Poverty Analysis of Ethiopian Females in the Amhara Region: Utilizing BMI as an Indicator of Poverty

This paper analyzes poverty-affected females in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. As the measurement of poverty, the paper uses body mass index (BMI) because it is one of the effective tools for measuring individual poverty level. The results of the BMI analysis show that the most poverty-affected female group is the female household heads in urban areas. The results, however, should be treated carefully considering the different social and economic structure of urban and rural areas, and the interdependent relationship between these two areas. In rural areas, access to land is the biggest issue affecting the BMI, while in urban areas, the occupation of husbands or partners is more important. These differences by area do not mean that there is no intersection between the urban and rural female groups because the majority of females in urban areas migrated from rural areas to urban areas due to various reasons such as divorce, marriage, and job opportunities.

Caste, land, and migration : a preliminary analysis of a village survey in an underdeveloped state in India

This paper explores migration from Bihar, one of the most underdeveloped states in India, by paying particular attention to social class (caste) and landholdings. After describing details of individual migrants, we present our preliminary findings on the determinants of migration, based on our field survey of 200 households in four villages in 2011. In terms of social class, Muslims are more likely to migrate, but Scheduled Castes do not show a high propensity to migrate as is stated in some of the existing literature where the underclass is said to be more mobile. In terms of landholdings, the probability that someone will migrate is high among the landless and smaller landholders but it decreases as the size of the landholding increases. However, as the size of the landholding increases still further, a reverse effect of landholding on decisions regarding migration moves in, with the decline in probability becoming less and less. This result confirms a non-linear relationship between landholdings and the decision to migrate. Some further research questions are raised in the paper.

Changing local elite selection in Thailand : emergence of new local government presidents after direct elections and their capabilities

Before rural local government units were established in Thailand, reform debates within the country faced a crucial issue: Candidates at the rural sub-district levels might adopt electioneering methods such as vote buying and the patronage system of the local political and economic elite, the methods that had been used in the national elections. In fact, the results of the 2006 survey in this paper, which followed the introduction of direct elections in rural local government units in 2003, contrast with the result anticipated during the debates on political reform. The preliminary data of the survey shows that the decentralization process and the introduction of the direct election system in the rural areas had some effect in changing the selection process of the local elite in Thailand.