;Sulemana, Bugri Anarfo, and Quartey 2019;Sulemana, Doabil, and Anarfo 2019). We controlled for other covariates of food security established in the literature on migration and food security, including demographic characteristics like age, gender, and education (Kuwornu, Suleyman, and Amegashie 2013;Kassie, Ndiritu, and Stage 2014;Generoso 2015;Regmi and Paudel 2016;Regmi and Paudel 2017), unemployment (Loopstra and Tarasuk 2013;Etana and Tolossa 2017), asset ownership (Guo 2011), access to electricity (Habtewold 2018) and pipe water (Iram and Butt 2004), and rural versus urban residence (Verpoorten et al. 2013). ...
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The pervasiveness of food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions has resulted in increased emigration not only to wealthier countries within the continent but also to developed countries elsewhere in the world. A growing body of research has examined the welfare implications of remittances from international migrants for families left behind. A strand of that literature focuses on the association between international remittances and household food security. We contribute to this body of work by examining the variability of this relationship across three groupings of African countries, based on the World Bank's income classifications. Using data from the Afrobarometer Surveys, our results from an instrumental variable ordered probit regressions reveal that international remittances are positively and significantly correlated with household food security for all three country groupings. After correcting for endogeneity, we find that remittance-receiving households were 83.59 percent, 72.66 percent, and 26.06 percent more likely to report having never gone without enough food to eat in low-income, lower-middle income, and upper-middle income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, respectively. These findings suggest that central governments and policymakers in Africa should reform public policy in a way that strengthens the effectiveness and efficiency of international remittances transfer to reduce food insecurity across the continent.
... The prevalence of food insecurity among Black and Latino/a/x-headed households has historically been at least double that of White households, and between 2019 and 2020, food insecurity rose in Black households but remained steady overall and dropped among White households (Coleman-Jensen et al. 2021). As we argue in another paper ; see also Burke et al. 2018;Odoms-Young 2018;Phojanakong et al. 2019), racism contributes to racial disparities in income and wealth and other economic resources that can help buffer against food insecurity (Fitzpatrick 2017;Gjertson 2016;Guo 2011), and racism is linked to food insecurity independent of poverty and socioeconomic status. For example, people of color are more likely to experience racial discrimination, itself directly linked to food insecurity (Burke et al. 2018;Phojanakong et al. 2019), and to live in states, many of them in the South, where stricter regulations and harsher punishments are tied to social assistance programs (Soss, Fording, and Schram 2011), including food assistance programs. ...
... Households have used formal and informal borrowing as a strategy to meet immediate expenses (70)(71)(72)(73). Lack of access to such a coping strategy is reported to increase the likelihood of a household being foodinsecure (74,75). Also, the fact that most of the households' food security has deteriorated implies that they also relied on and employed both food-based coping strategies of reducing the quantity and quality of food consumption and financial coping strategies to tackle the stress to their food security caused due to an income shock (76). ...
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This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and on coping-strategies in urban and peri-urban areas of the Hyderabad, India. Household survey data were collected before (October 2018) and during (January 2021) the onset of the pandemic. Results from logistic regression with the standarized Food Insecurity Expecience Scale (FIES) as dependent variable reveal that close to 40% of the households surveyed experienced a deterioration in food security status during the pandemic. In particular, we find that food security is closely related to the sector of employment in which the primary income- earning member of a household is engaged. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their food security, our sampled households adopted a variety of consumption-smoothing strategies including availing credit from both formal and informal sources, and liquidating their savings. Compared to households with severe or moderate level of food insecurity, households facing a mild level of food insecurity relied on stored food as a strategy to smoothen consumption in response to the income shock imparted by the pandemic. In addition, the results indicate that urban households, who adopted similar coping strategies as those adopted by peri-urban households, tended to be more food-insecure. Finally, the duration of unemployment experienced during the pandemic significantly influenced the status of household food security. These findings can inform the formulation of immediate and medium-term policy responses, including social protection policies conductive to mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ameliorating the governance of urban food security during unexpected events and shocks.
... In particular, it would be worth considering, apart from income, other characteristics relating to the financial situation of individuals. Specifically, including in models such factors relating to assets could provide an interesting insight into the FI profile, as literature shows, savings accumulated in the past enhance the capacity to current consumption, while debts reduce it (Chang, Chatterjee & Kim, 2014;Guo, 2011). Moreover, the cross-sectional nature of the data does not allow identifying the persistence of experiencing of FI. ...
Article
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Food Insecurity (FI) is a complex phenomenon, therefore the traditional approach to its analysis, based on the rigid dichotomization between the food-secure and the food-insecure can oversimplify the real picture. The study proposes to consider FI as a degree rather than as an attribute. To do this, it employs a fuzzy approach widely applied in multidimensional poverty analysis. The study aims to identify correlates of FI in the V4 countries using the zero-inflated beta regression model. This model enables to understand the mechanisms behind the risk and the severity of FI in V4. The analysis based on the FIES data collected in the Gallup World Poll for 2018 indicates the role of income, household composition, and social capital as important correlates of FI. The risk of FI was also affected by age, level of education, gender, marital and employment status. Moreover, the study finds that the food insecurity profile exhibits country-specific effects.
... In Finland, low household income, recent unemployment and economic problems in childhood were all associated with food insecurity (13) . There are similar findings worldwide, as food insecurity has been found to be a consequence of multiple economic and resource issues such as lower household income (5,7,8,(14)(15)(16) , lack of assets and savings (17) and income instability (18,19) . Other vulnerabilities such as receiving disability pensions/benefits (7,20) , being a single-parent household (6,7) , having lower education (3,5) , being an immigrant or asylum seeker (8,21,22) and renting housing (14) have also been associated with food insecurity. ...
