Effect of drought on smallholder education expenditures in rural Iran: Implications for policy

Out- Of- Pocket health expenditure and household consumption patterns in Benin: Is there a crowding out effect?

Health shocks are common and have serious consequences for households in developing countries where health insurance is lacking. In this study, we examine whether out-of-pocket health expenditures crowd out household consumption of non-healthcare necessities, such as education items in Benin using a sample of 14,952 households from the global vulnerability and food security analysis survey. We estimated a system of conditional Engel curves with three stage least squared (3SLS) and seemingly unrelated regression (SURE) for seven categories of goods using the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) in the form of budget shares corresponding to proportions of total non-health expenditure. Findings show that out of pocket health expenditure leads households to spend more on health care that in fine crowd out expenditure in other necessity goods such as education item. These findings highlight the need for social protection programs to mitigate the impact of health shocks on vulnerable households in Benin.

Assessing the effect of spatial-temporal droughts on dominant crop yield changes in Central Malawi

Central Malawi has intensely been subjected to different climate-related shocks such as floods, dry spells, and droughts, resulting in decreases in crop yields. Due to their recurrence arising from the effects of climate change, drought characterization, monitoring, and prediction are crucial in guiding agriculture-water users and planners to prepare drought risk management plans and early warning systems. This research analyzed droughts, using multiple drought indices and their impacts on dominant crops over Central Malawi. Forty years of hydro-meteorological data (1977-2017) from nine rain-gauging stations and crop yield data from 1983 to 2017 from four districts were analyzed. The study discovered that drought events in the Agricultural Development Division (ADD) are highly a function of rainfall deficit and high temperatures. The results highlighted that the rainfall patterns in the area are not dependable, calling for the utilization of climate-smart irrigation systems such as drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting technologies. Furthermore, we achieved that crops such as cassava and groundnuts must be promoted to withstand the long water stress duration. These crops also have a multiplier effect; hence, they can enhance food security in the region. This study recommends that using more robust variables in drought analysis studies is necessary for effective drought monitoring and early warning systems. In corroboration with disaster management NGOs, it is recommended that the government should be proactive in developing integrated drought management policies and planning strategies for drought adaptation and mitigation.

Entrepreneurial Income and Wellbeing: Women’s Informal Entrepreneurship in a Developing Context

This study examines the impact of women’s entrepreneurial income on wellbeing. Women entrepreneurs (N = 504) from district Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan participated in the study. ANOVAs and multiple regressions were used to analyze the impact of predictors on the dependent variables (i.e., per capita income, education, health, entertainment, social, household, and other miscellaneous expenditures, investment, savings, and charity). The findings indicated that women’s informal entrepreneurship has a significant role in family, economic, and societal wellbeing. The results contribute to the understanding of women’s entrepreneurial income on individual and family wellbeing. Women’s informal entrepreneurship plays an important role, particularly in the developing world, consistent with the multiplier effect of women entrepreneurs’’ wellbeing. Measures were suggested to empower such women informal, home-based entrepreneurs in view of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Effect of climate variability on healthcare expenditure of food crop farmers in Southwest, Nigeria

This study empirically evaluated the effect of climate variability on the healthcare status and catastrophic health expenditure of the food crop farmers in Southwest, Nigeria. Cross-sectional data were sourced through a well-structured questionnaire and direct personal interview and used for the analysis. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 459 respondents, while descriptive statistics, multinomial logit and binary logistic regressions were used for the data analysis. Results revealed that farmers perceived increase in heavy rainfall, storms, floods, cases of ailments/diseases and pollutant concentration and decrease in food production. Creating sanitation programmes, planting of shade trees and use of medicine/herbs were the main adaptation strategies frequently used to combat the effects of climate change on their health. Self-medication was commonly used as a source of treatment, while age, education, income and climate variables were the main factors influencing preference to healthcare utilisation using multinomial logit regression. Results of logistic regression revealed that education, marital status, dependants, female household, environmental sanitation, extreme weather events and elderly persons were the main determinants of catastrophic health expenditure in the area. Therefore, a robust synergy among meteorological forecast, health surveillance and better disaster management should be established among the farmers. This will help in guiding against diseases and extreme weather events and improve adaptive capacity.