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Objective To examine the prevalence and determinants of food insecurity among private sector service workers in Finland and assess validity of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) tool. Design In this cross-sectional study, food insecurity and background characteristics were collected from Finnish private service workers via electronic questionnaires (2019) and national register data (2018-2019). We conducted univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to determine the variables explaining food insecurity. Validity of HFIAS was assessed with rotated principal component analysis and Cronbach alpha. Setting Members of the trade union for private sector service workers, Service Union United (PAM), from all municipalities in Finland participated in the study in 2019. Participants The subjects were 6,435 private sector workers that were members of the Service Union United (PAM) in Finland. Mean age of participants was 44 years (SD=12.7 years). Results Two thirds of the participants (65%) were food insecure with over a third (36%) reporting severe food insecurity. Reporting great difficulties in covering household expenses and young age markedly increased the risk of severe food insecurity (OR:15.05 95% CI:10.60-21.38 and OR:5.07 95% CI:3.94-6.52, respectively). Not being married, low education, working in the hospitality industry, being male and living in rented housing also increased the probability of severe food insecurity. The HFIAS tool demonstrated acceptable construct and criterion validity. Conclusions Severe food insecurity was widespread and associated with low socioeconomic status, young age and being male among Finnish private sector service workers, emphasising the need for regular monitoring of food insecurity in Finland.
... Further, assets ownership (including home and vehicles) is not good predictor of household financial status as it does not explore the asset to debt ratio, which has significant implications on food security [46]. Across income levels, savings may be used in times of economic stress to protect against food security, which was not captured by this study [46,47]. Despite increasing participation by women in the workforce either in casual, part-time or full-time work, many continue to have the primary role and investment of time in household and family food provisioning [16]. ...
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This study aimed to describe the prevalence, severity and socio-demographic predictors of food insecurity in Australian households during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, from the perspective of women. A cross-sectional online survey of Australian (18–50 years) women was conducted. The survey collected demographic information and utilised the 18-item US Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). A multivariable regression was used to identify predictors of food security status. In this cohort (n = 1005), 19.6% were living in households experiencing food insecurity; with 11.8% experiencing low food-security and 7.8% very low food-security. A further 13.7% of households reported marginal food-security. Poor mental health status (K10 score ≥ 20) predicted household food insecurity at all levels. The presence of more than three children in the household was associated with low food-security (OR 6.24, 95% CI: 2.59–15.03). Those who were renting were 2.10 (95% CI: 1.09–4.05) times likely to experience very low food-security than those owning their own home. The COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to an increased prevalence of household food insecurity. This study supports the need for a range of responses that address mental health, financial, employment and housing support to food security in Australia.
... Second, even small income fluctuations may improve or worsen food insecurity (Heflin, Corcoran & Siefert, 2007). Multiple studies establish that households that experience volatility in their incomes have a heightened risk of food insecurity (Gundersen & Gruber, 2001;Leete & Bania, 2010) and that income volatility is most detrimental for families with little assets to draw upon (Guo, 2010;Leete & Bania, 2010). ...
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This paper examines the relationship between food insecurity and the uncertainty and inadequate financial resources associated with low quality work among lone mother households in the United States. Food insecurity has increased since the start of the Great Recession and is particularly high among lone mother households. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, I find that mothers who have are employed part-time involuntarily and experienced job loss have an increased likelihood of experiencing food insecurity. This relationship holds even after controlling for multiple measures of household income, suggesting the relationship between low quality work and food insecurity is not solely determined by low financial resources. Results suggest that, to reduce food insecurity among lone mother families, policymakers must address both the low wages and uncertainty associated with low quality employment.
... How resilient is household demand for various commodities to events that increase food prices and/or those that reduce household food budget? Guo (2011) shows that households with more assets and capitals have better food security, while others find that households with limited purchasing power tend to sacrifice expensive but nutrient-rich food items for cheap, energy-dense foods in the event of shocks (French et al., 2019;Gibson, 2013). These discussions are however not based on detailed analysis of specific food commodities. ...
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Resilience is now considered as a core concept for addressing the negative effects of shocks on household food security. However, a major barrier to achieving this is that resilience is unobserved and multi-dimensional, which means conceptualizing and empirically assessing it is difficult. This thesis combines literature review and empirical approaches to analyze the nexus between resilience, shocks and household food security. First, existing conceptual and analytical frameworks for assessing resilience and household food security are assessed through a systematic literature review. Results indicate that researchers diverge on conceptual and empirical frameworks for assessing food security resilience, and that multiple shocks received less attention. Second, the nexus between multiple shocks, coping strategy choices and household food security are examined with a baseline data from the Africa RISING project and discrete choice analysis augmented with linear regression models. Results show that coping with multiple shocks often requires different strategies than coping with single shocks. Households tend to deplete assets such as livestock and crop buffer stocks when they cope with negative effects of multiple shocks. Third, the effects of resilience-building strategies on food demand sensitivity to price and income shocks are explored using data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey estimated via a quadratic almost ideal demand system. The results show that resilience-building strategies have heterogeneous effects on the sensitivity of household food demand to price and income shocks. Increasing levels of household assets or livestock decrease demand sensitivity of protein foods such as dairy, meat and fish as well as of vegetables and fruits, to income shocks for poor households. Increases in crop stocks are associated with lower demand sensitivity of staples and pulses to income shocks for rural and non-poor households. Fourth, policies for enhancing resilience capacities of households are assessed through simulation. Results show that a policy instrument that simultaneously increases household assets, livestock and crop stocks help to counterbalance the negative effects of shocks and stimulates demand for all food items for non-poor households except staples. On the other hand, a pro-poor policy that targets increasing poor households’ assets, livestock or crop stocks is more beneficial to them and stimulates their demand for protein foods, staples and miscellaneous foods. Based on the overall results of the thesis, it is suggested that household resilience to food security shocks can be boosted, leading to a more stable food demand if measures are instituted to help develop or enhance household assets, livestock and crop stocks. Keywords: asset depletion, crop buffer stocks, food demand sensitivity, food security, households, income shocks, incremental effects, livestock, measurement, Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System, resilience capacity, resilience per se, shock interactions, simulation analysis, Ghana
... Several factors are considered to affect household food security including household assets 22 ; home ownership 23 ; household savings 24 ; financial limitations 25 ; education 26 ; livestock ownership 27 ; unemployment and income 28 ; knowledge about food storage, processing, and nutrition 29 ; corruption, fiscal errors, large debts, and inconsistent government policies 30 ; off-farm job 31 ; gender 32 ; family size, land area, soil fertility, access to irrigation, fertilizer use, seed utilization 33 ; delivery and access to market information, age 34 ; dependency ratio, electricity connection, irrigation availability 35 ; monthly income, family structure 36 ; and the existence of infrastructure 37 . There are many factors that affect food security. ...
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Rice is a staple food in East Java, and the average consumption is 100 kg/capita/year. However, rice productivity has declined dramatically in recent years. Food security can be reached by improving the technical efficiency of rice farming, especially in rice farming centers such as East Java Province. This study aims to measure technical efficiency and its determinants using two limit tobit. And it also aims to examine the effect of the technical efficiency of rice farming on food security using logit regression. Technical efficiency will be measured by using data envelopment analysis (DEA). The results show that the technical efficiency of rice farming is very low in East Java. Government assistance, irrigation, and extension have a significant effect on technical efficiency. Meanwhile, membership of farmer organization has no effect on technical efficiency. Around 69% of farmers can be categorized as food secure households. The estimation of logit regression shows that household size, income, land size, education, age, and gender significantly influence food security in East Java. Meanwhile, credit and technical efficiency did not have any significant effect.
... Yet whether or not asset tests impact on savings behaviour among low income groups, the more direct impact of shedding assets prior to a claim can be considered highly problematic, as it makes MIP beneficiaries more vulnerable (Paulhus, 2014). It limits their long-term ability to cushion future income shocks (Guo, 2011), making repeated benefit spells more likely (Hamilton et al., 2019). In themselves, holding assets can increasingly be considered as a conditio sine qua non for more resilient households (Atkinson, 2015). ...
Article
Means-tested transfer schemes in Europe and elsewhere tend to include not only income tests but also asset tests of various sorts. The role of asset tests in minimum income protection provisions has been extensively researched in the Anglo-Saxon context. Far fewer authors have assessed the role of asset tests on social policy in a continental European context. Although asset tests may be useful in singling out the more deserving of the poor, we know relatively little of their actual impact on eligibility and social outcomes in European welfare states. This paper looks at the prevalence and design of asset tests in European minimum income protection schemes. We distinguish between two main types of asset tests: outright disqualification when assets reach a certain value, versus a more gradual tapering at a fictional rate of return. We then analyse in greater detail how asset tests in Belgium and Germany, as representatives of these two types, affect minimum income protection eligibility and poverty outcomes. We use the EUROMOD microsimulation model on the Household Finance and Consumption Survey data in order to assess the effects of asset tests. This survey was explicitly designed to more realistically reflect assets and capital incomes.
... Higher the access to the physical capitals such as televisions and bicycles; materials used for housing construction; and drinking water and sanitation facilities decreased the risk of food insecurity. The result is also justified by many others studies (Sseguya, 2009;Guo, 2011;Abdullah et al., 2019). ...
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Background: Food is basics of our lives and many people experiences food insecurity at some time because of food deprivation and lack of access to food due to different resource constraints. It is a global challenge and threatens the rural people in developing countries like Nepal. Objective: The objective of the study is to identify the factors associated with food insecurity in rural area of Nepal. Materials and Methods: The analysis is based on rural household data extracted from the data of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The dependent variable food insecurity status was measured in four levels namely food secure, mildly food insecure, moderately food insecure and severely food insecure household using Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Independent variables were categorical and quantitative variables. In order to identify the factors associated with food insecurity, ordinal logit model was fitted initially. Due to violation of test of parallel lines by overall as well as some of the independent variables, multinomial logistic regression model was finally adopted by examining the model adequacy test. Results: The fitted multinomial logistic regression satisfied the diagnostic test including tests of goodness of fit, multicolinearity diagnostic criteria and minimum criteria of utilization of the model with about 29% predictive power. The variables ecological region, wealth index, size of agriculture land, any member(s) having saving account in any financial institution, any member(s) had gone to foreign employment in last 5 years other than India, family size, number of members completed secondary education and household member rearing cattle(s) were found to be significant. The poorest households (HHs) had 3.14 (CI: 1.88-5.26) times, poorer HHs 2.51 (CI: 1.55-4.07) times and moderate HHs 1.42 times higher chances of being severely food insecure relative to rich HHs. Conclusion: The study revealed that food insecurity of the rural HHs increases with decrease in the wealth index, size of land and number of members of the HHs with completed secondary education. The food insecurity of the households decreases with increase in the access to bank service.
... A number of factors infl uence household food security [14], size of the family, cultivated land size, fertility of soil, irrigation access, number of extension visits, fertilizer use and improved seed [15]. ...
Article
Amidst the ongoing global climate change crisis, characterized by unpredictable weather patterns and increasing environmental shocks, farming communities are among the most vulnerable. This vulnerability is particularly evident in Tigray, Ethiopia. This study, which investigates the incidence of climate change and its variability in relation to risk perception and food security of farming communities in Tigray, has significant implications for future action. It uses climate and the Living Standards Measurement Study panel data. A multi-method analytical procedure is employed to assess changes in temperature and rainfall, understand farmers’ climate change risk perception, and signify the welfare effects of droughts on farmers. The study finds significant warming trends, particularly increasing warming nights, and variable but increasing rainfall trends. Farmers do perceive climate change as a reality (85.53%) and a threat to their welfare (23%). Cooperation, diversification, irrigation, wealth, drought, and access to services were identified as drivers of this risk perception. Similarly, the study found drought is a significant driver of food insecurity. Other variables associated with food security status substantially are wealth, head marital status, and non-farm participation. It concludes that climate change is a reality and a perceived risk in Tigray. It poses a threat to the lives and livelihoods of its farming communities. It is recommended that farm households’ adaptive capacity be enhanced through improved livelihood options, promotion of cooperation, development of irrigation schemes, and increased access to weather and climate information.
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This study investigates the potential of machine learning algorithms to predict household resilience using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) as a proxy measure. Leveraging advancements in remote data collection and big data analytics, results show that resilience can be predicted with relatively high accuracy (up to 81%), with key household-level predictors including access to financial institutions, asset ownership, the adoption of agricultural mechanization-as evidenced by the use of tractors-, the number of crops cultivated, and ownership of non-farm enterprises. We contribute to the existing knowledge by utilizing novel proxy measures of resilience and exploring robust machine learning models (such as Gradient Boosting Classifier, eXtreme Gradient Boosting, and Artificial Neural Networks), expanding upon previous studies. As resilience has become a prominent policy priority in the realms of sustainability and development, the identified predictors offer valuable insights for researchers and policymakers, enhancing the understanding of resilience determinants and guiding the development of targeted interventions to bolster household resilience.
Article
Purpose This paper aims to understand if buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, a digital type of credit that targets young consumers, acts as a protective or a risk factor for food insecurity among young consumers in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey data from a representative sample of young consumers aged 18–24 from all internal states and territories in Australia. Propensity score matching is used to test two hypotheses: BNPL drives young consumers to food insecurity, and food insecurity leads young consumers to use BNPL. Findings There is evidence that BNPL use is driving young Australian consumers to experience food insecurity, but there is no evidence of food insecurity driving the use of BNPL services. Practical implications The evidence of BNPL driving young consumers to experience food insecurity calls for the adoption of practices and stronger regulation to ensure that young users from being overindebted. Originality/value Although the link with more traditional forms of credit (such as personal loans) and consumer wellbeing has been explored more broadly, this project is the first attempt to have causal evidence of the link between BNPL and food insecurity in a high-income country, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. This evidence helps to fill the gap about the protective or risky nature of this type of digital financial product, as experienced by young Australians.
Article
We assess the relationship between food insecurity and land inequality in Colombia during the period 2005–2015. We use spatially controlled system estimation at the level of Departamentos (subnational administrative units), verifying its advantages when compared to linear non-spatially controlled estimation. The analysis builds upon the idea that there is a direct impact of land inequality on food insecurity, besides its indirect impact through its effect on general inequality and poverty. The paper describes the historical-geographical processes that have determined high concentration of land ownership in Colombia, and subsequently, it uses regression analyses to verify that there is a spatially controlled effect of land inequality on food insecurity, and not the other way around. This result holds under different spatial specifications and the inclusion of corresponding control variables. The direct connection between these variables calls for policy measures that directly address land inequality as a food insecurity determinant, in addition to the indirect solution that current poverty alleviation policies might have on food insecurity.
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Introduction The ongoing crisis in Syria has divided the country, leading to significant deterioration of the healthcare infrastructure and leaving millions of people struggling with poor socioeconomic conditions. Consequently, the affordability of healthcare services for the population has been compromised. Cancer patients in Northwest Syria have faced difficulties in accessing healthcare services, which increased their financial distress despite the existence of humanitarian health and aid programs. This study aimed to provide insights into how humanitarian assistance can alleviate the financial burdens associated with cancer treatment in conflict-affected regions. Materials and methods This research employed a quantitative, quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test approach, focusing on evaluating the financial toxicity among cancer patients in Northwest Syria before and after receiving humanitarian aid. The study used purposeful sampling to select participants and included comprehensive demographic data collection. The primary tool for measuring financial toxicity was the Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (FACIT-COST) tool, administered in Arabic. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS v25, employing various statistical tests to explore relationships and impacts. Results A total of 99 cancer patients were recruited in the first round of data collection, out of whom 28 patients affirmed consistent receipt of humanitarian aid throughout the follow-up period. The results of the study revealed that humanitarian aid has no significant relationship with reducing the financial toxicity experienced by cancer patients in Northwest Syria. Despite the aid efforts, many patients continued to face significant financial distress. Conclusion The research findings indicate that current humanitarian assistance models might not sufficiently address the complex financial challenges faced by cancer patients in conflict zones. The research emphasizes the need for a more comprehensive and integrated approach in humanitarian aid programs. The study highlights the importance of addressing the economic burdens associated with cancer care in conflict settings and calls for a re-evaluation of aid delivery models to better serve the needs of chronic disease patients. The findings suggest a need for multi-sectoral collaboration and a systemic approach to improve the overall effectiveness of humanitarian assistance in such contexts.
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This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of protein-rich food consumption among impoverished rural households in Rwanda. Data from the Rwanda Institute of Statistics, gathered nationally from a random sample of 9,709 households in 2018, was utilized for a comprehensive analysis of the food security and vulnerability survey. Given the dependent variable’s nature, a diverse econometric approach was employed to identify the factors influencing the weekly consumption of key protein-rich foods (milk, meat, and beans) in Rwandan families. An instrumental variable technique was applied to assess the impact of a unified land use policy on the consumption of protein-rich foods in Rwandan households, considering the lack of a direct relationship with welfare outcomes in theory. The results indicate that land consolidation significantly influences the consumption of meat and pulses. Additionally, cattle ownership has a notable impact on milk and pulse intake. In light of these findings, we recommend that the government and development partners enhance support for farmers, particularly by providing subsidized farm inputs and increasing the distribution of cattle to eligible low-income households.
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Food insecurity is essential since its prevalence may hinder an individual or an economy from developing. The issue still lacks attention in Indonesia, as reflected in the lagging efforts to reduce food insecurity. Meanwhile, several previous studies have found that increasing internet access may decrease food insecurity. Using a sample of 140,892 agricultural households from the National Socioeconomic Survey data, this study uses quantitative measures to evaluate the effects of internet use on the food insecurity of Indonesian agricultural households. The present study uses raw and Rasch scores to measure food insecurity, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale question items. To estimate the effect of internet use on food insecurity, this study uses the two-stage least square estimation with topography as the instrumental variable, which is important due to the existence of an endogeneity problem. The present research also evaluates the possible mediating effect between internet use and food insecurity through households’ per capita income. Findings reveal that internet use negatively affects agricultural households’ food insecurity. This study also demonstrates that internet use can lower food insecurity in agricultural households through the mediating effects of income. From these results, policy implications are as follows; prioritization of internet infrastructure in remote areas, dissemination of information to enhance the production of agricultural households, and efforts to increase internet use among agricultural households.
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This paper aims to (i) analyze the key drivers of household resilience to food insecurity and (ii) assess differences in resilience capacity and food security indexes across male and female-headed households, and identify key drivers of these differentials in national, urban, and rural areas in the Gambia.
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The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), identified at the end of 2019 in Wuhan (China), is nowadays one of the most pressing global challenges facing humanity. Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that there are currently more than 150 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 3 million reported deaths. Alongside the dramatic impact on health systems, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have dire effects on the socio-economic development of societies and people’s livelihoods worldwide. In fact, COVID-19 caused a severe global economic recession, increasing unemployment and poverty worldwide. The pandemic is even considered a serious threat to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encompassed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Moreover, a growing body of evidence shows that the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as measures taken by governments to slow down the spread of the virus (e.g. lockdowns, mobility restrictions, shops closing), also disrupted food systems with implications in terms of food and nutrition security at all levels (global, regional, national, local, household, individual). The COVID-19 outbreak caused socio-economic shocks that affected the functioning of agriculture and food systems and the food security status of millions of people worldwide. The pandemic affected all food system activities (production, processing, distribution, consumption) and components (supply chain, food environment, and consumer behaviour). While a growing body of research addresses the pandemic’s disrupting effects on food supply chains, impacts on food environments and consumer behaviour are still rather overlooked, especially in developing countries. Furthermore, available data on the effects of COVID-19 on food systems are rather mixed; while some scholars claim that the pandemic can contribute to a transition towards more sustainable consumption patterns and diets, others highlight its adverse impacts on food access, food security, and nutrition status. This Research Topic aims to shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food procurement behaviour, nutrition, and eating habits, as well as the repercussions of these changes. Therefore, this Research Topic addresses the immediate and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on: - Food procurement, acquisition and shopping behaviour; - Food preparation and cooking behaviour; - Eating habits, diets and food consumption patterns; - Food access and food environments; - Food supply; - Food wastage; - Food security and nutrition; - Incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs); - Implementation of SDG 2 “Zero Hunger”; - Environmental assessment of COVID-19 on food systems.
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Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has the potential to play a crucial role in addressing global food insecurity. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of 17 recent Canadian SEAs, conducted for offshore petroleum exploration, exploring the extent of consideration for food security in current SEA practice. Document analysis was used to appraise consideration of eight core food security elements and conformity to procedural and analytical elements recommended for effective food security assessment in regional SEA. Performance variation among the SEAs in was observed. Notable deficiencies include lack of explicit consideration for food security and lack of transparency around public participation, as well as limited characterisations of the socio-political environment. Some encouraging findings, however, suggest that food security can be successfully addressed in regional SEA. In particular, the ‘system analysis’ approach typically employed in SEA in the offshore petroleum exploration industry is well-suited to food security assessment. Certain aspects of food security are already indirectly considered and incorporated in SEA; yet, there is considerable scope for improvement of integrating food security effectively in SEA.
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In the US, elderly households are more food secure than younger households. A possible explanation is that increased time availability enables elderly households to adopt strategies to improve their food security. Using time use data, we find elderly households spend more time in meal preparation and eating time than younger households. Creating a matched dataset of household time use and food security, we find that meal preparation and eating time have a small contribution to differences in food insecurity between older and younger households. However, these relationships are heterogeneous depending upon marital status and age cohort of the household head.
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Housing wealth is the main source of wealth for many older adults. Using the Health and Retirement Study, we assess the impact of new mortgage borrowing on food insecurity among homeowners aged 65 and older. We find a substantial short-term effect, with each additional $10,000 borrowed, lowering food insecurity by 2.2 percentage points. In a simulation of the impact of relaxing the debt-to-income borrowing constraint, food insecurity is reduced by 2.1 percentage points for previous nonborrowers and by 1.6 percentage points for borrowers. Results support the importance of access to mortgage borrowing to reduce material hardship in older age.
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Many states have increased the asset limits used to determine eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in recent years. Using three panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we estimate the effect of increases in the SNAP vehicle and total asset limits on vehicle and financial assets among low‐education families. We find that higher vehicle limits, together with the elimination of the total asset limit, increase the probability that a family owns a vehicle. Moreover, eliminating the total asset limit increases the value held in liquid accounts. The effect on liquid assets is greater among families in metro areas and for those at the lower end of the asset distribution. The effects on vehicle assets occur mainly among those in non‐metro areas and at the higher end of the asset distribution. Our findings imply that removing asset limits of assistance programs can lead to an increase in assets among the low‐income population.
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In the United States, almost one in six households with children cannot access adequate food for a healthy and active lifestyle. Although food insecurity disproportionately affects lower-income households, it remains unclear why some lower-income families are more vulnerable to food insecurity than others. Household unsecured debt, such as debt incurred from credit cards and medical bills, may be an unexplored financial constraint associated with food insecurity. Using data from the 2014 Child Development Supplement (CDS) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), I assess whether unsecured debt, by amount and type of debt, is associated with food insecurity among lower-income households with children (N=1,319). Results indicate that medical debt increases odds of household food insecurity even after accounting for key sociodemographic and economic risk factors, while no relationship exists between other forms of unsecured debt and food insecurity. Moreover, although liquid assets decrease the risk of household food insecurity and attenuate the harmful effects associated with unpaid medical bills, few households have enough liquid assets to mitigate the risks associated with medical debt. Efforts to prevent medical debt may be essential for eliminating food insecurity among lower-income households with children.
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This article examines determinants of changes in food insufficiency status over time in a Michigan welfare sample. The studied determinants include individual constraints on coping abilities, work-related demands, and resources of households. Analyses use logistic regressions based on data from four waves of the Women's Employment Study. Findings suggest that, without controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, hours worked, transportation expenses, and measures of coping ability are associated with food insufficiency. However, conditional fixed-effect logistic regression models suggest that having one or more mental health problems and a low level of financial resources are associated with reported food insufficiency.
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The Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD) is a ten-year longitudinal survey designed to provide data about families before and after the 1996 nationwide welfare reform. The SPD's value derives from three characteristics: (1) It was designed to focus on welfare, (2) its sample is representative of the 1992 and 1993 civilian noninstitutionalized population, and (3) its response rates are comparable to those of other longitudinal household surveys. Even so, the problem of attrition of respondents has necessitated the use of incentives and special efforts to return nonrespondents to the survey. Because of respondent attrition, researchers have questioned the usefulness of data from the SPD; thus, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the SPD data. The conclusions drawn from the analysis that follows are that (1) the SPD data are representative of the population when compared with the Current Population Survey (CPS) and (2) the SPD response rates are comparable to those of two other major longitudinal household surveys—the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), conducted by the National Opinion Research Center for the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State
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1. Introduction 2. Causal and non-causal models 3. Microeconomic data structures 4. Linear models 5. ML and NLS estimation 6. GMM and systems estimation 7. Hypothesis tests 8. Specification tests and model selection 9. Semiparametric methods 10. Numerical optimization 11. Bootstrap methods 12. Simulation-based methods 13. Bayesian methods 14. Binary outcome models 15. Multinomial models 16. Tobit and selection models 17. Transition data: survival analysis 18. Mixture models and unobserved heterogeneity 19. Models of multiple hazards 20. Models of count data 21. Linear panel models: basics 22. Linear panel models: extensions 23. Nonlinear panel models 24. Stratified and clustered samples 25. Treatment evaluation 26. Measurement error models 27. Missing data and imputation A. Asymptotic theory B. Making pseudo-random draw.
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Material deprivation has been measured in a variety of ways, such as in terms of income shortfalls or the experience of different types of material hardship. This paper tests the extent to which indicators of hardship are associated with income poverty. Using a U.S. dataset with detailed income and poverty information observed over a few years, we find that timing, duration, and depth of poverty are all associated with material hardships (food insecurity, difficulty meeting basic needs, lack of consumer durables, housing problems, neighborhood problems, and fear of crime). Even very short spells of poverty have a measurable impact on material well-being, although not all types of well-being are affected in equal measures.
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This paper argues that the typical household's saving is better described by a “buffer-stock” version than by the traditional version of the Life Cycle/Permanent Income Hypothesis (LC/PIH) model. Buffer-stock behavior emerges if consumers with important income uncertainty are sufficiently impatient. In the traditional model, consumption growth is determined solely by tastes. In contrast, buffer-stock consumers set average consumption growth equal to average labor income growth, regardless of tastes. The model can explain three empirical puzzles: the “consumption/income parallel” documented by Carroll and Summers; the “consumption/income divergence” first documented in the 1930s; and the stability of the household age/wealth profile over time despite the unpredictability of idiosyncratic wealth changes.
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Children in households reporting the receipt of free or reduced price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are more likely to have negative health outcomes than eligible nonparticipants. Assessing the causal effects of the program is made difficult, however, by the presence of endogenous selection into the program and systematic misreporting of participation status. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we extend and apply partial identification methods to account for these two identification problems in a single unifying framework. Similar to a regression discontinuity design, we introduce a new way to conceptualize the monotone instrumental variable (MIV) assumption using eligibility criteria as monotone instruments. Under relatively weak assumptions, we find evidence that receipt of free and reduced price lunches through the NSLP improves the health outcomes of children.
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The struggle for rural, low-income mothers to enter and remain in the workforce can contribute to job volatility, longitudinal changes in employment patterns. This study used a mixed methods longitudinal approach to examine job volatility of 245 rural, low-income mothers across 14 states. The mothers were categorized into three groups: stable employment, intermittent employment, and continuous unemployment. Work and family responsibilities were a continuous struggle for these mothers. Some mothers addressed these struggles through changing jobs, receiving social support, and/or staying out of the workforce to care for their children. To reduce job volatility, both qualitative and quantitative analyses showed that human capital development requires workplace flexibility and social support in addition to the traditional investments in education and healthcare.
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As revolution swept over Russia and empires collapsed in the final days of World War I, Azerbaijan and neighbouring Georgia and Armenia proclaimed their independence in May 1918. During the ensuing two years of civil war, military endgames, and treaty negotiations, the diplomatic representatives of Azerbaijan struggled to gain international recognition and favourable resolution of territorial disputes. This brief but eventful episode came to an end when the Red Army entered Baku in late April 1920. Drawing on contemporary records, memoirs, and scholarship in many languages, the accomplished historian Jamil Hasanli has produced a comprehensive and meticulously documented account of this little-known period
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This research examines the relationship between work disability and food insecurity, and tests whether the positive association between disability and food insecurity is accounted for by two mechanisms: economic resources and/or competing consumption needs. A sample (N = 6997) is chosen from the 1999 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) with over 1200 households headed by people with disabilities. Findings support both mechanisms but depending on the levels of food insecurity and the types of family economic resources, their success at explaining the relationship of disability with food insecurity varies. In addition, we find that household assets are more effective than income in protecting people with disabilities against food insecurity. Implications for disability policy and food assistance programs are discussed.
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This study examines the role of car ownership in facilitating employment among recipients under the current welfare-to-work law. Because of a potential problem with simultaneity, the analysis uses predicted car ownership constructed from two instrumental variables, insurance premiums and population density for car ownership. The data come from a 1999-2000 survey of TANF recipients in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The empirical results show a significant independent contribution of car ownership on employment. The presence of an predicted ownership is associated with a 9 percentage point increase in the odds of being employed. Moreover, the results indicate that lowering insurance premiums by $100 can increase the odds of employment by 4 percentage points. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
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Growing evidence demonstrates the importance of transportation in improving family economic well being. This article sheds light on the hardship that one important transportation asset, private vehicles, may exert on families. Data from the Iowa Transportation and Employment Survey provided a unique opportunity to understand how vehicle access enables households to meet their basic needs, but may exacerbate their problems through the creation of additional demands on resources. Approximately 26% of the sample reported having experienced transportation hardship. The strongest predictors of transportation hardship were the presence of children in the household, low income, driving less reliable vehicles, and the unavailability of transportation assistance from someone outside the household. How to help families meet their transportation needs in light of this evidence remains open to debate.
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Based on a study with 298 low-income participants, we propose that asset accumulation occurs in 3 stages. In the first stage (reallocation), current resource inflows exceed current outflows. To do this, people reallocate resources from consumption or leisure. In the second stage (conversion), people may convert resources from liquid to illiquid forms. In the third stage (maintenance), people resist temptations to dissave. We theorize that people adopt psychological and behavioral strategies to achieve these objectives. Putting psychological and behavioral strategies together with the stages of reallocation, conversion, and maintenance results in 6 strategy groups. We provide real-world examples of each strategy group and discuss implications for encouraging account ownership among the unbanked, improving asset-accumulation programs, and improving financial education.
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Using the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, this research investigated how income volatility and family structure patterns influence participation patterns of stability and change in Food Stamp Program participation among a sample of young families (n=1,263). Multinomial logistic regression models suggested that families that experienced significant declines in income were more likely to persistently participate and initiate participation than to never participate. Furthermore, stably married families were more likely to never participate; while other stable family structures (cohabitating couples and singles) and transitional unions were associated with persistent participation compared to other participation patterns. Immigration status, health, multiple indicators of economic hardship, and participant access rates were also significant in predicting patterns of participation. Strategies to increase participation are discussed.
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This article addresses certain poor practices commonly seen in the applied health economics literature regarding the use of the Heckit and the two-part model. First, many articles invoke the Heckit to solve a supposed selection problem associated with masses of zero values in continuous variables, despite the fact that it has been shown elsewhere that no such selection problem exists when modeling observed actual, as opposed to latent potential, outcomes. Second, many applications incorrectly formulate the marginal effect tests in the Heckit and two-part model, thus undermining central conclusions. Finally, many researchers use a t-test of the inverse Mills coefficient to choose between the Heckit and two-part models despite its poor performace; we propose instead an adapted empirical mean square error test.
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Using data from the 4-year American Dream Demonstration, this study compares saving performance and program participation of banked (n=1,538) and unbanked participants (n=466) enrolled in 14 IDA programs. The study shows banked participants had $2.74 higher average monthly net deposit (p<0.05); 5% higher deposit frequency (p<0.001); and 42% less odds of drop out than unbanked participants (p<0.001). Moreover, program characteristics such as financial education, monthly saving targets, peer group meetings, and direct deposit are important predictors of program performances. Individual characteristics such as race/ethnicity, home ownership, and income are significantly associated with program performance. KeywordsAsset building-Banked-IDAs-Savings-Unbanked
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We assess whether the positive relationship between car ownership and employment outcomes reflects a causal effect of auto ownership. We match state-level data on car insurance premiums and gas taxes to a microdata sample containing information on car-ownership and employment outcomes. In OLS regressions that control for observable covariates, we find large differences in employment rates, weekly hours worked, and hourly earnings between those with and without cars. Instrumenting for car ownership with insurance and gas taxes yields estimates of the employment and hours effects that are quite close to the OLS estimates. Concerning wages, instrumenting eliminates the positive impact of auto ownership.
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In order to identify factors that contribute to household food insecurity in a rural county in upstate New York, we conducted two personal interviews with 193 women who were between the ages of 20 and 40 years, had less than 16 years of education, and had children living at home. Data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors for food insecurity, food program participation, and the Radimer/Cornell hunger and food insecurity measures; in addition, each household's food supplies were inventoried. Regression analyses and tree-based partitioning were used to identify the risk factors. The variables significantly (p < 0.05) contributing to food insecurity were being a single parent, lack of savings, larger household size, having unexpected expenses, adding $50 or more to food stamps to purchase sufficient food, and having low food expenditures. The variables contributing to low levels of household food supplies were low educational level, low food expenditures, not vegetable gardening, and not receiving free milk, eggs, and meat.
Article
Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year 2001. The rest were food insecure at least some time during the year, meaning they did not always have access to enough food for active, healthy lives for all household members because they lacked sufficient money or other resources for food. The prevalence of food insecurity rose from 10.1 percent in 1999 to 10.7 percent in 2001, and the prevalence of food insecurity with hunger rose from 3.0 percent to 3.3 percent during the same period. This report, based on data from the December 2001 food security survey, provides the most recent statistics on the food security of U.S. households, as well as on how much they spent for food and the extent to which food-insecure households participated in Federal and community food assistance programs. Survey responses indicate that the typical food-secure household in the United States spent 32 percent more than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. About one-half of all food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food assistance programs during the month prior to the survey. About 19 percent of food-insecure households—2.8 percent of all U.S. households—obtained emergency food from a food pantry at some time during the year.
Article
Eighty-nine percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year 2002, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The prevalence of food insecurity rose from 10.7 percent in 2001 to 11.1 percent in 2002, and the prevalence of food insecurity with hunger rose from 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent. This report, based on data from the December 2002 food security survey, provides the most recent statistics on the food security of U.S. households, as well as on how much they spent for food and the extent to which food-insecure households participated in Federal and community food assistance programs. Survey responses indicate that the typical food-secure household in the U.S. spent 35 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. Just over one-half of all food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food assistance programs during the month prior to the survey. About 19 percent of food-insecure households—3.0 percent of all U.S. households—obtained emergency food from a food pantry at some time during the year.
Article
This study examined the relative effects of housing cost burden versus poverty thresholds to explain the economic hardship of low-income families and compared the differences in these effects among White, Black, and Hispanic families with children in the United States of America. The findings from the multivariate analyses indicate that poverty status better explains variations in economic hardship than housing cost burden status. In respect to group differences, association between poverty status and economic hardship score are different between White and Black families. The results of this study raise the issues of housing cost burden and economic hardship that the country’s low-income Black families disproportionately experience relative to their White and Hispanic counterparts.
Article
Over six million children who reside with a single mother and have a father who lives elsewhere are food insecure. This study examines the effectiveness of two aspects of nonresident father involvement, in-person visitation and financial contributions, in reducing food acquisition problems using data from the National Survey of America’s Families. We find that frequent visits by nonresident fathers are related to a reduced likelihood that the resident mother’s household will experience indicators of food insecurity. The effects of child support receipt on reducing food acquisition problems, however, are less consistent. Our results support policies designed to recognize and encourage nonresidential parents to make both monetary and nonmonetary contributions to the lives of their children. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
Article
This paper uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to estimate durations of poverty spells and to determine whether temporarily poor families have sufficient assets to cover the shortfall of their incomes below poverty-their personal poverty gaps. If poverty is measured using monthly rather than annual income data, four times as many persons enter poverty, but most spells are short: the median duration is between four and six months. More than one-third of all poverty spells are eliminated if financial assets are used to fill poverty gaps, but remaining poverty spells are longer. Separate estimates are made for the elderly and for families with children.
Article
The paper analyses the effect of equity-price shocks on current account positions for the G-7 industrialized countries during 1974–2007. It uses a Bayesian vector autoregression with sign restrictions for the identification of equity-price shocks and to test empirically for their effect on current accounts. Such shocks are found to exert a sizable effect, with a 10 percent equity price increase, for example, in the United States relative to the rest of the world, worsening the U.S. trade balance by 0.9 percentage points after 16 quarters. However, the response of the trade balance to equity-price shocks varies substantially across countries. The evidence suggests that the channels accounting for this heterogeneity function both through wealth effects on private consumption and to some extent through the real exchange rate of countries. IMF Staff Papers (2009) 56, 633–654. doi:10.1057/imfsp.2009.8; published online 26 May 2009
The misleading way we count the poor: Alternatives to our antiquated poverty measure should consider assets (Asset building program issue brief #3)
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